March 17, 1970: 14 US Army Officers Charged in Cover Up of My Lai Massacre

A Brief History

On March 17, 1970, the US Army charged 14 officers with suppressing information about the My Lai Massacre that took place in South Vietnam in 1968, a horrible atrocity in which between 347 and 504 Vietnamese civilians, including women, children and babies, were slaughtered by C Company, 1st Bn 20th Regt of the 11th Brigade of the 23rd Infantry Division of the US Army. Allegations included gang rape, shooting women with babies, bayoneting and clubbing people, using grenades and burning occupied dwellings.

Digging Deeper

Probably the best known and worst atrocity committed by US military troops during the Vietnam War, initial reports indicated that the people killed had been Viet Cong, guerilla communist fighters and C Company was applauded for doing a good job. Rumors and reports of atrocity began soon afterward, and officers up and down the chain of command minimized the incident or flat out suppressed true information. Even Colin Powell, then a major (later a 4 star General Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then Secretary of State), is said to have “whitewashed” the incident in his role of investigating a letter reporting the massacre.

The 14 officers charged included the Division Commander, Major General Samuel Koster and 11th Brigade Commander, Colonel Henderson. Of those involved in the alleged cover up, only Henderson stood trial by Court Martial and he was acquitted. Unlike the shameful behavior of senior officers that tried to cover up the incident, some helicopter crews had witnessed the massacre and intervened on behalf of the civilian Vietnamese, preventing even more killings. These men were later recognized as heroes and presented with medals for their bravery in intervening.

The designated scapegoat was 2nd Lieutenant William Calley, charged with and convicted of murdering at least 20 people, the only officer or soldier convicted of anything involved with the massacre. Sentenced to life in prison, per President Nixon Calley was sent from Ft. Leavenworth to serve house arrest instead, and the Convening General of the court martial reduced the sentence to 20 years.

Calley had pled the “Nuremburg” defense, that he had only been following orders and that as a “lowly” 2nd Lieutenant he dare not question or disobey orders. An inconsistency in the proceedings was that the enlisted men under Calley were not prosecuted for “following orders” and perpetrating most of the atrocities.

Calley later appealed his case, and was released after only 3 ½ years if confinement on the basis that pre-trial publicity poisoned the prosecution’s case and Calley’s defense, that defense witnesses were denied, inadequate notice of the charges, and the US House of Representatives refused to release testimony they had received during their investigation of the massacre. Calley’s conviction and ejection from the service was upheld, but his prison sentence was commuted to time served, and he was now (1974) a free man.

Many of the soldiers involved with the My Lai Massacre later reported regret about the incident, but they did not offer to accept any personal responsibility. The lenient treatment of Calley and the attempts at cover up by others implies that the US Army and American Government did not fully accept responsibility either. The Vietnam War was characterized by numerous brutal massacres and atrocities by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, as well as South Vietnamese military and government officials. The US military by comparison engaged in far fewer criminal type murders, but were presented to the world by the Communist Bloc and an all too accommodating Western media as the main criminals of the War. The Vietnam War cost as many as 3.8 million Vietnamese (both sides) their lives, and hundreds of thousands of other neighboring countries people, as well as 60,000 or so Americans.

The Vietnam War was a frustrating experience for Americans still flush with the resounding victory of World War II, and fostered so many lies and blunders by American politicians that the bitter debate about the War divided the US like few other things have since the Civil War. Unfortunately, it appears American politicians have learned little from the experience, and the American military is mired in the Middle East since 2001!

Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think we learned or failed to learn from the Vietnam War experience? Should we still be involved in Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries? Please share your opinions with us in the comments section below this article.

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