My Lai
My Lai was undoubtedly the most horrific incident of violence against citizens in the Vietnam war. My Lai was a small town in Vietnam that was suspected to be holding Viet Cong rebels. The American soldiers were ordered to a rid it of these rebels on 16 March 1968. However, when they raided the village in the early morning, they found no Viet Cong troops, but that was not the end of it. One platoon, led by Lt. William Calley, was ordered to kill all of the villagers. They killed hundreds of citizens, primarily old men, women, children, and babies. Some were even tortured and raped. The way they killed them was horrendous. The American soldiers led them into ditches and executed them with hand grenades and automatic weapons. We do not know why Calley ordered his men to commit such brutal acts on the Vietnam citizens but Calley was convicted of murder when he got back to America. He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years of house arrest. though he insisted he was following orders.