What Caused My Lai massacre?
The My Lai Massacre stemmed from previous events in the Vietnam War. The Tet Offensive, which occurred during the first two months of 1968, was a large military invasion of South Vietnam by North Vietnam. Regardless, many Vietnamese were gathered and executed in ditches, homes were burned and crops destroyed.
What was the purpose of My Lai?
Ernest Medina led his infantry company in an assault on the village of Son My, along the central coast of South Vietnam, as part of a mission to find and destroy a battalion of the National Liberation Front, also known as the Vietcong. One of the hamlets within the village was called My Lai.
What happened in the Vietnamese village of My Lai in 1968 quizlet?
What happened in the Vietnamese village of My Lai in 1968? American soldiers massacred more than 200 men, women, and children.
When Did My Lai massacre happen?
March 16, 1968
Mỹ Lai massacre/Start dates
On March 16, 1968 the angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai. “This is what you’ve been waiting for — search and destroy — and you’ve got it,” said their superior officers. A short time later the killing began.
Who exposed My Lai?
Ronald L. Ridenhour
Ron Ridenhour; Exposed My Lai Massacre. Ronald L. Ridenhour, an infantryman-turned-journalist who seared the world’s conscience with the first public account of the slaughter of 500 Vietnamese villagers at My Lai, has died. He was 52.
What was the date of the my Lai Massacre?
On 16 March 1968—fifty years ago—First Lieutenant William L. “Rusty” Calley, Jr., and his platoon murdered at least 300 Vietnamese civilians (and perhaps as many as 500) at a small South Vietnamese sub-hamlet called My Lai. This article examines what really happened in the “My Lai Incident,” or the “My Lai Massacre” as it is sometimes called.
Where was my Lai village during the Vietnam War?
On this day in 1968, a platoon of American soldiers brutally kills more than 500 unarmed civilians at My Lai, one of a cluster of small villages located near the northern coast of South Vietnam. In March 1968, a platoon of soldiers from Charlie Company received word that Viet Cong guerrillas had taken cover in the Quang Ngai village of Son My.
Who was the pilot who stopped the my Lai Massacre?
Hugh Thompson, the helicopter pilot who stopped the My Lai massacre, later told the news program “60 Minutes” that he was ostracized and received death threats upon his return from Vietnam. But in 1998, Thompson attended a memorial service at My Lai on the 30th anniversary of the massacre.
What did the soldiers do in my Lai?
The soldiers had been advised before the attack by army command that all who were found in My Lai could be considered VC or active VC sympathizers, and were told to destroy the village. They acted with extraordinary brutality, raping and torturing villagers before killing them and dragging dozens of people,…