Rights Breached, Responsibilities Neglected: How the My Lai Massacre Exposed the Ethical Issues of the Vietnam War
"1st Lt. William L. Calley Jr. arrives at the Pentagon for questioning by a special panel attempting to determine if there might have been a whitewash of an original Army investigation of the killing of civilians at Song My." Getty Images/Bettman Archive
Trial
Out of two-hundred officers involved, only twenty-five were charged. Nearly every soldier involved was acquitted.
"Twelve officers and enlisted men initially charged with criminal offenses, including murder, with one conviction — Lieutenant Calley's — four acquittals and seven cases dismissed before courts‐martial."
-The New York Times, November 14, 1974
"Medina Found Not Guilty Of All Charges on Mylai" The New York Times
"Col. Henderson Acquitted In Last of the Mylai Cases" The New York Times
“1st Lt. William L. Calley Jr. arrived at the Pentagon yesterday for testimony before an Army board of investigation on the alleged My Lai massacre." AP WIREPHOTO
“Capt. Ernest L. Medina arrives for an investigatory hearing with his civilian attorney F. Lee Bailey at Ft. MsPherson, Ga., today.” AP WIREPHOTO
“Army Col. Oran K. Henderson is followed by his civilian defense attorney, Henry Rothblatt Wednesday as the selection of a jury continued at Ft. Meade, Md., in his court-martial.” AP WIREPHOTO
“The Government won its case today because any time there is a just and fair verdict, the people win.”
-Judge Colonel Peter S. Wondolowski
High-Ranking Officials
"Army Drops Charges Against Four in Alleged Mylai Cover-Up" The New York Times Archives
“Mugshot of Colonel Oran K. Henderson”
“Mugshot of Colonel Nels A. Parson, Jr.”
“Mugshot of Colonel Robert B. Luper”
"Mugshot of Lieutenant Colonel Richard K. Blackledge"
"Mugshot of Major Charles C. Calhoun”
The Peers Commision
"Fourteen officers accused of critically covering up the killings, with 13 administrative dismissals and one acquittal—that of Col. Oran K. Henderson, commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade— after a court‐martial."
-The New York Times, November 14, 1974
Samuel Koster was the only higher-up demoted for negligence. None of the other officials were charged.
“Major Samuel W. Koster, circa 1968” U.S. Army
TIME Magazine, April 12, 1971, Vol. 97, No. 15, Pg 15
“Maj. Gen. Samuel W. Koster, commander of the Americal Division in Vietnam at the time of the My Lai raid, was accused of failure to obey lawful regulations and dereliction of duty in that he allegedly covered up the slayings.”
-The New York Times, 1971
Lieutenant William Calley
Only one soldier, William Calley, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
"Calley Convicted of 22 Murders", The Washington Post
“Lt. William L. Calley, Jr., pictured during his court martial at Fort Benning, Ga., on April 23, 1971.” Joe Holloway Jr. / Associated Press
“They didn’t give it a race, they didn’t give it a sex, they didn’t give it an age. They never let me believe it was just a philosophy in a man’s mind. That was my enemy out there, and when it came between me and that enemy, I had to value the lives of my troops. And I feel that is the only crime I have committed.”
-William Calley, in his defense statement to the court
Sabotage
Many soldiers were acquitted after President Nixon discredited evidence to preserve public support.
“Hebert and Rivers [Nixon's advisors] decided that these trials were detrimental to the interests of the United States of America and they tried . . . to sabotage them.”
-Prosecutor Colonel William Eckhardt
“This recently uncovered document, handwritten by H.R. Haldeman, notes President Nixon’s order to “discredit one witness” to cover up the My Lai massacre.” The New York Post
In a nation that claims to champion liberation of the oppressed, it's a horrific irony that the true evil laid in the actions of Task Force Barker's commanders and soldiers, and the government that failed to hold them responsible.
"But how much more appalling it is to see so many of the political leaders of the nation who have failed to see the moral issue, or, having seen it, to compromise it for political motive in the face of apparent public displeasure with the verdict.
-Prosecutor Captain Aubrey Daniel, in his letter to President Nixon after the acquittal of Lieutenant William Calley