My Lai: The Event, The Trial,
American troops landed in Vietnam in the spring of 1965; that was probably the biggest mistake the United States of America have made in its 200 plus years of existence. As a result, the country's concern turned towards, next to the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, mostly in favor of it, but some against it. For the first time ever, America saw daily reports, footage, broadcasts on television of the "reality" of the war. The images presented at first, along with some carefully prepared lies that a tense government conjured up gave a frictional society the impression that American presence in Vietnam was appropriate, and that we would come out as heroes (Almond)… The lies were ...
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against the war, as opposed to their previous pro-war attitude. There were anti-war demonstrations and peace movements (Almond) that shut down colleges, and sometimes towns across the country. Then one day, as the media was delivering their daily recurrences of the horror that was Vietnam, reports of a massacre in a village designated as My Lai 4 came up. Following these reports and some "thorough" investigation came the indictment of Lt. William Calley, the man slated responsible for the event, along with that indictment came charges of murder. The trial and crime helped bring the reality of the war to the people. It struck the major interests and concerns of the people at the time (Almond), and because of this, it is only appropriate to say that the court-martial of Lt. William Calley for his role in My Lai is the trial of the 1970s.
On September 5, 1969, Lieutenant William Calley was formally charged with the responsibility of the murder of over 100 Vietnamese civilians ...
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say that there were two mission objectives. Charlie Company lost nearly one-third of their troops in two months after run-ins with a minefield in February and similar booby traps on March 14 (Linder). The soldiers' morale was next to non-existent, until Captain Medina stepped in. On the night of March 15, he eagerly briefed the remaining troops on a new mission dubbed Task Force Barker. The basis behind the mission was on the belief that a Viet Cong battalion was holding up in My Lai, and C. Company was to go in there and eliminate the VC. The soldiers were excited to finally get a chance to fight the enemy face-to-face (background.html). The two objectives the soldiers had set forth ...
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"My Lai: The Event, The Trial,." Essayworld.com. October 1, 2008. Accessed November 18, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/My-Lai-The-Event-The-Trial/90789.
"My Lai: The Event, The Trial,." Essayworld.com. October 1, 2008. Accessed November 18, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/My-Lai-The-Event-The-Trial/90789.
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