Some are making a connection between the recent mass murder in Afghanistan and the My Lai incident in 1968.
They are wrong to do so.
The more recent event, in which Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly killed 17 civilians (many women and children) in Afghanistan, looks like the actions of a lone person who snapped.
The massacre at My Lai in Vietnam resulted in the slaughter of as many as 500 civilians at the hands of American soldiers who knew what they were doing.
What happened that made members of Charlie Company adopt a “kill ‘em all” mentality?
Through interviews with people who were there, this documentary shows how the desire for revenge was ramped up every time a soldier was killed or wounded by mines, booby traps, and sniper fire. They were frustrated and wanted the chance to meet their attackers face to face.
The film also shows how poor intelligence led Charlie Company to believe there were Viet Cong in My Lai, which was not the case.
At least one person interviewed said there was no way to disobey orders, even those that called for lining people up at a drainage ditch and killing them indiscriminately. His recollection is reminiscent of German soldiers who said they were only following orders when they committed atrocities in World War II.
But it’s not that simple. As the soldier testified, failure to follow orders could have easily led to immediate execution. It’s a thorny issue without an easy answer.
There are also heartbreaking interviews with survivors of the My Lai massacre.
My Lai, which does a fantastic job of showing the incidents leading up to the massacre, the massacre itself, and its aftermath, is available to rent.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]
