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My Lai massacre

My Lai massacre. By. Makayla Watkins, Stanly Haynes, and Kyle Ankney. Background . My Lai lay in the south Vietnamese district of Son My. This was a heavily mined area where the Vietcong were deeply entrenched .

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My Lai massacre

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  1. My Lai massacre By. Makayla Watkins, Stanly Haynes, and Kyle Ankney

  2. Background • My Lai lay in the south Vietnamese district of Son My. • This was a heavily mined area where the Vietcong were deeply entrenched . • Numerous members of the Charlie Company had been maimed or killed in the area in the preceding weeks. • The agitated troops ,under the command of Lt. William Calley, entered the village poised for engagement on March 16, 1968.

  3. The Massacre • As the mission unfolded it soon turned into the massacre of over 300 apparently unarmed civilians ( includes women, children, and the elderly). • Calley ordered the men to enter the village firing, though there had been no report of opposing fire. • Eyewitnesses say that old men were bayoneted , praying women and children were shot in the back of the head • Calley said to round up a group of villagers ,ordered them into a ditch, and mowed them down with machine gun fire documentingreality.com

  4. Investigations and questions • Word of the massacre did not reach the American public until November, 1969 • The gruesome details of My Lai reached the American public, serious questions arose concerning the conduct. • Investigating the massacre found widespread failures of leadership, discipline, and morale among the army’s fighting units.

  5. Language of the war • AIRBURST- explosion of ammunition in the air • AIR CAV- air cavalry, referring o helicopter-borne infantry. • ARCOMS- Army commendation medals • ARTY- artillery • BAC SI- Vietnamese term for medical corpsman; doctor • BIRD- any aircraft, usually helicopters

  6. Language of the war cont. • BLUELEG- infantryman, a.k.a. “grunt” • CAV- nickname for air cavalry • C&C – command and control • CHERRY- a new troop replacement • CHURCH KEY- bottle opener • CRACKER BOX- field ambulance

  7. Artillery • They used various forms of artillery, both stationed and carried into the field. • Infantrymen carried lighter guns on patrol, using them to provide close up, mobile support. • The larger guns, positioned at firebase throughout the south. historyimages.blogspot.com

  8. Photos of the massacre digitalhistory.uh.edu kattydl.freeiz.com

  9. Sources • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/my_lai.html

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