What effect did My Lai have on the Vietnam war?

Answer 1

Without getting into the incident ....

The incident itself didn't became public knowledge in 1969, a year after it happened.

It immediately prompted widespread outrage around the world.

The massacre also increased domestic opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The three U.S. servicemen who made an effort to halt the massacre and protect the wounded were denounced by U.S. Congressmen.

Calley was a scapegoat following orders. But it was the brutality of it that brings up questions.

Many of the victims were sexually abused, beaten, tortured, and some of the bodies were found mutilated.... between 347 and 504 people. Some of those American soldiers were animals ---- some cried while they killing them.

Major cover-up by the US Military. That sure as hell did nothing for the trust of the American people.

If the military would cover up something like this, to this extent, what else is it covering up?

The US government backed up the military 100%. Well, there went that trust too. What else is the White House covering up about Vietnam? Like the fact that we had been over there for almost 10 years now.

General William C. Westmoreland, congratulated the unit on the "outstanding job", Army's Stars and Stripes magazine, "U.S. infantrymen had killed 128 Communists in a bloody day-long battle."

What did this say? That either our top military commanders are either bald-faced liars or completely incompetent and clueless as to what was going on in their own command.

Here's a good one .....31-year-old Army Major Colin Powell, was charged with investigating. Powell wrote, "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Powell's handling of the assignment was later characterized by some observers as "whitewashing". Major Colin Powell was in the unit that was responsible for My Lai, supposedly he got there AFTER it happened.

The effects ....Some military observers concluded that My Lai showed the need for more and better volunteers to provide stronger leadership for the troops. As Vietnam dragged on, the number of well trained and experienced career soldiers dropped sharply. So, our army was uneducated.

Others pointed out problems the military's insistence on unconditional obedience to orders while at the same time limiting the doctrine of "command responsibility" to the lowest ranks.

Others saw it as a direct result of the military's attrition strategy, with its emphasis on "body counts" and "kill ratios".

The fact that the massacre was successfully covered up for 18 months was seen as a prime example of the Pentagon's "Culture of Concealment" and of the lack of integrity that permeated the Defense establishment.

The fact that Calley was the only officer convicted led many to see him as a scapegoat and belief that there was a lot more corruption and hidden agenda within the military and government than anyone ever thought.

Ernest Medina -- Captain, company commander ,who planned, ordered, and supervised the execution of the operation, after resigning from the army went to work at an Enstrom Helicopter Corporation plant owned by F. Lee Bailey.

Samuel W. Koster -- Major General, commanding officer, had actually been promoted to the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1970, he got demoted one rank, to Brigadier General, for failing to conduct an adequate investigation and was reassigned to become deputy commander of Maryland's Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Four Star General William Westmoreland became the U.S. Army Chief of Staff.

Four Star General Colin Powell eventually ended up in the White House as the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001--2005), serving under President George W. Bush.

So, as you see, the "effects" didn't last that damned long. We have SHORT memories.

This is a prime example of the old saying ..."Those who do not know their own history are doomed to repeat it....."

If you remember the incident in Iraq with the US Army reservist who served in the 372nd Military Police Company, Spec Lynndie England, 1 of 11 military convicted in 2005 by the Army courts martial in connection with the torture and prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad during the occupation of Iraq. All while being witnessed by the CIA officers present.

This was under the command of a very close personal friend of President Bush and Colin Powell ---- She was the commanding officer of thel Iraq detention facilities, Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, was reprimanded for dereliction of duty and then demoted to the rank of Colonel on May 5, 2005 for a pending misdemeanor shoplifting charge filed years earlier.

Answer 2

The My Lai Massacre was a turning point for Americans, who had always viewed the military as operating on a higher plane than other countries. It was shocking to find out United States soldiers were just as capable as anyone else of engaging in atrocities.

Answer 3

The American public was shocked when the news of the My Lai Massacre made headlines in 1969. The slaughter of 500 or more innocent men women and children was something that people might have expected the Viet Cong would perform. The sad event happened in 1968 and there was no excuse for it. It became among most Americans a sad chapter in US history. For students of US history, however, horrible deeds were done to Native Americans in the 1870's on the US western frontiers.