In a rare, if ever, interview, former Army lieutenant William Calley, who was convicted on 22 counts of murder for the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, sort of apologized for the first time last week, at a Columbus, Georgia, Kiwanis Club where he was speaking.
“In March 1968, U.S. soldiers gunned down hundreds of civilians in the Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai. The Army at first denied, then downplayed the event, saying most of the dead were Vietcong. But in November 1969, journalist Seymour Hersh revealed what really happened and Calley was court-martialed and convicted of murder.
source: William Calley apologizes for My Lai massacre” — Columbus Ledger –Enquirer.
Photo taken by United States Army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle on March 16, 1968 in the aftermath of the My Lai massacre. Arguably Public Domain, see source
I was going to write about this, until the hurricane inspired surf screamed my name this past Friday. I’m home now, and though late I was going to make an attempt, but I it seems I always end up on that other road, you know, the one with no one on it.
A typical occurrence, when searching for information on troubling things, my searches often result in something more perturbing, and my focal point changes. While looking for photos of My Lai, the search brought me to the following photograph, via Radar Online.. I know it’s a rag, but it was one of the first sites appearing in my Google search for “My Lai”, and for that reason my attention diverted from the Calley apologizes BS, so bear with me .
Pulitzer Prize winning, Huỳnh Công Út photo of Kim Phuc (Napalm Girl)
A year or so ago Radar clipped something from an Andrew Sullivan post. It was a post noting that the photographer of the Pulitzer Prize awarded photograph (often called Napalm Girl, of a then 8 or 9 year old Kim Phuc), Nick Ut (Huỳnh Công Út), was now photographing Paris Hilton. Radar used the iconic photo, as had Andrew Sullivan. In their ignorance, and likely their readers ignorance, Radar titled the post My Lai Photog Still in the Trenches .
The My Lai Massacre occurred, of course, in March of 1968, Nick Ut’s photo was taken in June of 1972, after a South Vietnamese Napalm attack. With our ignorance growing by leaps and bounds, a dwindling knowledge of history, or it’s significance, a growing population of readers of Radar type sites, and that particular post coming up in Google on first search for “My Lai”, I thought it worth it to point this out.
As to why a photograph on an online culture, gossip rag, bothers me? Who can say. The fact it was one the first page in a search for My Lai makes it significant in my book. The photographs above may appear to be about they same thing, but it’s only ignorance that makes it so. They appear interchangeable because they depict the horror of war, unnecessary war, faulty philosophy and cracked policy. However, the My Lai photograph is about something more sinister, a deeper truth, the kind we like to ignore, discuss, divert, make excuses for, and disguise.
We need to know the difference, that there is a difference, between the scenario surrounding the Napalm Girl photograph, and that of the The My Lai Massacre, even if there is no difference apparent to some people, the people involved were different. They each deserve their own accounting — be it in history books or online gossip rags. Though motives were similar, the picture by Ut should be recognizable to every American past the age of high school as having taken place years after My Lai, as the South Vietnamese (with our blessings), Napalmed an area thought to be infested with Viet Cong. My Lai, we should know by heart. Yes, it might appear that only the severity, victims, and tactics changed, but it is important that we know them separately.
We shouldn’t mistake a picture of a Vietnamese girl in distress from Napalm burns in 1972 as part of a massacre almost 5 years earlier anymore than we’d confuse JFK’s assassination with that of his brother’s. These photos, or the places and times they occurred, should not be confused. They may appropriately be referenced on the same collage, but we must know the difference. It’s an injustice not to know.
If you don’t know about either of these situations, now might be the time to find out.
That’s it. A post from a diversion that occurred when, after reading about Calley’s apology, I decided to write about it, and a search for photos of My Lai brought me in a different direction.
Because of this diversion, I’m listing some links on My Lai Massacre posted both since or long before the recent “apology”.
Unabridged original dispatches by Seymour Hersh on the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam.
My Lai Massacre Leader Speaks
Vietnam Online/The American Experience/My Lai Massacre
My Lai Officer Apologizes For Massacre — NPR
Ex-Officer Apologizes for Killings at My Lai
Calley apologizes for role in My Lai massacre
THE MY LAI MASSACRE, Time archive 1969
The massacre is also known as the “Sơn Mỹ Massacre” or sometimes as the “Song My Massacre”. My Lai was one of four hamlets associated with the village of “Son My”. The U.S. military codeword for the hamlet was Pinkville. Pinkville is the name of a forthcoming Oliver Stone film about the My Lai Massacre.
Title from In These Times
I agree with you absolutely. It takes no effort to be ignorant and constant effort to remember the details. Laziness doesn’t count as a good intention. Thanks for the explanation.
Doug´s last blog ..The Reformation of Wolfshausen
Do I detect sarcasm?
“They each deserve their own accounting — be it in history books or online gossip rags.”
Somebody gets it. It figures it’d be you cooper. Thanks for taking the time to write this. I’ve spend a lot of time in Asia, some of it in Vietnam, the individuals are not interchageable.
I hope you had a great weekend in the hurricane surf.
Awesome weekend. Thanks joe.
I know you’re not here that often these days, in this country I mean.
I agree with all of you and love joeg’s comment about “somebody gets it. It figures it’d be you cooper.”
Though the My Lai incident should have ended the frigging war, people were still enthralled by Nixon and deeply distrusted and resented those against the war. It did make some in the media much more pro active and people who were working against the war work harder
There were many people who never believed it was Viet Cong that were killed and many people who believed that even if it were Viet Cong we were wrong. I can and will never make excuses for fighting against unjust wars
The photo of the girl was a catalyst that made many more of the “masses” against the war
Actually that history itself should be known, respected and taught in schools
pia´s last blog ..Climbing metaphorical mountains
That wold require decent school, and less TV time.
An undertone of the post is that America does make mistakes. This opinion piece by your ex-boyfriend transcends the differences between the left and right in America. Maybe that’s why it’s taken so long for Calley to sort of apologize for what he did. He’s a coward no doubt.
Chris´s last blog ..Time’s Greatest Electric Guitarists
Calley has been treated like a hero for far too many years. He’s much worse than a coward; he’s a mass murderer of the worst type. The Lockerbie bomber? He’s just a William Calley of a different nationality.
ex older stoned famous fake — boyfriend.
Anyhoo I stopped reading him long ago — that article is not the reason why, and does get him points — he needs quite a few more to get back on my fake, older, famous, boyfriend list.
Whatever, I remember you two being pretty hot and heavy
Chris´s last blog ..Why Is He On My Teevee??
That an iconic photo is mistaken for having been taken in My Lai, when as you said each incidenct should be remembered for what they are, not all bunched up as “The Vietnam War”, because in doing so it is (another) injustice to those who were murdered, maimed and burned, is not a surprise. It’s only going to get worse. Our generation is lacking in some basic knowledge and with it goes some basic decencies that come with knowing the past and learning from it.
jacob´s last blog ..Wyndham Championship.
That is how I see it.
When is the baby due? Soon right, like any minute or something?
It’s only right/decent to know of what we speak and write. A little thing, but speaks to human decency. With more and more people reading sites like that I don’t think there is much hope.
I have little to say on Calley, I’ve read things about him which make my skin crawl but I can’t verify the accuracy, nor have I ever been in his shoes. I’d like to think basic morality would ever prevent me from doing something like that.
john´s last blog ..World Cup Soccer – 27 Cities Left
It was best to leave that alone anyway, a blog post couldn’t do it justice.
I didn’t know about the photo, I’ve seen it and knew it wasn’t My Lai but not because I know the circumstance of My Lai — not in depth. If I had come across the photo and it was related to My Lai as it was in that article I’d assume a connection. So yea, you’re right on that one.
g´s last blog ..The argument begins.
At My Lai, no one who tried to run away survived long enough for the picture to be taken. Not exactly something like google would know. But Calley? Oh yeah… he knew. And when McVeigh was death penaltied into the grave, Calley was very thankful that he was a misunderstood mass murderer who was coddled due to the color of his uniform.
sauerkraut´s last blog ..Sadness
It’s not Google. it the site that comes p almost first first under a search for “My Lai photographs” that does the injustice by using a photograph clearly not from the My Lai massacre.
It’s like you said – two books in the same genre, but with different stories to tell. To say that once you’ve read, you’ve read them all is not giving each of the events the attention or diligence they’re due.
mojo shivers´s last blog ..When You’re Young You Find Inspiration, In Anyone Who’s Ever Gone, And Opened Up A Closing Door
Exactly MoJo, and it is the rampant lack of lack due diligence hat is killing us.