My Lai Massacre (16 mars 1968 – 17 mars 1968)
Description:
“Now we have a problem in trying to make our power credible, and Vietnam looks like the place.” President John F Kennedy; June 1961On March 16, 1968, in the My Lai village, an ordered attack on innocent Vietnamese people occurred. This event is referred to as the My Lai Massacre. The person who ordered the burning and killing of the villagers was Lieutenant William L. Calley. Seymour Harsh was the journalist who reported and brought the massacre to the public. The attack happened because Calley wanted to express American dominance and because he found a few weapons in the search of the village.
American Escalation and Failure:
This massacre hurt America’s chance of winning the war because it diluted the reason that America was in Vietnam. Were the Americans in Vietnam to suppress communism, or were they there to exert dominance? As American citizens found out about the brutality, protests ensued and the support for America in Vietnam eroded away.
Ajouté au bande de temps:
Date:
16 mars 1968
17 mars 1968
~ 24 hours
