Estimates of Communist dead ran as high as 80, There is no doubt that the events of on the battlefield and in world capitals were critical in driving the Vietnam War to its complex and unfulfilling conclusion. The end of the war left the American consensus in tatters and sparked and endless string of controversies over the soul of the war that rages to this very day.
In all of the raucous debate, the humanity of war often slips between the historical cracks. For every arrow drawn on a field map, young Americans and Vietnamese were left to pay the price.
To best understand the true gut-level nature of conflict, the mosaic that was the Vietnam War needs to be viewed more closely, teasing out the individual stories that shine like shards of glass. Charlie Company in the U. Here is one of their stories. His father worked as a swamp logger, while his mom did her best to help out by working as a seamstress and a hairdresser.
Life for a young African-American lad in the segregated South during the height of the civil rights movement was difficult.
As a teen, Willie was falsely accused of making harassing phone calls to the wife of the local sheriff, who was white.
A mob of Ku Klux Klansmen arrived to take justice into their own hands. After that horrible night, Willie was not sure whether he could ever trust white people again. Determined to better himself and to depart the South, Willie did well in school and then took college classes part time in Las Vegas while working multiple jobs to pay his mounting bills.
Ronald P. Schworer was from Lancaster, Calif. In part to shield himself from the tumultuous relationship of his parents, he threw himself into his schoolwork and quickly became known for his academic prowess.
By the time he was in high school, he won the California High School Math League Championship two consecutive years and achieved a perfect score on the mathematics section of the SAT. With a boundless future, he graduated early and took a job at the Nevada Test Site, home of much of the U. He really wanted to work with computers. In he quit his job and formed a startup with a friend called Comptex, designed to write software to bring computers into the mainstream for business and personal uses.
Willie McTear — big with a body honed by the hard work of the rural South; mistrustful of whites and determined to blaze his own trail. Ron Schworer — white, middle class, his nose squarely in a computer book. There hardly could have been two more different young men in But they were both in Las Vegas, and they were both swept up in the massive draft call of the spring of that year.
Uncle Sam had decided to reactivate the 9th Infantry Division from scratch, filling it with draftees. It was needed for the coming push of Fast friends McTear could hardly get comfortable in the airplane seat for the flight that would take him to Fort Riley, Kan.
McTear started the conversation. After all, he was about to be in his first fully integrated social setting at Fort Riley, so he figured that he had better start getting used to it all by talking to the white guy who was going to be his seatmate for the next few hours.
However, Major General Joster, the commander of the Americal Division, radios that no further examination is necessary and countermands the order. Moving south along the Song Tra Khuc River, Charlie Company continues its destructive path, burning buildings and mistreating Vietnamese civilians. Lieutenant Calley orders his men to press on, despite a threat of land mines. After the meeting, Thompson is described as being furious at Henderson's lack of concern, and throws his pilot's wings to the ground.
During the meeting, Henderson is instructed to conduct an investigation into the events that occurred on the 16th. However, this investigation proves to contain little else than the interview with Thompson, a brief conversation with Captain Medina, and a fly-over of the My Lai village area.
Henderson's investigation report, submitted on April 24, states that 20 civilians had been killed and Thompson's allegations are false. The operation at My Lai is finally over. Within hours of arriving at landing zone Dottie, Henderson briefly interrogates Captain Medina, who in turn instructs his troops to stay silent about the mission. In an official report regarding the My Lai operation, Lieutenant Colonel Barker concludes the assault was successful: "This operation was well planned, well executed, and successful.
Friendly casualties were light and the enemy suffered heavily. April 11, Echoing the report from March 28, the chief of Son My submits a report to Vietcong officials, alleging that on March 16 a U.
Ridenhour, who had trained with Charlie Company in Hawaii and went on to serve as a door gunner for another company, is told by Gruver that civilians had been shot and killed.
This piques Ridenhour's curiosity and he begins an informal investigation. April 24, Colonel Henderson's investigation into Warrant Officer Thompson's allegations is officially closed. The report concludes that 20 civilians had been killed accidentally.
Finding that report inadequate, Major Koster then instructs Colonel Henderson to conduct a formal inquiry. However, Lieutenant Colonel Barker carries through the investigation, despite his own task force being the subject of the investigation. After the chief's report becomes public knowledge, local Vietcong unite in Quang Ngai and distribute leaflets about the incident. American commanders dismiss these leaflets as "propaganda. Thompson is shot down five times, the last occurring during a mission from Da Nang to an airbase at Chu Lai, which breaks his back.
Many members of Charlie Company have a similar experience, isolated in the mountains surrounded by enemy snipers for over 50 days following the massacre. June With a growing interest in what occurred at My Lai, Ridenhour seeks out Sergeant Larry LaCroix at Chu Lai, who specifically mentions Lieutenant Calley's involvement in firing upon a group of civilians with a machine gun.
Although Ridenhour is discharged soon after this interview and returns to his home in Phoenix, he continues gathering information about the events of March He writes a letter presenting the evidence of a massacre at My Lai.
April 2, Ridenhour sends his letter to 30 prominent men in Washington, D. Mo Udall's office is the first to respond directly to Ridenhour, calling for an official investigation. April 12, Highly decorated veteran Colonel Howard Whitaker receives orders to investigate Ridenhour's allegations and flies to Chu Lai, Vietnam to begin the process. Whitaker reports almost immediately to Washington that the men of Charlie Company mentioned by Ridenhour should be interviewed.
April 29, After questioning Ridenhour in Phoenix, Army veteran Colonel William Wilson begins to interview members of Charlie Company in an attempt to determine whether the events at My Lai merited a criminal investigation. In his testimony, Sergeant LaCroix admits that there had been "unnecessary" civilian casualties and mentions that Warrant Officer Thompson had filed a complaint following the operation.
Mid-May Colonel Wilson interviews Captain Medina, who reveals that Henderson had been directed to conduct an investigation. This is a red flag to Wilson, and when he interviews Henderson on the 26th he initially claims that his informal investigation revealed nothing alarming. Later in the interview, however, Henderson claims that he made both a formal and an informal investigation, the former conducted by Colonel Barker.
However, due to Barker's death and the disorganization in the Chu Lai headquarters, no report is located. June 5, Lieutenant Calley is identified as a suspect in an official inquiry and recalled to the U. June 13, Warrant Officer Thompson is asked to identify the officer he argued with when he landed his plane at My Lai, and Thompson picks Lieutenant Calley out of a lineup.
July 17, Wilson interviews Private Meadlo, who is the first to personally confess his guilt. With Meadlo's confession, Colonel Wilson presents the findings of his investigation to the Office of the Inspector General in Washington. August 4, The investigation is turned over to the Criminal Investigation Division CID after it is determined that a full criminal investigation is necessary. August 25, Detective Feher interviews former Army photographer Sergeant Haeberle, who shows Feher a collection of personal photographs he had taken at My Lai.
These pictures are the first hard evidence regarding the alleged massacre. September 5, The day before his scheduled discharge from the Army, Lieutenant Calley is charged with six counts of premeditated murder. The public information office issues a press release stating Calley was being retained because of an ongoing investigation. NBC Correspondent Robert Goralski states during an evening broadcast five days later that Lieutenant Calley "has been accused of premeditated murder of a number of South Vietnamese civilians.
The murders are alleged to have been committed a year ago and the investigation is continuing. Hersh's story is the first to explicitly alert the American press to an investigation, and within days the reporters from the New York Times , Newsweek magazine and ABC descend upon Son My village where some My Lai survivors remain.
November 17, The New York Times runs a story that quotes survivors of the My Lai massacre, who claim over Vietnamese men, women and children were killed by American soldiers. November 26, The General of the U. Army, W. Westmoreland, issues a directive for an investigation into the My Lai incident, and appoints Lieutenant General William R. Peers to lead the inquiry. Peers, a well-respected core commander in Vietnam, is ordered to examine the adequacy of inquiries into the My Lai massacre.
This inquiry is intended to focus on a possible military cover up, whereas Detective Feher and the CID are charged with examining potential war crimes during the operation itself. In a hearing before the armed services committee of the House and Senate, Secretary of the Army, Stanley Resor, testifies. He presents what was incontrovertibly known about the My Lai massacre and announces the appointment of Lieutenant General Peers to lead the inquiry. Resor also presents Photographer Sergeant Ron Haeberle's photos from that day.
Early December Lieutenant General Peers' inquiry team grows exponentially, and the number of officers under investigation increases to The Wall Street Journal publishes an informal poll that claims most Americans don't believe the claims that a massacre took place in My Lai. December 2, The Peers inquiry identifies 10 possible suspects for the My Lai killings and begins taking testimony from witnesses. December 5, Sergeant Haeberle's photos are published and exacerbate the already-strong public outcry over the My Lai massacre.
The horrific images immediately cause a country-wide uproar. December 8, President Nixon speaks for the first time about the My Lai investigation, acknowledging that it appears a massacre took place, but stating his confidence that it was an isolated incident. The census concludes that Charlie Company killed Vietnamese men, women and children.
December 24, The Peers Inquiry has gathered testimony from 39 witnesses. General Peers travels to Vietnam to locate copies of Lieutenant Colonel Barker's formal investigation that both Colonel Henderson and Major General Koster insisted existed, but finds no evidence of a report existing. During his two weeks in Vietnam, Peers also conducts more interviews and takes a reconnaissance flight over the My Lai villages.
January 8, Returning from Vietnam, Peers expands his team to accommodate multiple simultaneous interviews. The inquiry report deadline is set for March 14th. March 7, The Peers Inquiry finishes their th interview to complete taking the testimony. Three days later Captain Medina is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and premeditated murder of over civilians. The Panel names 30 people who had suppressed evidence about the killing of civilians during the My Lai operation.
Because of a two-year statute of limitations on military offenses, the army has only two days to press charges. The Viet Minh was led primarily by the communists; the Viet Minh was also a national front that was open to people from all kinds of political backgrounds or persuasions. Their main goal was to liberate Vietnam from French rule. When North Vietnam won the war of independence against the French in , most of the Viet Minh became part of the Vietnamese Communists party.
The name group was the Viet Cong. The formation of the Viet Cong group of fighters started in the late s but really took hold in the s. Most of the Viet Cong were recruited in the South, but they received weapons, guidance, reinforcement, and support from the North Vietnamese Army. This shows the total support that the North Vietnamese army had for the Viet Cong.
The Viet Cong were really a guerilla force as their war methods were ambush, terrorism, and sabotage. They used small units first to get a foothold in the countryside. There are 26 codewords assigned to each letter of the alphabet.
This helped ensure that letters or words that may be similar would be clear when spelled out with references to the letter used. For example, if someone were on the radio and wanted to make sure someone on the other end heard the name Viet Cong correctly, they would spell it out like this. When you see how long it would take to spell even the name Viet Cong, you can see why the U.
0コメント