Sept. 5, 1969: Murder charges in My Lai massacre

[Mister D]

Several soldiers with direct knowledge of what happened at My Lai wrote letters detailing what they knew to Army and Defense Department officials, as well as to members of Congress; it was largely as the result of their efforts that the story eventually came out. Do you believe they should have been punished for doing so?

I'm saying those letters should have been censored and if they passed the censors or were written from home they should have been tossed in the garbage by "Army and Defense Department officials". Those soldiers should never have had the confidence to write those letters. Our policy in Vietnam with regard to information was inept and ultimately destructive of the war effort.

[Mister D]

Calley was the only one who went to prison. Sentenced to life. Did 3.5 years.

In relative comfort too.

[Private Pickle]

In relative comfort too.

But he is real sorry...

[Private Pickle]

I'm saying those letters should have been censored and if they passed the censors or were written from home they should have been tossed in the garbage by "Army and Defense Department officials". Those soldiers should never have had the confidence to write those letters. Our policy in Vietnam with regard to information was inept and ultimately destructive of the war effort.

They were obligated to report it.

[Standing Wolf]

I'm saying those letters should have been censored and if they passed the censors or were written from home they should have been tossed in the garbage by "Army and Defense Department officials". Those soldiers should never have had the confidence to write those letters. Our policy in Vietnam with regard to information was inept and ultimately destructive of the war effort.

How heinous does an act or policy have to be before the need for justice overcomes, in your mind, concerns about "the war effort"? Yes, revelations concerning the massacre negatively affected how the public viewed the war, both in the U.S. and abroad, but is lying to the American public the best long term solution to maintaining good and responsible governance? The entire Vietnam war was conducted on a series of lies and misrepresentations; if the truth about the My Lai massacre served to end it sooner, so much the better.

[Mister D]

They were obligated to report it.

To who? Their direct superior?

[Peter1469]

Were U.S. troops involved in something on the scale of My Lai today, the political climate being what it is, I have to think there would be many more apologists for what was done, urging the authorities and the public to show appreciation for the "stresses of combat", etc. and condemning those who came forward to report what really happened as "leakers" or worse.

In the case of My Lai, it took more than eighteen months for the true story to reach the American public. Army authorities had reports of the massacre even as it was happening, and yet the official reports continued to maintain that "128 Viet Cong" had been killed in a "firefight" and celebrated the incident as a great military victory. Had it not been for "leakers" writing letters outside military channels and the intervention of members of Congress, including Mo Udall and Senator Barry Goldwater, the Army might still be telling the "firefight" story.

If something like that happened today all involved would be court-martialed.

[Private Pickle]

To who? Their direct superior?

To whomever they could until they saw action.

[Mister D]

How heinous does an act or policy have to be before the need for justice overcomes, in your mind, concerns about "the war effort"? Yes, revelations concerning the massacre negatively affected how the public viewed the war, both in the U.S. and abroad, but is lying to the American public the best long term solution to maintaining good and responsible governance? The entire Vietnam war was conducted on a series of lies and misrepresentations; if the truth about the My Lai massacre served to end it sooner, so much the better.

Pretty heinous, actually. What happened at My Lai pales in comparison, at least in terms of magnitude, to a number of actions taken in WW2 particularly with regard to strategic bombing, for example. Is it lying to keep an atrocity under wraps? What good could come from revealing it? In any case, I understand your perspective and I'm not even saying it's wrong per se. It's just a counter-productive and foolish policy for any government to have in wartime. Censorship was routine in past conflicts. The same policies should have applied in Vietnam. They didn't and we lost. I suspect the two are not coincidental.

[Mister D]

To whomever they could until they saw action.

Sorry, I thought you meant they were actually obligated. Never mind.