Word: lai
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Though no other My Lai-scale massacre has yet been revealed, Americans have committed a disturbing number of atrocities in Viet Nam. Many offenders have been strictly prosecuted. In 1 Corps in 1968, for example, seven Marines summarily hanged a Viet Cong suspect and shot two others to death. At a court-martial, one defense lawyer argued that his client had gone through "hell" after seeing Marine bodies "burned and tortured, some with their testicles cut off." Nonetheless all seven Marines were convicted and imprisoned, one for life...
...Lai's Basic Issue...
...generals?say, William C. Westmoreland, U.S. commander in Viet Nam at the time of My Lai? Clearly, the Yamashita decision is part of U.S. law until the Supreme Court or Congress amends it. Unlike Yamashita, moreover, Westmoreland had superb communications with his troops. But even if he is prosecuted for My Lai, which seems totally unlikely, a modern court-martial would unquestionably require detailed proof that Westmoreland had had actual knowledge or reason to know that Calley-style acts were likely to occur, and that he had failed to take reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the laws...
...conduct of the whole war, of course, is a basic issue of My Lai, but the judicial process can scarcely cope with it. To be sure, further responsibility for the My Lai disaster should be established by trials of some of Calley's superiors. The big picture, though, may never be illuminated by a court. Military courts, for example, may not try men who have left the service or even compel their testimony to much avail. Also, it is impractical to ask a military jury of career officers to judge command practices in Viet Nam when their verdict could affect...
...American military, there is no easy exit from either the specific problems created by My Lai or the broader debate over how the war in Indochina has been conducted. The Calley verdict could create serious practical problems of command discipline. Already at Khe Sanh, there is a defiant sign: "A" TROOP, 15T OF THE 15T CAV, SALUTES LT. WILLIAM CALLEY. Many of the enlisted infantrymen in Viet Nam agree. Says one, a member of Calley's old Americal Division: "The people back in the world don't understand this war. We were sent here to kill dinks. How can they...