Word: lai
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WHEN Lieut. William Calley took the stand last week for 2½ days in his own defense, the incredible brutality of U.S. troops at My Lai began to seem understandable-at least by the terrible logic of combat in Viet Nam. Calley's testimony was one of the more painful commentaries...
...attacks on "Pinkville" came on the heels of the massive Tet offensive, and U.S. troops were undoubtedly, as Calley said of himself, feeling "hyper." A few weeks before My Lai, Calley's radio operator was killed walking behind him in the first Pinkville assault. "The bullet just took his entire kidney out," Calley testified, "so he died within a matter of minutes...
Calley's defense rests in part upon the argument that he was obeying orders when he killed villagers at My Lai. Said he: "For refusing an order in the face of the enemy, you could be sent to death." Calley testified that he was never instructed that he had the choice of refusing an order that he considered illegal. Indeed, since My Lai, the Army has added more explicit training on the rules...
Before the My Lai attack, Calley received two briefings from his company commander, Captain Ernest Medina. According to Calley, Medina repeatedly emphasized that "we would have to neutralize My Lai completely, not let anyone get behind us. He said it was completely essential that we not lose our momentum of attack." According to Calley, Medina suggested that the troops would not encounter any civilians, that psychological-warfare units had warned civilians to clear the area, and that "anyone there would be considered enemies." Said Calley: "I believe somebody asked if that meant women and children. He said that meant everything...
...witnesses covered the whole stretch of time from 1964 to the present," Sachs said. "What happened at My Lai was really mild compared to most of the testimony at the hearings...