[U S Army EOD]

Medina was just as guilty as he was.

[Misterioso]

Oh Oh. I smell an MSNBC post. Must we foul the air here?

[dalereed]

what a mistake, he has nothing to apologize for!

[Judges Gone Wild]

I’ve never heard the whole story. Was the village harboring VC? I would hazard a guess that that would be the case.

[Chode]

why? whats the motive?? to cleanse his soul???

[FlingWingFlyer]

I guess he figured, everybody else is apologizing, he might as well do it too.

“Everybody wants to get into the act!” - Jimmy Durante

[lonster]

did the viet cong ever apologize for the hanoi hilton?? how about the tet offensive??

[robomatik]

i guess a lot of usaf and raf pilots and bombadeers have a lot to apologize for because of their bombing raids in WWII. /sarc>

[sionnsar]

Do you think Teddy the Fish will follow the example?

I am betting "no."

[normanpubbie]

I was stationed in Viet Nam at the time the My Lai story broke. There were daily articles about the investigation and hearings in the Stars and Stripes newspaper which was available daily where we were. Stars and Stripes is a private-sector publication and didn't censor the stories.

MSNBC's story was of course slanted (What else is new?). They left out the most important details. As I remember it, there were four hamlets which were collectively known as Pinkville because of the strong Viet Cong presence. Army troops had undergone heavy fire from these supposed peaceful villages. Calley, a 2nd Lieutenant in the infantry,was ordered by his commander, Capt. Ernest Medina, to basically kill everyone in Pinkville #4 village, and he directed his men to do so. This order apparently originated at the general officer level.

The "My Lai Massacre" did not become public knowledge until one Ron Ridenour, an enlisted man, wrote letters to a number of high-up government officials asserting that there had been a massacre. Ridenour also provided pictures.

In the subsequent investigation, Medina denied that he had given such an order until his request to leave the service was approved. He then immediately changed his story to say that he had given the order. Bastard! Of course, Medina wasn't punished, just Calley.

The military prosecutor in the case came up with a unique theory -- that military personnel did not have to obey an "illegal" order from their superiors. I don't know if this nonsense is still in effect in our military.

[LaybackLenny]

ping

[verity]

If you are trolling for miscreants, your effort has not been in vain. ;-)

[stylecouncilor]

ping

[B-Chan]

Wow! A person really can get away with murder!

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

Another interesting discussion:

My Lai Massacre convict Calley apologizes

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1290285

.

[beckett]

There’s some misinformation on this thread, and some knee-jerk Calley defenders just don’t seem to get it. Calley’s callow misapprehension of a leader’s role on the battlefield was inexcuseable. However, I have never believed he acted without the knowledge of Capt. Medina.

Calley was fighting in our name, and putting his own life at risk. For that he is to be commended, and granted some measure of mercy for his mistakes. But deadly mistakes they were.

His apology is welcome and, for my part, accepted. But that doesn’t wipe out the shame he brought upon his country.