Vietnam massacre soldier 'sorry'

bbc ^

[Jonny foreigner]

The US army officer convicted for his part in the notorious My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War has offered his first public apology, a US report says.

"There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened," Lt William Calley was quoted as saying by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

He was addressing a small group at a community club in Columbus, Georgia.

Calley, 66, was convicted on 22 counts of murder for the 1968 massacre of 500 men, women and children in Vietnam.

Cold blood

"I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry," the former US platoon commander said on Wednesday. He was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killings in 1971. Then-US President Richard Nixon commuted his sentence to three years' house arrest.

But Calley insisted that he was only following orders, the paper reported.

He broke his silence after accepting a friend's invitation to speak at the weekly meeting of the Kiwanis Club, a US-based global voluntary organisation.

At the time of the killings, the US soldiers had been on a "search and destroy" mission to root out communist fighters in what was fertile Viet Cong territory.

Although the enemy was nowhere to be seen, the US soldiers of Charlie Company rounded up unarmed civilians and gunned them down.

When the story of My Lai was exposed, more than a year later, it tarnished the name of the US army and proved to be a turning point for public opinion about the Vietnam War.

[vladimir998]

I have problems with these Bill Clintonesque apologies:

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened,” Lt William Calley was quoted as saying...

For what happened. Not, “for what I DID.”

“I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed...”

Killed by what or whom? Could he even bring himself to say, “I killed them”?

[pabianice]

That’s FORMER-Lt William Calley. More SRM bilge.

[Jonny foreigner]

i agree. Also the good old “you know i did just follow orders” does not make his apologies more believable.
btw. three years’ house arrest for a convicted mass murder???

[AmericanInTokyo]

My thought on apologies are this.

If they are going to be issued, they should be clear-cut, specific, remorseful, with a clear subject and verb (as to what is being apologized about and who did the action). Outside of that, apologies should not be issued at all. Because missing those elements, they cease to become apologies.

The worst one have got to be: "it is regretable" (passive tense), and "I take full responsibility" (vague/what the HELL is THAT supposed to mean?!)

I see your point, v998.

[television is just wrong]

he was under orders from president Kennedy and Johnson dependng on the tme he served. DEMOCRAT presidents. Remember NIXON ENDED the war.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Also, apologies that ramble and then suddenly have a "but" thrown in, such as, justifying all that was said in the sentence before the "but" (such as, "I was only following orders", or, "everyone was doing that", or "you had to have been there", they completely cease being apologies and are better not issued in the first place. Apologies cannot have conditions tacked on that then negate them or allow the person to slip out of the responsibility or somehow justify it.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Calley was not “following orders”, but he was not properly trained or supervised and had given plenty of evidence that he was unsuitable for command prior to My Lai. The Army tried to sweep My Lai under the rug. There’s plenty of blame to go around. National command authority, i.e., President Johnson, ultimately used the Army badly and got bad results.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

“proved to be a turning point for public opinion about the Vietnam War.”

False.....Cronkite’s subversive post-TET 1968 lies were the “turning point”....this March 68 incident didn’t even hit the news until well into 1969 as Nixons withdrawal was beginning.....the lefties were on about “moratoriums” at the time, as I remember well.

[millerph]

I was in 7th grade when this hit the news. It came up in Civics class so the teacher assigned 2 debate teams. I headed the one in Calley’s favor and my team destroyed the other team in the debate. Only one person in the room was swayed by the other team and I never admitted it.

Just as in the class I can see how he got caught up in a frenzy and didn’t even think it was wrong at the time. I’m not saying it was ok, just understandable.

[Always Right]

The worst one have got to be: "it is regretable" (passive tense), and "I take full responsibility" (vague/what the HELL is THAT supposed to mean?!)

The one I hate the worst is the one that goes, 'I am sorry if I offended anyone'.....that has to be the lamest of the lame.

[STONEWALLS]

...Rusty Calley was origonally from Miami....after the trial and house arrest he stayed in Columbus,GA where Ft Benning is located....that’s the home of the US Army’s Infantry School....some say he stayed there because the Infantry community wouldn’t condemn him as harshly as the civilian world....they certainly wouldn’t condone the massacre, but they also knew that the Americal Division had a poor reputation for leadership in VietNam....and leadership is a command responsibilty.

......for a time Calley ran a jewelry store in Columbus...I haven’t thought about him in years...I’m glad the Rotary Club gave him a chance to speak...it was good for him and good for the country.

[SuperLuminal]

"False.....Cronkite’s subversive post-TET 1968 lies were the “turning point”....this March 68 incident didn’t even hit the news until well into 1969 as Nixons withdrawal was beginning.....the lefties were on about “moratoriums” at the time, as I remember well. "

Good catch!