My Lai

Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness

On the early morning of March 16, 1968, American soldiers from three platoons of Charlie Company entered a group of hamlets located in the Son Tinh district of South Vietnam, located near the Demilitarized Zone and known as "Pinkville" because of the high level of Vietcong infiltration. The soldiers, many still teenagers who had been in the country for three months, were on a "search and destroy" mission. Three hours after the GIs entered the hamlets, more than 500 unarmed villagers lay dead, killed in cold blood. The atrocity took its name from one of the hamlets, known by the Americans as My Lai Four.

Military authorities attempted to suppress the news of My Lai until some who had been there, in particular a helicopter pilot named Hugh Thompson and a door gunner named Lawrence Colburn, spoke up about what they had seen. The official line was that the villagers had been killed by artillery and gunship fire rather than by small arms. That line soon began to fray. Lieutenant William Calley, one of the platoon leaders, admitted to shooting the villagers but insisted that he had acted upon orders. An exposé of the massacre and cover-up by journalist Seymour Hersh incited international outrage, and Congressional and US Army inquiries began.

©2017 Howard Jones (P)2017 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Jones succeeds on all counts in a book that, due to its subject matter, is not pleasant to read but is powerful and important." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Outstanding audiobook

An outstanding retelling & analysis of the My Lai incident that also includes discussion of how it came to happen and its cover-up aftermath. Now that nearly 50 years have passed it is proper subject for a historian. I remember when it happened myself or rather when it was publicly exposed a year later ... When I myself was within a year or two of draft eligibility. In that time we understood it was an atrocity & that "someone ought to pay." But at that time I was sympathetic with the common view that Calley & Medina were scapegoats. I am less sure of that now. They both (& others) should have served long jail terms. And their superiors made to pay more than just discharge from the service. The ultra patriot class of that day - they should be ashamed of defending a unit that massacred over 500 civilians in cold blood. This was emphatically not the common experience of the 2-3 million American soldiers who served in Vietnam. Their service, including the 50,000 who died, should be honored without tainting it with the guilt of political leaders who put us there. But those who commit big or little atrocities surely should not be celebrated or apologized for by our society. Powerful & compelling writing & narration.

Riveting, Nauseating. Do not listen if

Do not listen if you have utopian expectations of American soldiers or the people who send them to war. The war was unwinnable from the start. Every politician and officer who sent people into this war is as guilty as Calley up to and including Kennedy , Johnson, Nixon . Ford should not have pardoned Nixon. Scary.

very good book

I only did 4 because the narrator, while good, was pretty monotone. Also it sounded as if a bunch of material was just repeated from others books. It was intriguing and interesting. Well done

a must read

e,Clement book for those that want to understand an atrocity commuted during most of our life times.

My Lai: Vietnam, 1968

Very comprehensive, from the psychology, to the actions, the attempted coverup, the trials, and a final reflection. This was difficult to listen to, but I felt it was necessary to do so.