Mai Lai Massacre
Brianna C.
On March 16, 1968, a U.S platoon under the command of Lieutenant William Calley, Jr., massacred innocent civilians in the small village of My Lai in South Vietnam. Calley was searching for Vietcong rebels. When he found no sign of the enemy, the troops he had rounded up the villagers and shot more then 200 innocent Vietnamese people. Mostly women, children, and elderly men. The troops said that they were not responsible for the shooting because they were only following Lieutenant Calley's orders. His orders were to "Kill anything that breathed." 25 army officers were charged with some responsibility for the killings, but Lieutenant William Calley was convicted and imprisoned.