What caused the slaughter of civilians in My Lai by U.S. Troops in March 1968?
The My Lai Massacre happened on March 16th, 1968. On this sad day in history the United States Army 1st Battalion Charlie Company, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division led by Lieutenant William L. Calley walked into the hamlet of My Lai which was located in a small village of Son My and killed hundreds of innocent unarmed citizens of Vietnam. The My Lai massacre is considered by some to be one of the most brutal acts of violence during the Vietnam War. At least 5 five hundred men, women, and children were killed while eating breakfast and getting ready for Market Day. Some of the things that happened to the casualties of the village happened to women, children, and elderly women/men. Some soldiers recall “not seeing one man old enough to fight” on the day the massacre occurred. The younger and healthier men were off fighting in the war already. After a series of attacks, the American soldiers grew tired of seeing their own men die. The American soldiers were expecting to find the 48th Viet Cong Battalion but instead when they approached Son My, they saw a village of women, children, and males who were either not old enough to fight yet or were too old to fight in a war. Women suffered the most here as their bodies were dismembered, hands cut off, and private parts were mutilated and severely beaten.Innocent lives were just snatched away and within four to five hours the entire village of My Lai failed to exist anymore. There are roots to every problem. The first root of the problem for the My Lai massacre was the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive was a bunch of attacks on about 100 cities and neighborhoods across Vietnam. It is no coincidence the massacre at My Lai happened a few days after the Tet Offensive ended. These attacks led to many more deaths. From these attacks, American soldiers were being killed by booby traps. This particular company had lost a number of their men to injuries and deaths from these attacks. A sense of revenge for these lost American lives is a reason the slaughtering of so many people occurred. These men were hurting and wanted others to hurt and feel the feelings of frustration,