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Chargement... My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness (Pivotal Moments in American History)par Howard Jones
History (9) Chargement...
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"In this raw, searing new narrative account, Howard Jones reopens the case of My Lai by examining individual accounts of both victims and soldiers through extensive archival and original research. Jones evokes the horror of the event itself, the attempt to suppress it, as well as the response to Calley's sentence and the seemingly unanswerable question of whether he had merely been following orders. My Lai also surveys how news of the slaughter intensified opposition to the Vietnam War by undermining any pretense of American moral superiority. Compelling, comprehensive, and sobering, Howard Jones' My Lai chronicles how the strategic failures and competing objectives of American leaders resulted in one of the most devastating tragedies of the Vietnam War"--
"During the summer of 1971, in the midst of protests and demonstrations in the United States against the Vietnam War, it became public for the first time that something horrific had happened in the remote South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai. Three years previously, in March 1968, a unit of American soldiers engaged in seemingly indiscriminate violence against unarmed civilians, killing over 500 people, including women and children. News filtered slowly through the system, but was initially suppressed, dismissed or downplayed by military authorities. By late 1969, however journalists had pursued the rumors, when New York Times reporter Seymour Hirsch published an exposé on the massacre, the story became a national outrage. Howard Jones places the events of My Lai and its aftermath in a wider historical context. As a result of the reporting of Hirsch and others, the U.S. army conducted a special inquiry, which charged Lieutenant William Calley and nearly 30 other officers with war crimes. A court martial followed, but after four months Calley alone was found guilty of premeditated murder. He served four and a half months in prison before President Nixon pardoned him and ordered his release. Jones' compelling narrative details the events in Vietnam, as well as the mixed public response to Calley's sentence and to his defense that he had merely been following orders. Jones shows how pivotal the My Lai massacre was in galvanizing opposition to the Vietnam War, playing a part nearly as significant as that of the Tet Offensive and the Cambodian bombing. For many, it undermined any pretense of American moral superiority, calling into question not only the conduct of the war but the justification for U.S. involvement. Jones also reveals how the effects of My Lai were felt within the American military itself, forcing authorities to focus on failures within the chain of command and to review training methods as well as to confront the issue of civilian casualties--what, in later years, came to be known as 'collateral damage.' A trenchant and sober reassessment, My Lai delves into questions raised by the massacre that have never been properly answered: questions about America's leaders in the field and in Washington; the seeming breakdown of the U.S. army in Vietnam; the cover-up and ultimate public exposure; and the trial itself, which drew comparisons to Nuremberg. Based on extensive archival research, this is the best account to date of one of the defining moments of the Vietnam War."-- Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)959.704History and Geography Asia Southeast Asia Vietnam 1949-Classification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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Having served in the Marines we were taught the standards of war and the rules of engagement. We had leadership that was experienced and committed to standards. The Vietnam War was different. Officer's were pulled from the ranks. The ranks were drafted into service. Those in Vietnam simply wanted to do their twelve months and get out alive. Most didn't rush in and volunteer to fight. Some did though and that combination between aggressive and those who just wanted to make it out alive created a dangerous situation. The aggressive leaders wanted a body high body count. Those wanting to live saw it advantageous to shoot first and ask questions later. It was difficult to tell friend from foe so viewing everyone as the enemy was a survival tactic. Soon any native was a "gook." One of my colleague's father was a helicopter door gunner in the war. He remembers asking his father how could you shoot people like that. His father said, "They weren't people."
There has always been a dehumanizing of the enemy. In World War I, it was the Huns. In World War II it was the Japs and later it was the Commies. Vietnam took it extremes. The hidden enemy was frustrating. Not being able to retaliate against an enemy killing your friends was a heavy burden on many fighting the war. There was a lashing out at what is to be known as My Lai massacre.
Unclear orders, incompetent leadership (Calley was called Lt Shithead by his company commander), built up aggression and contributed to the atrocity. Through the chain of command, it came down to the people remaining in the village were enemy combatants. At the end, 347 Vietnamese were dead this included old men, women, and children. There were no American deaths and three weapons were captured. Although, there was much firing and artillery fire it was coming from the American forces. My Lai was not armed. The 48th Battalion of the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) was reported to be in My Lai; they were not. Calley's Charlie Company was responsible for much of the massacre. What makes My Lai so horrible is more than the killing of civilians of all ages, is the rape at gunpoint that took place. This was not a military operation. This is something invading hoards did in the middle ages.
Howard goes into graphic detail of the search and destroy mission and the atrocities committed. He goes into the cover up, trial, and eventual freedom for Lt Calley. This book has to be one of the most disturbing books I have read and ranks with WWII atrocities by the Axis powers. The Abu Ghraib torture incident in Iraq caused quite a stir in 2003. This was a drop in a bucket compared to My Lai and the cover up. Howard does include those who refused orders to kill civilians and those who worked to stop the massacre. A frightful history and a very dark chapter in the history of the US military. ( )