William Calley, the former Army lieutenant who led the infamous My Lai massacre in Vietnam, has passed away at the age of 78. Calley’s name will forever be associated with one of the darkest chapters in American military history, where he and his platoon slaughtered over 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women, children, and elderly men, on March 16, 1968.
Calley was born in Miami, Florida in 1943, and joined the Army in 1964. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1967, where he was assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment of the 11th Brigade, Americal Division.
The My Lai massacre took place in the Quang Ngai province of South Vietnam, during a military operation to root out Viet Cong insurgents. Calley and his men had been briefed to expect a heavily fortified enemy stronghold, but upon landing in My Lai village, they found only unarmed civilians. Despite the absence of enemy combatants, Calley ordered his men to round up the villagers and shoot them.
The massacre went unnoticed for over a year until investigative journalist Seymour Hersh broke the story in November 1969. The public outcry was immediate, and Calley was court-martialed in November 1970 for his role in the massacre. He was found guilty of killing 22 civilians and sentenced to life in prison.
However, Calley’s sentence was controversially reduced by President Richard Nixon to 20 years, and then further reduced to 10 years by the Court of Military Appeals. Calley was released on parole in 1974 after serving just three and a half years in prison.
Calley lived the rest of his life in relative obscurity, working various odd jobs and avoiding the public eye. He never issued a formal apology for his actions at My Lai, and his legacy will forever be tainted by the atrocities he committed.
In the years following the massacre, Calley maintained that he had been following orders and was simply carrying out his duty as a soldier. However, the My Lai massacre remains a stark reminder of the horrors of war and the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by those who are tasked with carrying out orders that go against their conscience.
With Calley’s passing, the wounds of My Lai are reopened, and the debate over his guilt and responsibility will undoubtedly continue for years to come. His death serves as a grim reminder of the atrocities committed in the name of war, and the long-lasting impact they can have on both the perpetrators and the victims.
