Thursday, April 4, 2013
My Lai Massacre - 45 years later
It is important to not allow history to repeat itself in so many cases - especially those related to war atrocities. Many students today have never heard of the My Lai massacre that took place in Viet Nam over a period of about four hours. Those four hours would forever change the lives of some American soldiers, Vietnamese families, and the American populace. Read the article written by Nick Turse, a journalist and historian. Then write your "emotional" response to the article. How did this article affect you? How can we avoid such atrocities in the future?
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I was very disturbed by this article. Nick Turse went into some detail, but not much thankfully. It was enough to picture what happened though. It disturbs me that this was kept a secret for all these decades. This is something that is very necessary to know. Obviously we were going to find out eventually because some of these people survived. That our own troops slaughtered 500 of these innocent people. It was mentioned that a baby was beaten with the rifle butt. That to me is more disturbing than ever. Why do these people, especially innocent children and infants, deserve to die like this? Many of the survivors were taken in as orphans,they had lost all of their family to the massacre. Children being raped is another thing. This is not the way our soldiers should act. This isn't what war is about, Americans shouldn't be like that. I know that there are some sick people in America, but I never even considered them to be soldiers. We always look at soldiers as good people, we never consider them doing acts like this. This changes my view on the soldiers now. Now all of the other countries look at us as a terrible country for doing this. I hope that soldiers are kept a closer eye on now that some of us have heard about this. I think that before a person becomes a soldier, they need to undergo a series of tests and their background needs to be looked at more in depth. Soldiers need to be trustworthy people. If someone is a former criminal or murderer, they shouldn't be allowed to become a soldier. I have heard of the war scarring some people and messing with their heads, but I don't think this had anything to do with that. These people aren't soldiers, they are murderers.
ReplyDeleteLeah, I really give you credit for speaking your mind. You didn't hold back and that is what the blog was all about this week. I really liked your statement about how this isn't how soliders should act. Soliders are supposed to be role models, people who are respected. These soliders in Vietnam didn't fit that role because they went around raping people. That is not okay in any circumstance. I also really liked what you said about soldiers getting backround checks. If these soliders would have been checked, then maybe they could have went into the war with a healthier mind set. I really liked what you had to say and you stood up for what you believe in. Great Job!
DeleteLeah, I agree with your opinion, and it seems the rest of our also does from scanning the screen of blogs. You're right; what those soldiers did was wrong, and it was wrong of our to cover it up. Those men volunteered to defend our country and the rights of all people in general, so it just makes me wonder how those men reacted to such a horrid order. An order or not, those men knew in their hearts that what they were doing was wrong.
DeleteI have never truly known about all of the atrocities that take place in foreign countries during war, whether they are beneficial to our country or not. I have never known all of the different types of warfare that is used, all of the types of people that are involved in the war, or any other aspects. However, after reading about the war taking a turn to the town of My Lai, I feel that the actions that took place were not necessary or legal at all. While reading, I felt that I had to deny that these men who were performing these harmful actions were truly Americans; it seemed like the story could not be true. There are so many rights that had to have been broken and acts of valor and justice that seems like they had been overlooked. When I think about the civilians who are forced to live in the areas that have been the homes of war, I think of how bad and nervous they must feel at all times. Over in America, we all speak about how bad we feel for the soldiers who are over fighting, but we do not really know what they are going through. We never really have to live with the fear of being bombed at any times during the day. These people have to plan their whole lives around the war that they probably want nothing to do with but have to be involved in since the war is being fought on their soil. The Americans had no right to perform these types of actions against the innocent civilians of South Korea. There were probably orders from American commanders to perform some of these actions with intentions to save themselves, but it is not necessary when there could simply be an infiltration of any supplies that the civilians might be hiding. It is hard to be a critic since I am not sure what the American marines were thinking or planning on doing with this type of action. I cannot fathom the possibility of killing so many babies and innocent children with bullets or the ends of rifles. The ways of being killed were also not necessary by all of the means the marines took. There could possibly be legit reasons behind the attacks and vulgar actions of the marines in order to protect the country or solve different problems. Without knowing the facts behind the attacks, all I can think of is how bad the attacks sound to the public of South Korea. It sounds too horrible to even consider happening. When I think about all of the wars we are having now, I am curious to see what could be uncovered about the wars 45 years from now that I would have lived through. I think more of America should be educated about this problem because then more of the marines will watch their actions and what happens. More information and knowledge on a topic will always help with understanding and prevention.
ReplyDeleteCarli, I agree with your blog 100%. You really thought about what you wanted to say and I really give you credit. You started off with a great statement about the different types of warfare. I think that the normal citizen has no idea about how many different methods there are to fight a war. The point that I liked the most in the blog was that the crinimals in this case were American. Americans are usually thought of as the good guys, but this massacre took me by surprise. Americans aren't supposed to me violent and malicious. They took advandage of these innocent people and that isn't ok. I really like that you spoke your mind this week Carli!
DeleteCarli, i can agree on most of the parts in your blog this week. I also have never fully understood what goes on in war. sometimes I feel that we may not even need to be in some of the battles that we are involved with.I also feel that there are so many things that we don't even know about. This tragic story that we read about this week was one of those times. In our history classes we learn so much just about what horrible things that other countries did but we never hear about the things that all americans soldiers did. I know that this was not the first time that americans did something this major and swept it under the rug so no one would find out. We all think that all the soldiers that go over seas are so great but, in reality some of them aren't and this is one of those cases. the action that were preformed on the innocent people was not called for. I agree with what you said about how it is hard to judge because you don't know what the americans over there were going through. I feel like you brought up some good points in this weeks blog!
DeleteOnce I started to read the article, I started to feel sick. I began to get more disgusted as the article went on. I was in complete shock when I found out that American soldiers had done this to innocent people in Vietnam. These victims were exposed to rape, death, and burned houses. When I think of the American solider, I think of the one of the bravest individuals. One who will fight for what is right, for what they believe in. When the My Lai massacre took place, the soldiers at that time were not nice; they were violent and took advantage of fallen civilians. Women were raped and left on the streets to die. Children were beaten to death while a family member was held down to watch them suffer. This is not how a human should be treated. It doesn’t matter the race, class, or gender; humans should be treated with respect and not destroyed. It made me think about my family and how awful it would be if I was put in this situation. Foreign soliders storming onto my property to kill my family is a very scary thought. If any country in the world did this to America, they can expect that we are going to find them. Yet, when Americans were the criminals, hardly anybody knows what happened. My stomach dropped when I was reading all the different interviews that the author had conducted. The victims told stories of the scenes that they had seen with their own eyes and how it will haunt them forever. I think that this article comes as a surprise to everyone because it isn’t expected from Americans to do such actions. They are supposed to be the prime example of how to fight a war. Another piece of information that stuck out to me was that this wasn’t our war to fight. We didn’t start the Vietnam War and were only there to help out our Allies. In that case, we should have just done what we had to do and leave. However, I do think that one point needs to be made. It is very emotional when fighting in the war, something that most Americans will never experience. The mind set would be extremely hard to deal with and the soldiers may have felt like they were left with no choice. I don’t want people to think that I am for this kind of action. This massacre should never be tolerated no matter what the mind set. I am very much against it, but I don’t think that we can quite understand that really happened. I think that soldiers should have to go through some type of testing that can show that they are stable enough to fight in the war and handle all that they see. This could help to prevent anything like this to happen again. I really want people to know that I do not support this type of action what so ever. Just because I think that some people could have been a little sick in the head doesn’t mean that what they did was right. Whenever innocent lives are taken over a situation that could be prevented it is not something that should be tolerated. I believe that everyone is created equal and should be treated that way.
ReplyDeleteCamille, I can see why you felt the way you did when you started to read the article. I feel like this is how a lot of people felt when they started to read it. It was a horrible thing to read. No one, no matter who they are, should ever have to go through something like that. The things that happened there were hard to even read. I don't know how someone could ever bet up a child and let then die. Soldiers are supposed to be people that our country realize on but in this case they just let us down. they let us down by doing this to all these innocent people and then hiding it so people would not find out about it. You made some good points in your blog this week good job!
DeleteCamille this article made me sick as well. These disturbing facts revealed the brutality of war. Those civilians did NOT deserve to be victims of an attack. In my mind war is horrible to begin with, it sometimes is necessary to keep a country safe. BUT there is no excuse to attack civilians, and in such a brutal and abusive way. Rape and torture disgusts me and to hear that it was caused by our American soldiers is disturbing in every way possible. War is soldiers vs soldiers, not soldiers who overpower and take advantage civilians. I feel emotionally distraught about the actions of these soldiers. What happened to equality, life, and liberty?
DeleteMy first thought when i read this was I as just in shock that this happened and I have never heard about it before. I don't get how something this bog can just be pushed aside and forgotten about. How people can be so curl to other people. The acts that the soldiers did on the people and how they just left them there to die was awful. The awful things that were done to the woman and the little girls. The worst part is these people did nothing to deserve something like this. No one deserves to be treated like this. The story that is told about the girl seeing a ladies leg bent in a unnatural shape must of been horrifying to watch. Just seeing the guy on the Louisville break this leg the other day was worse enough. just imagine the sites that some of these people had to see. Some of them even had to witness it happening to their own children and family members. All of the people that made it through these 5 days were haunted by these images for a long time and some even for the rest of their lives. Seeing something like this happen would really mess a person up. I know that our soldiers are supposed to be good and protect our country but sometimes i feel like they just make situations worse. Some of the actions they take just make things worse for our country and others. This was one of those times. I feel like there are so many more things along these lines that happen during warfare but our country hides them because they want us to see our soldiers as the good guys when really some of them are the bad guys. While we all make great memories during our life these few people that are still left are gonna have that one horrible memory with them for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteHayley I agree that those poor people should not have had to experience what happened to them by American soldiers. In my eyes soldiers are suppose to protect people from such violence, not by creating it somewhere else. I can not even imagine the fear those victims had and most likely still have today. When someone thinks of America they should think of freedom, liberty, and independence. Instead these people view Americans as dangerous, vile, killers, abusive, and horrible people overall. This article disturbed me immensely, and also made me wonder what really goes on during war: is it true fighting or is it worse?
DeleteI might not have seen the My Lai massacre as a disturbing image personally, but I think that it was still an atrocious event. Thinking that people could be as inhuman as they were in this massacre is hard to grasp. With the broken leg, unless bone was sticking out I doubt I would really be disturbed by it. I do like what you said about American soldiers making things worse. Mainly due to this being the view many other countries have about America.
DeleteThis article is extremely disturbing. The My Lai massacre is horrible result of war and the actions of American soldiers. Just hearing about what those victims had to go through makes me sick and disturbed. No one deserves to be abused. Those poor civilians in the My Lai massacre will be forever scarred by the actions if US soldiers. These poor people were gang raped, and were tortured. These soldiers were forced to watch their families and friends be tortured in a variety of brutal ways. The story that most disturbed me one was about the baby. This baby was killed by a soldier smashing the butt of his gun against this innocent child, and the soldier counted as he struck. There is no reason for this. After reading about the death of this innocent baby I had to stop reading for awhile. What was even worse the baby's mother was forced to watch. As a future mother I can not even imagine how upset and scarred this poor mother is to watch her newborn child die.
ReplyDeleteThese American soldiers were brutal and (in my opinion) have dishonored their country. America is suppose to be known for freedom, liberty, life, and the place where one can be safe. These poor victims view Americans as brutes, dangerous, and horrible people. It is extremely sad what those people had to go through and the memories that they have to live with for the rest of their lives. I can only hope that in today's world that soldiers are not like these soldiers, and if they are they are kicked out of the military immediately. Soldiers are suppose to protect people, not abuse people. I believe that with the proper training and a good leader soldiers will not cause such a massacre again. Why can't we somehow create world peace?
Although I was not disturbed by the article, I agree with saying that the events had to be mentally scarring for everyone involved. Even the soldiers might have suffered some mental damage after the events took place. I also like the words you used to describe the people. I could sum it up by saying they were atrocious. Today these events might not happen since there are universal laws against them. These laws stopped usage of mustard gas and murder of civilians. These crimes against humanity will unfortunately continue until the end of humanity.
DeleteMarla, I felt the same way when I read this article. I could not believe that American soldiers could cause this much pain. When we think of things like this happening, we dont ever think its American people, we always blame others. maybe thats why we dont learn a lot about the My Lai crisis in school. great job.
DeleteWhen I read about the My Lai massacre, I was not fazed at all really. I do not know if its just that I'm desensitized to anything of this nature, or if I am just cold. Considering I have watched aliens pop out of people's guts, intestines be slowly pulled out and wrapped around a pole, clowns eat children, and people's faces split in half as a result of sudden mutation, with all of this and many other gruesome images embedded in the culture today; I will assume my lack of emotion is me being desensitized. Although the concept of Americans raping in war caught my attention. Really this is because rape in war has not happened for centuries. That and the concept of American soldiers, a group trained to not perform crimes against humanity, doing this seems absurd. Even more that this happened in South Vietnam which was on our side. Nice to know that the entire slaughter was caused by an officer hellbent on bloodshed. This combined with Vietnam being horrible enough to cause no one in the chain of command to attempt to stop it. The Vietnam War was something that had no justification other than interfering with some other governments affairs. We even look worse with incidents like this massacre that we hid under the rug for decades. With this incident in mind, how many other similar incidents have happened in the recent wars. If these events have still been happening; how would anyone else know? The My Lai massacre was buried in the darkest spot of history possible to prevent it from being discovered. If tragedies like this happen keep happening in wars, why not stop the wars? Simply put, war will never end. Fighting runs in the blood of every human, whether it is nothing more than mild conflict, or a full-scale war. War really is nothing more than the old and bitter sending in the young and stupid to kill each other.
ReplyDeleteTyler, i still feel that this was a disturbing thing even if our society is desensitized. But even video games and movies disturb me because many people dont think about the morals of people. Guts, blood, rape, and disturbing images are all disgusting things that are brought up in our society, and without these, maybe awful things that take place in our world wouldnt take place. But you had a great point in how desensitizing is a major part of our emotions toward this situation.
DeleteTyler, your blog mentioned some useful information. One piece of information was the fact that you mentioned rape by soldiers in war. This caught my attention as well when I read the article. I also liked how you mentioned the officer was hellbent on bloodshed. You were absolutely correct on that. I was going to say something along those lines in my blog, but I couldn't think of the right words for it. I believe that all people need to know of the atrocities in South Vietnam performed by American soldiers on March 16, 1967.
DeleteBefore reading the article, I didn't think that American soldiers could even have the power to hurt a person so much. Thought we were over in Vietnam to help the people, not to devastate their whole population. After reading the article on the My Lai crisis, I was absolutely appalled by how people could cause so much pain to one society, especially American soldiers. When I read in the first paragraph that men raped and beat children, made me want to cry. When people get kids involved with killing and horrible things such as this whole situation, it makes everything a thousand times worse. The killing of regular people is a horrific thing, but the killing of innocent children and raping women makes me sick. This made me have a whole new idea on war between the United States and other countries. I feel that I can't trust anything that goes on theough our government because this terrible occurrence wasnt talked about much through schools. I think that our country and others can avoid horrible issues like the My Lai crisis and the holocaust that took place between Germans and Jews. A simple solution would be just to have peace with everyone, but thats impossible because there are many bad people in this world, but we can have the presidents in the countries to better evaluate the people who are in charge of giving commands to the soldiers to do certain things. Also kids in school should learn about this crisis because they can learn about how these horrible things and start a new life in making things better through our world, and to learn that things like the My Lai crisis are terrible occurrences and shouldn't be left under the covers.
ReplyDeleteEmma, I have the same feelings that you said that you had in your opening sentence. Just reading the article and writing this blog made me extremely frustrated that our soldiers did that. Women, children, and their families should not have to suffer so much in their life. They woke up on that day thinking it would be a normal day, but things then took a dramatic turn. Next thing they knew, they were amidst gunfire. No one should ever have to face such horrific atrocities in their life. I can't even imagine how I would be if that happened in our country.
DeleteEmma, I feel the same way you did in your blog. Reading this article and then writing a blog about it made me extremely upset. It is crazy to think that our American soldiers would do something like that. I understand that in these times it was very hard to trust anyone at all, but these actions were completely unnecessary. Women, children, and other members of the family should not have had to deal with this type of treatment. I can't imagine what this felt like having to endure this type of treatment, and I hope no one ever has to experience it again.
DeleteThis was an article that really made me mad when I read it. It was just the fact that hundreds of innocent people including women and their children were physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by soldiers from our country. The real question should be why did they do it? I know that headquarters said to do it, but if I was a soldier, I know for a fact that I would not be able to do it. There was no reason for the actions performed on March 16, 1967. Another question I want to be resolved is if it is such an important event, then why don’t we learn about it in class? Surely one would think that such a horrific event would end up in textbooks somewhere, but that is not the case. I actually feel embarrassed that our country, the one that I thought was supposed to help other people, would perform such horrific atrocities. I will forever remember this article and I don’t know how I will think of the military now after reading the article. One should only wonder what was going through the head of the American soldiers that were told to perform these actions. What bothers me the most is that some of these soldiers could have been anxious to do these actions told from headquarters. I just can’t imagine something like this happening, and why to innocent people? What did they ever do to harm our country? They did not need to suffer how they did, and that is something that will haunt the people of Vietnam forever. The survivors of this massacre will forever be emotionally scarred because of the actions of the American soldiers in My Lai. As far as what the country can do to prevent this from happening again I am not sure. What I do know however is that many humans were abused in more ways than one. This should not have happened, and we should be ashamed of what our country did to these innocent people on that brutal day in history.
ReplyDeleteAndy, I agree this this event was horrific. This event should not have happened. I don't think however the soldiers should really be blamed for this event. They were really experiencing a lot during the war and they didn't know who to trust. I feel very bad for the people who had to deal with this ordeal. In this situation it is really hard to see who there is to blame. In my personal opinion I think it is the war inside of the person that caused the issue to arise.
DeleteAndrew, I feel that after reading this article as well, everyone who has read has mutual feelings of anger and confusion. It is horrifying to think that anyone, no matter whether their American soldiers or not, would actually be able to slaughter innocent people. No matter the reasoning behind the massacre, it was ruthless and injust. Being it was done by those that we look up to represent and protect our nation makes it worse.
DeleteThe My Lai Massacre I will admit was a horrific event. It is crazy to think that people could be so cruel. It is hard to imagine that people could do this but then I start to think how can I judge a soldier. I was not there and I did not see and experience what these soldiers have. War changes people and I don't know what that is like. I am against war. To me war is a pointless event. We wouldn't need war if everyone could grow up and get along. What is the point of killing thousands of people? It proves absolutely nothing. In the end is there actually a true "winner". No one wins a war because no one comes out of one without a loss. Most wars have thousands of losses which are wasteful and it makes me so angry. Why can't the world spread love instead of war. People criticized the hippies for trying to stop war. If I lived in the 1970's I would be right there protesting war alongside them. Because I am against war and I think that these soldiers should not have been judged it doesn't make the actions acceptable. In this war you couldn't trust anyone because a lot of times women and children would use grenades and other weapons on soldiers because they looked innocent. How did the soldiers know whether or not these people were or were not going to hurt them. Not saying that all of their actions were acceptable but if I were placed in the same situation I feel like my reaction would be the same as theirs; trust no one. These situations can be avoided if war is avoided.
ReplyDeleteRachel, you have such a valid point. What good has war ever done? How do people think that it is a good idea to start one? The only thing that these leaders are doing is setting their country up for losing some of their civilians and hey, to top it all off, they might not even win. I can't understand why we agree to get into war. How is killing other people going to solve the situation that you put yourself in in the first place?
DeleteRachel, I think you brought up one of the most important points to consider with this blog with the questioning of why war was ever started anywhere. I am with you 100% on this. I do not find that there are winners with war or true accomplishments. No matter what, each side suffers some type of loss that is truly not necessary. If countries would talk before a war instead of waiting until all of the deaths happen, the losses would not be there. I think you brought up a valid point with how the soldiers had the feelings of trusting nobody, I get where you are coming from with how you can't judge them for attacking the people, my opinion is just that they didn't have to use all of the drastic means that they used. But I think you made lots of strong points that need to be considered. Way to speak your mind!
DeleteRachel, I can picture you right there marching on Washington protesting the war. And yes, I agree that the Vietnam War was pointless. But, I do think that there are some wars that must be fought. Could you really have not helped the Jewish people? I think that was a worthwhile war. World War Two is the only war that I think America should have became involved with. I guess you and I have different points of views because I could never protest soliders who have volunteered their lives for what they believed. I don't think you're wrong, but that's not what I would do. Of course, you are a lot braver than I am. Good job this week.
DeleteI just thought of something else. I also believe that we couldn't let people bomb our country (Pearl Harbor and 9/11). I STRONGLY disagree with the bombing of Japan. Innocent people should NEVER suffer.
After reading such a disturbing article, my mind spun with so many questions. Why did those soldiers do it? Who would order such a horrid massacre? And most importantly, what was going through the minds of those men? They had to have known in their hearts that what they were doing was wrong, but they still went ahead and slaughtered hundreds of innocent people. In the article, it mentioned that higher in command officers sent out the order to “Kill anything that moves”, but it did not say as to their reasoning behind it. Without questioning the order, the soldiers went ahead and slaughtered, killed, and raped all those innocent people. Whether an order or not, the soldiers had to have known it was not the right thing to do. Not only did they follow orders to kill, but the soldiers went too far; beating a 5 year to death with the butt of gun and raping countless women is out of hand and disturbing. What is even more disturbing is that no one even tried to stop the violence. The article also mentioned that there was a revenge factor in this attack, which makes me wonder what could have happened that made these soldiers go on and attack innocent villagers? They took their revenge out on those people probably because of their race or religion that was affiliated with some tragedy that included Americans in some way. Attacks like the My Lai Massacre are what soldiers have sworn to prevent from happening again, like a holocaust.
ReplyDeleteMaria, did you ever think of what the soldiers felt like? While the actions they performed were wrong, they were ordered to do it. If you were ordered to do that by captain of the army, you would probably do it as well..even if you knew it was wrong. While by no means were the actions they they performed cannot be justified, I'm sure that a lot of the soldiers did question it, but they wouldn't dare talk back because they would know that they would be punished for it if they did. They might have followed the orders to kill, but whenever you're in an army, is that not the thing that you are supposed to do? You are taught to listen to the one in command and that is what the soldiers were doing.
DeleteNice job on your blog for this weekend. Although I agree that what happened was wrong, I do not feel that the soldiers were entirely to blame. They follow orders, and that is their job. On the other hand, what the soldiers did while carrying out the orders was evil too. They did not just kill everyone, they massacred them. They did things to them that no person should ever have to endure, and that is what makes this massacre so horrible. The soldiers were horribly wrong in what they did, but blame also falls on their commanders as well.
DeleteMaria I agree with your opinion. This is terrible that these soldiers were ordered to do this. Who would ever do such a thing? And why would the soldiers go along with it? This makes me wonder about what they were thinking . I wonder if any of them felt any guilt or shame. They should be ashamed that they followed along with this.
DeleteFrom reading other people's blogs, it seems for the most part, that they blame the soldiers for this. While I think that the soldiers are a big part of what happened and yes, what they did was wrong, I can't help but try to put myself in their shoes. The whole reason that one becomes a soldier in the first place is to stand up for our rights and to give us freedom. They have been trained to listen to their leaders and if they don't, they will receive punishment for it. The punishments can vary from emotional abuse to their leaders forcing the whole entire team to do more push ups and work outs just because of that one person, making the other people come to despise them. After a while, if an officer tells them to do something, they are going to follow it. The soldiers may have been the ones who caused the abuse to all of these people, but they were being abused as well. I'm sure that the soldiers questioned the orders that were being given to them, but they did not know how to respond to the orders without having themselves hurt in the process, so they just followed them. It would be frightening to be a soldier. Someone could be waiting around every turn or corner to jump them and they needed to be on alert. While what they did to the women and children was wrong, some of the women and children were part of the fighters. It seems to have been a kill or be killed situation. I feel like the soldiers are not the ones to be blamed, but more so he government and those who send the soldiers to war are to be blamed for this horrible massacre.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you here Morgan. This would be tough to be the soldiers in this situation. The soldiers were not as much to be blamed for the killing, but the extra things they did were wrong. I don't think that any leader or government would say "go kill and hurt everyone horribly while doing it." These orders were probably meant to clear the area of any potential threats, and not become an even worse situation through how the soldiers did more than they were told to do. It certainly would be tough to be a soldier.
DeleteMorgan, I never really considered some of the points that you covered when I wrote my blog. To me when I read the story, I just thought of it as horrible deaths that were not necessary. I never really thought about how the soldiers also had to suffer from their officers by physical or emotional means. After reading this, I find that there is nobody really to blame for this whole scandal. I think that the only way we will ever truly be able to wrap our minds around this situation would be to get a firsthand account of the attack. I think you did a great job and made us reconsider our thoughts!
DeleteMorgan, I like how you went with something different then everyone else did. You put yourself in the soldiers shoes and thought of very clever ideas. They were trained to listen to their leaders, if they wouldn't have listened then they probably would have gotten severely punished. It makes sense at some points but it was still horribly wrong.
DeleteThis article brings to light many things that are disturbing. In looking at this massacre I see soldiers who went way too far. Even if no one in any town could be trusted, and with the orders to "kill anything that moves," the soldiers went out of hand. I feel that no where in the orders given was there a point to rape and do inhuman things to people. For who and where the soldiers were fighting, the "kill everything that moves" is more understandable, but in no way takes away from how wrong it is. If everyone could be a threat, killing townspeople could help the enemy. It makes all of the normal people of the country hate the U.S, and people at home in the U.S hate the soldiers. This just adds up to hurt the U.S. This situation could have been handled very differently, and the way the soldiers went way out of hand is disturbing. When I read this I felt sorry for the victims, and the soldiers. To be given an order like they were had to be hard to deal with, and whatever feelings they had to go beyond their orders like this need to be kept out of society. Luckily, when things like this come to light, we can look at it and hopefully find ways to avoid it in the future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that they went too far and everything got out of hand. It also does hurt the U.S., but I don't think people realize that many other soldiers from different countries have done the same thing. When they're in a state of war, anything to them is acceptable in their minds and they are only out to protect themselves. I think we do need to figure out ways to avoid situations like this the future.
DeleteJess, I also agree that it got a little out of hand but we also need to think of the mental state of the soldiers. They probably aren't able to think as clearly as they would if they were back home and not fighting for both their lives and our freedom. I completely agree with the idea of finding ways to avoid any other situation similar to this one.
DeleteWhen I first read this article I was shocked. When people think of war, most of the time people don't realize what all happens and is involved. I don't know how the soldiers could do such horrible things to innocent people. I think that people look down on the soldiers for doing such things, but we don't realize what was going on inside of their minds. They were probably frightened and scared for their lives. They didn't know who they could trust and they were trying to protect themselves. It is horrible to think that they could do those things to innocent children and women. But even the women and children couldn't be trusted at times. They were just trying to protect themselves too. Most people try to hide what happens during times of war, but it all comes out eventually. I think that people in America try to cover these things up, because they can't believe that U.S. soldiers could do such a thing. In reality, all of these soldiers are usually forced to do these things. It's terrible what a human can do in these situations.
ReplyDeleteLarissa, your blog is exactly what I had been thinking about. Soliders are victim to many mental illnesses when they return home after serving in war, so it can only be imagined what goes through their minds when they are participating in war. To have to protect themselves and other soldiers, fighting for our freedom. Sometimes it seems like it is an awful thing to keep "secrets" about the war, but in all honesty, some stories may be better kept on the down low just because it causes so much hate on soldiers when they should be receiving praise and support for their bravery. Good blog.
DeleteLarissa, I like what you said in your blog about the mental state of soliders. We've all heard of the illnesses that soliders can develop during times of war. Imagine having one of those conditions during the war and not being understood by anyone. I think you're blog did a good job of identifying the horrors and also not excusing the soliders.
DeleteAfter reading this article I find it hard to realize that I’m not shocked by what occurred. Under no circumstances does it not make me sick. What I mean is that things like this seem to be happening and have happened since the world began. Things like this make me wonder. How can someone do that to a person? Why would someone do that to another human being? Can we really trust anyone? What makes this article even harder to believe is that it was American soldiers. We would always like to believe that there are no bad Americans, even though that is so very, very untrue. We want to believe that the people that protect us care for humans in general. When I heard about this massacre I imagined all the lives that were affected by the actions of these soldiers. How many Vietnamese women bore children to their attackers? How many children were orphaned? How many widows and widowers came out of the disaster?
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the question of how we can prevent such tragedies I only have one answer and that is that these tragedies can never be prevented. There is no one that the human mind can be understood completely. People’s mental conditions are only discovered after they’ve done something terrible. Mental health care is lacking immensely in the United States, let alone the rest of the world. Even if you do not attribute these sort of disasters to mental illness I still see no way that they can be prevented.
I was shocked, but I also sort of knew what goes on. People know that terrible things happen during these massacres but it was weird to actually read it. I don't understand how people can do that to another human either. I wish there was a way to prevent these things, but like you said there really is no way to. They have been going on since the beginning of time.
DeleteMaddie, I feel as though I have to agree with you on the fact that it would be nearly impossible to prevent these tragedies, especially when soldiers are ordered to commit these crimes. I feel as though I personally, would have simply followed orders if I was placed into the same situation as many of these soldiers. Also, it is very true that mental health is not on the forefront of people's minds in the army until after the soldiers return from combat in the way of care for PTSD, but most are ignored while they are still in service.
DeleteTo say the least, the article about the massacre occurring in Vietnam was disturbing and shocking. The victims were lined up in ditches and shot to death. I had no idea that they were mutilated in some cases, and also having raped the women. Some of the soldiers would even cut out their tongues after killing them, cut off their hands, or carve initials onto their bodies. It is easy for us to sit here and criticize the soldiers for committing such horrid crimes, but we have no idea what had been put into their heads about these people nor do we know their mental state after serving in a war. It is unfair to the civilians to have to have suffered in such a tragic way, and I am not saying that it isn’t sad that they were killed in the least bit. It is a situation that should have probably never happened, but as Americans we are always aiming to be the best, the strongest, and the lone victors. I feel as though the leaders of the army could have told these soldiers stories about the citizens which caused the soldiers to kill for their own protection and safety. The numbers of civilians that were killed is just awful, and I wish it had never happened. What’s even more upsetting is the fact that situations like this one are still occurring today, like in Africa. It is very important to stop these mass killings, because they are unfair and unjust.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I'm glad that you said something about these things partially being caused by America's wanting to be on top. This is the same thing that was happening in Germany during WW2. People were being killed constantly and in such horrific ways, and no one seemed to care until after the war ended. I dislike when people say things about the German soldiers and what terrible people they were, because can anyone really judge them for following orders and not wanting to be considered traitors to their people? I believe that they shared the same mindset as our American soldiers during the Vietnam war.
DeleteAfter reading this article, I can say that I am horrified by the different happenings that occurred in Vietnam, but I can't say that I am surprised that things like this happened. I understand that these atrocities should have never have occurred, but think of the times of the Holocaust in WW2. When the soldiers were questioned for their war crimes afterwards, all that they could say is that they were just following orders. During many of those massacres, that is exactly what happened. The article even depicts one case in which the foot soldiers higher up said that he was told to kill anything that moves, and that is exactly what happened. If they had refused, they would have been called traitors. I can't say that I wouldn't have killed along with the other soldiers if I had been in their position.
ReplyDeleteNow, many people may bring up the fact that rape is not required to fulfill their orders, and that is true. It is not right that these atrocities were committed, but if the idea of rape is thought into, it is seen that rape is an act of control. It is not committed in order to quell a desire, but to feel an ultimate control. With these acts being committed by frightened young men who didn't know if they would die that day, it is easy to see that they were searching for control within their own lives through controlling helpless women and children. While it would be easy for me sit here in my comfortable computer chair, typing my blog, and say that I would never even think of doing these things, I don't know what I would do if I was thrown unprepared into a jungle where I had to avoid poisonous plants and animals and there were people hiding everywhere that were trying to kill me and my fellow soldiers. I feel as though I would have followed orders without even thinking about it.
I feel as though it may be possible to avoid things like this happening in the future by educating soldiers on what is a necessity of war, and what is something that will be looked back on as a horrific occurrence as these massacres are today. However, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and as we know now that these are terrible things, would they have been seen as any worse than the atrocities that occurred to them?