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Of course we all know of watergate which, while indeed horrible, isn't close to his pardoning of the sick SOB William Calley for his involvement in the My Lai massacre. I'm unsure how how much in the way of common knowledge it is but Nixon pardoning William Calley was a million times worse than watergate ever was!
I honestly didn't know about it either until a few days ago when I was watching a video about massacres hidden from the public. It is a complete disgrace as it is that at the very least everyone involved weren't given life sentences but knowing Nixon willingly pardoned the unit leader of a massacre is completely abhorrent. Yet most know Nixon for the watergate scandal which, while not good, doesn't come close to his action of basically letting a man commit a massacre go free!
I had never known that before, but while before I would certainly agree Nixon was a horrible POS as-is, knowing he condones massacres of civilians really gets me!
Can anyone here really not think that Nixon, William Calley, and the other men involved in it don't deserve an eternity in the bottom pits of hell?
Sadly, if you look at the polls from the time, the sentence handed down to Lt. Calley was overwhelming opposed, and Nixon's commutation were supported by a majority of American citizens. This doesn't speak to Nixon's morality on the issue, but it does show that he was just part of the mainstream in this regard.
Once again, we see that if you give someone some authority and put them in a uniform and wave the flag around a little, a populace will give them wide latitude to do almost anything - even oversee the wanton slaughter of non-combatants.
Many were outraged at Calley's conviction in fact - then governer Jimmy Carter for one, who supported Calley. Other politicians, mainly southern democrats, also complained. Many citizens disagreed with the verdict - saying it was too lenient, or too hard, or Calley made a scapegoat. There was no consensus. The white house in fact got many telegrams asking for Calley to be released. Before the pardon I think he appealed his sentence, he was released, then put back under house arrest. The pardon by Nixon was "limited" in that his conviction stands but he was released from custody (house arrest, at the time).
My Lai was a terrible event, probably other officers should have been charged and convicted. However, the "other" massacre that occurred in Vietnam during the same period, taking 10 times as many innocent lives, was ignored by the press - Hue. Perhaps because that was committed by Communist, and not US, forces.
Of course we all know of watergate which, while indeed horrible, isn't close to his pardoning of the sick SOB William Calley for his involvement in the My Lai massacre. I'm unsure how how much in the way of common knowledge it is but Nixon pardoning William Calley was a million times worse than watergate ever was!
I honestly didn't know about it either until a few days ago when I was watching a video about massacres hidden from the public. It is a complete disgrace as it is that at the very least everyone involved weren't given life sentences but knowing Nixon willingly pardoned the unit leader of a massacre is completely abhorrent. Yet most know Nixon for the watergate scandal which, while not good, doesn't come close to his action of basically letting a man commit a massacre go free!
I had never known that before, but while before I would certainly agree Nixon was a horrible POS as-is, knowing he condones massacres of civilians really gets me!
Can anyone here really not think that Nixon, William Calley, and the other men involved in it don't deserve an eternity in the bottom pits of hell?
The massacre at My Lai (or Song Mai as it is known to the Vietnamese) took the lives of between 347 and 504 Vietnamese. Lieutenant William Calley was an officer under the command of Captain Ernest Medina. The unit had apparently taken a number of casualties during fighting in the early months of 1968 in Vietnam. There is some dispute over exactly what happened. It appears that Captain Medina gave an order which was interpreted by Lieutenant Calley to kill the Vietnamese they came in contact with in this village. Calley interpreted this to include all men, women, and children. The village was regarded as largely sympathetic to the Viet Cong.
Most of the people killed were rousted out of their homes thrown into ditches and shot. Many women attempted to lay over the bodies of their children to prevent them from being killed. However, most of the children were killed as well. It would appear that Lieutenant Calley was the prime mover in this horrific episode. I can only describe this man as a sadist.
The conflict on the ground in Vietnam was particularly nasty and vicious. Many American soldiers were killed or had limbs blown off by mines that the Viet Cong placed in trails and strategic locations. Snipers who sometimes tied themselves to trees mowed down other Americans. Taking prisoners was rare on both sides. This kind of war along with racial prejudice lead to savagery. I've often wondered how many events like My Lai occurred that we never even heard about. Of course, this sort of thing was not unique to Vietnam. I personally have spoken to former soldiers who invaded Japanese held islands in the Pacific during World War II One or two them recounted tales of barbarism to me that made my flesh crawl. War is hell and perhaps only those who have lived through one should be the judge of someone like William Calley. However, that is exactly the group that did judge and convict this man.
The Army acted honorably when it charged and prosecuted Lieutenant Calley for these crimes during a court martial. I have the greatest respect for the jury of officers who convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court basically upheld the principle that even when it comes to war there are still rules that soldiers must follow or face consequences. The evidence was that Calley had personally shot and killed 22 people, including a baby. People can try to rationalize Calley's conduct all they want too. There is nothing that could have justified him placing a pistol to that baby's head and firing.
Remarkably, many people jumped to Calley's defense. President Nixon responded to political pressure when he reduced Calley's sentence. Some politicians actually suggested Calley was some sort of "hero". There was even something called the "Ballad of William Calley" which suggests he was a patriot treated unfairly by the Army. Nixon's decision was not honorable, but a surprising number of Americans supported it. He was a political animal and he understood that completely.
The My Lai Massacre is a sad chapter in our history. It shows us the cruelty that people are capable of when pushed to their limits. I've always wondered how could our soldiers throw civilians into a ditch and shoot them? Even if Calley had given such an order it clearly was illegal. It gives all of us cause to ponder if the German soldiers who murdered the Jews were really any different than we are when they claimed "they were only following orders".
I read Calley should never have held a commission. He could barely read a map. The unit in question had suffered heavy recent casualties in the area due to booby traps. The troops believed it was the villagers who were behind these incidents. It was steamy hot which makes folks irritable, the men were on the edge and out for blood. No different than in many other wars when a unit hemorrhages casualties without being able to strike at their adversary. So they become somewhat paranoid and suspect those in their midst who are not trusted. Calley was too weak to do display any leadership before or during the shootings. Do not know what type of NCOs were present if they tried to stop or foster but there is blame there as well.
Good thing a helicopter pilot landed to stop the shootings.
The British have an expression when these things happen and depends on the point of view of the officer or trooper:
However, the "other" massacre that occurred in Vietnam during the same period, taking 10 times as many innocent lives, was ignored by the press - Hue. Perhaps because that was committed by Communist, and not US, forces.
The massacre at Hue was hardly ignored nor were any other communist atrocities particularly in the early years of the war to keep the drum beat of support for the war's escalation. But My Lai was our massacre and we didn't act like the communist, that's why were where there or so we were told. So, let's leave the biases for P&C and let's stay with the facts here.
The massacre at Hue was hardly ignored nor were any other communist atrocities particularly in the early years of the war to keep the drum beat of support for the war's escalation. But My Lai was our massacre and we didn't act like the communist, that's why were where there or so we were told. So, let's leave the biases for P&C and let's stay with the facts here.
It's not political bias, it's to put the massacre into context just as the previous poster did and as we do in all history topics - to frame it in a contextual manner within that period of the war (not, I must add, to defend the massacre in any sense). Post #5 likewise gave some background context. It does not belong to P&C, but to history!
To get into more detail, which I had not intended, is perhaps going off topic - But it was indeed ignored by the media during that time (as it did not support the "get out of Vietnam" agenda), or worse the media thought the results were exaggerated or the deaths occurred by US bombings. Only later was proof found that the NVA had "death lists" of people and their families to execute.
If you think it's political bias to mention a related historical event then feel free to complain to the mods. Is that clear?
It's not political bias, it's to put the massacre into context just as the previous poster did and as we do in all history topics - to frame it in a contextual manner within that period of the war (not, I must add, to defend the massacre in any sense). Post #5 likewise gave some background context. It does not belong to P&C, but to history!
To get into more detail, which I had not intended, is perhaps going off topic - But it was indeed ignored by the media during that time (as it did not support the "get out of Vietnam" agenda), or worse the media thought the results were exaggerated or the deaths occurred by US bombings. Only later was proof found that the NVA had "death lists" of people and their families to execute.
If you think it's political bias to mention a related historical event then feel free to complain to the mods. Is that clear?
The massacre wasn't ignored. It was unknown until soldiers began coming forth and reporting it almost a year later.
That, in large part, was why Calley was pardoned. He became the scapegoat for the pile of senior officers above him in rank who all played a part in creating the massacre.
Was Nixon right in signing the pardon? That's a question that will be debated forever, but at the time, the war was still going on, and the Pentagon feared prosecuting the Majors and Colonels who made all the wrong strategic decisions that led Calley and his men into My Lai would shatter the field command.
There was a critical failure to command during the Viet Nam war. The senior commanders were very seldom down on the ground, in the battlefield, with their junior officers and troops; the hovered overhead in helos, or tried to direct battles by radio from offices hundreds of miles away from the combat.
The war turned into a deadly game of Whack-A-Mole, and the N. Vietnamese learned how to pop up out of a hole, start a response, and then pop up around the responding platoons, trapping them in planned killing fields. This happened time after time, for year after year. The junior officers were always the ones who caught the blame.
Calley is a stupid man, and one who followed orders very literally. He was the most responsible, but was every senior officer above him was also responsible. The chain of bad decisions went all the way up to the Generals.
This is why My Lai was covered up so completely for so long, and why Nixon ultimately pardoned Calley. Nixon could not afford to fire or imprison so many senior officers, so by letting Calley off, they all got off.
After the war, the entire senior command was restructued, and that came from My Lai. From then on until today, the Generals, Colonels, and all senior officers are in the battlefield alongside their troops. there's no more remote control from afar.
Sure, Nixon was despicable. But so were his Generals and other senior officers. But the most despicable thing of all was the most important lesson of Viet Nam were forgotten.
That lesson is: Do not start a war that is unwinnable. A war that cannot be won always turns good men into bad men.
The massacre wasn't ignored. It was unknown until soldiers began coming forth and reporting it almost a year later.
Wait...I think we are getting confused here. The massacre at Hue was ignored was what I was talking about. For My Lai - indeed, there appears to be an initial cover-up and it came out later.
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