My Lai Massacre

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.4.1: Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laos Writing and Culture.

Domains

Massacres, purges

Dates

Date of occurrence 1968-03-16

Places

Vietnam (Location)
United States (Involved)

Resources

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My Lai, located in the Quang Ngai province in Vietnam, was the site of the mass murder conducted by a unit of the U.S. Army on March 16, 1968 of nearly 500 unarmed civilian citizens. On 16 March 1968, a troop of U.S. soldiers raided My Lai after receiving intelligence that substantial Viet Cong personnel were in the area. However, no armed VC soldiers were discovered. Nevertheless, the U.S. platoon, led by Calley, killed nearly 500 women and children as well as elderly persons. Afterward, the incident was covered-up in a calculated manner by top Army officials but the story surfaced after certain soldiers who had participated in the mass murder came forward.

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110 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "My Lai Massacre". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=747, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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