Introduction
War can have a significant impact on the countries involved and people directly and indirectly involved, too. Therefore, war brings out the ugly in everyone. In 1960, the United States and South Vietnam were at war with North Vietnam. During this time, the United States encountered a small village in South Vietnam: The My Lai village. This encounter led to the death of roughly 500 citizens, known as the ‘My Lai Massacre,’ caused by U.S. soldiers. There could be many reasons why this incident happened. However, the main three reasons why the soldier behaved in this way could’ve been because of the lack of discipline in that soldiers got away with violations, the threat of having traitors in the village, and the fear of not returning home.
To begin with, the soldiers lacked discipline during the war. The U.S. soldiers were not fully qualified to fight in the war – soldiers were inexperienced and poorly prepared. The U.S. soldiers knew only how to kill and fight physically, unlike the Vietnamese rebels who knew war tactics and behaved liked an invisible enemy[1]. The U.S. soldiers were uneducated implying their discipline level was low. Despite the U.S. soldiers and the Vietnamese army joining hands to find the guerillas, they lost control of several cities in Vietnam. The soldiers lost many men during the war and suffered frustrations from the guerilla units. The soldiers were tired and sick from losing many men yet they never put a shoot off or an actual fight. For example, the soldiers knew that they were on hostile lands after one of them stepped on a trap or was shot by an invisible sniper gun[2]. The U.S. soldiers had lost some of its members to injuries and deaths and were close to one hundred men[3]. Due to low discipline, the soldiers allowed their rage, anger, and frustrations to lead them during the war. The soldiers hated the Vietnamese and started assuming every Vietnamese they came across was an enemy or a guerilla supporter. Therefore, the soldiers began seeking revenge by killing innocent civilians using means only right to their thinking. Lack of discipline was a clear indication of their actions into seeking vengeance instead of fighting a just war by not harming unarmed civilians. Although most of the soldiers had graduated from high school and passed through the army training, they lacked self-discipline when conducting their activities while in the real war. The soldiers only followed orders instead of questioning themselves why they had to kill innocent and unarmed villagers.
Another cause of the My Lai massacre was the threat of having traitors in the village. The U.S. and Vietnamese soldiers were determined to eliminate the guerilla soldiers from the country. A significant challenge was that the guerilla soldiers were an invisible enemy. The soldiers were willing to help and even helped the Vietnamese villages with medical assistance. However, a moment arrived when even the communities that had been receiving medical aid from the soldiers, soldiers could be shot from snipers. The soldiers were collaborating with the locals and helping each other. The soldiers lost their trust on civilians. The result of the mistrust was an eruption of a racial prejudice. The soldiers started separating friendly people from unfriendly people. However, they gave up when they realized they could not notice the difference and considered every Vietnamese an enemy. Among the soldiers, the Vietnamese were seen as a subhuman species that was dangerous, repulsive, and comprised of deceitful people[4]. Thus, when the soldiers entered the peaceful My Lai village, they believed they had every reason to open fire through the villagers were unarmed. They thought the village could be a harbour for guerilla soldiers and within no time traitors may even pass news of the U.S. soldiers’ whereabouts. Moreover, the soldiers had orders to destroy villages that were believed to shelter Viet Cong and those acted as a source of supplies to guerillas[5]– to the soldiers, all villages were either V.C. supporters or traitors. The soldiers went to My Lai village, believing that they would find no one since the villagers would be at the market. The thought of deceit from the villagers may have crossed the soldiers’ mind when they saw the village with people and recovered a few weapons. The act would have forced them to follow their orders – kill and burn property.
Lastly, the soldiers may have killed the My Lai villagers due to fear of not returning home. The U.S. army had not experienced any problems when it first entered Vietnam concerning fighting. However, after they had settled, they began experiencing life as soldiers in war. The friendliness they had with the villagers waded away. The soldiers knew any patrol they sent to the villages would either be their last or may suffer injuries due to the guerilla booby traps across the regions[6]. The soldiers no longer knew the difference between a sympathizer or a guerrilla fighter since all villages in South Vietnam had similar clothing style. The fear of dying in war and not returning home could have forced them to kill every person that came on their way. Before the soldiers were dispatched for the mission to My Lai village, they were given orders of destroying communities that supported Viet Cong and acted a source of supplies. Upon entering the village, the soldiers met no resistance, no one was armed, and the enemy was absent, yet the soldier was expecting to engage a V.C. battalion[7]. The soldiers may have experienced fear and thought that maybe it was a trap. The fear of not returning home may have initiated rage, anger, and awoken the frustrations the soldiers had towards the Vietnamese. The outcome of their fear and failures drove them to start killing every villager, burning down property, and even killing livestock. When the soldiers entered the village, they did not doubt in their mind that the people were VC.
[1]Weebly.com. My Lai Massacre. 2020. https://mylaicausesandconsequences.weebly.com/causes.html (accessed April 11, 2020).
[2] Michael Bernhardt, “Testimony to Peers Commission” in James Olson and Randy
Roberts (eds.), My Lai: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford St. Martin, 1998),8.
[3]History.com. My Lai Massacre. June 07 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1 (accessed November 11, 2020).
[4] Michael Bernhardt, “Testimony to Peers Commission” in James Olson and Randy
Roberts (eds.), My Lai: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford St. Martin, 1998),8.
[5] alphahistroy.com. My Lai Massacre. October 30 2019. https://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/my-lai-massacre/ (accessed April 11, 2020).
[6] History Learning Site. My Lai Massacre. n.d. https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre/ (accessed April 11, 2020).
[7] French, Emmay. What Really Happened on March 16 1968? What Lessons Have Been Learned? A Look at the My Lai Incident Fifty Years Later. n.d. https://armyhistory.org/my-lai/ (accessed April 11, 2020).