American Experience

My Lai

The 1968 My Lai massacre, its subsequent cover-up, and the heroic efforts of the soldiers who broke ranks to try to halt the atrocities, and then bring them to light.

My Lai Preview

30s

March 16, 1968, a company of American soldiers entered the village of My Lai, located in Quang Ngai Province in central Vietnam. By the end of the day, they had shot and killed between 300 and 507 unarmed and unresisting men, women and children. What drove a company of American soldiers -- ordinary young men from around the country -- to commit the worst atrocity in American military history?

Previews + Extras

  • On the Road to Hell: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    On the Road to Hell

    S22 E6 - 2m 14s

    My Lai: In the Vietnam War, military leaders failed to give moral guidance to scared US soldiers.

  • When Should a Soldier Say No?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    When Should a Soldier Say No?

    S22 E6 - 1m 3s

    When should a soldier refuse to follow orders? The 1968 attack of My Lai pushed soldiers and Americans to ask this hard question.

  • Merely Following Orders? : asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Merely Following Orders?

    S22 E6 - 1m 20s

    Lieutenant William Calley's 1971 conviction for crimes committed during the My Lai massacre set off protests in the U.S., with many feeling he was unfairly blamed for Vietnam mistakes.

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