reminder that the people who did this are still alive, have opinions and vote.
Also reminder that there were those that actively tried stopping it, and iirc, a helo pilot ordering the door gunner to shoot his own troops of they would fire upon civilians.
He was, or course, court martialled for this. Not sure how it initially ended, it’s been a while since I read about it.
And only one was tried. His sentence was changed from life in prison to 3 years house arrest by Nixon. How the fuck is that possible? I would understand they would try to sweep this under the table, but it was a well known incident, such a thing that they should lock up everyone involved and throw away the keys just to show No, we do not do such things, THEY DO.
How the fuck is that possible?
Colonialist warfare is just a laundry list of war crimes perpetrated against an “other” - and you can’t commit war crimes without war criminals.
Not only that, but:
Initially, three U.S. servicemen who had tried to halt the massacre and rescue hiding civilians were shunned, and even denounced as traitors by several U.S. congressmen, including Mendel Rivers (D–SC), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
What’s in Wikipedia doesn’t match my memory; what I thought had happened was that Thompson did more than “try to halt.” He landed his helicopter between US troops and a group of obviously harmless villagers and told his men to shoot the Americans if they tried to continue murdering the villagers.
He and the other soldiers who stopped the massacre and reported what had happened were viewed by most Americans as traitors at the time, and for quite a while after.
and told his men to shoot the Americans if they tried to continue murdering the villagers.
I can’t remember where I read it… but apparently a group of British soldiers did the same thing during the Korean War when they witnessed US personnel guarding Korean concentration camp inmates that were about to be “liquidated” by ROK troops.
I need to find that again.
If these people had been roasted in napalm dropped by an officer going by at 900kmh no American would care or remember.
Codifying war crimes implies that honorable warfare exists.
Dont let the old timers at r/TheWayWeWere see this
And people wonder why I don’t support our military. This is why
Literally nobody on the planet supports your military, except your taxpayers and voters 😂 That’s probably you.
Do you think i have a choice in whether my tax dollars go to the U.S. military or not? Try not paying your taxes in this country, and they’ll show up at your house and put you in prison so fast, you won’t have time to ask why you’re being arrested…
Americans: Are we the baddies?
History: When have you not been?
War of 1812.
Civil war. (Well half of us were baddies)
World war 2.
Even world war two war rather dirty, though there everyone was, and sometimes its was also the only option, i guess?
Dresden was fun
Hiroshima, Nagasaki were fun
Oh, the Alies knew about the extermination camps but didn’t try to destroy them, bigger picture and the such
War is hell
Gentle reminder that Henry Kissinger is still dead
That brings me no happiness.
He managed to live to 100. Where there’s millions he killed who did not even make it past puberty.
Thanks, I was having a lousy morning
After living his best life possible🥰
Famed evangelist Billy Graham wrote a stirring defense of Calley, the officer in charge of the massacre.
We have all had our Mylais in one way or another
No Billy, we have not.
The sickness of the evangelical church is not a recent development.
During the massacre, Thompson and his Hiller OH-23 Raven crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, stopped a number of killings by threatening and blocking American officers and enlisted soldiers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division. Additionally, Thompson and his crew saved a number of Vietnamese civilians by personally escorting them away from advancing United States Army ground units and assuring their evacuation by air. Thompson reported the atrocities by radio several times while at Sơn Mỹ. Although these reports reached Task Force Barker operational headquarters, nothing was done to stop the massacre. After evacuating a child to a Quảng Ngãi hospital, Thompson angrily reported to his superiors at Task Force Barker headquarters that a massacre was occurring at Sơn Mỹ. Immediately following Thompson’s report, Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Barker ordered all ground units in Sơn Mỹ to cease search and destroy operations in the village.
In 1970, Thompson testified against those responsible for the Mỹ Lai Massacre. Twenty-six officers and enlisted soldiers, including William Calley and Ernest Medina, were charged with criminal offenses, but all were either acquitted or pardoned. Thompson was condemned and ostracized by many individuals in the United States military and government, as well as the public, for his role in the investigations and trials concerning the Mỹ Lai massacre. As a direct result of what he experienced, Thompson experienced posttraumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, divorce, and severe nightmare disorder. Despite the adversity he faced, he remained in the United States Army until November 1, 1983, then continued to make a living as a helicopter pilot in the Southeastern United States.
