Video Assignments (Only for Don Timoh)

American Experience: My Lai: Video Assignment

One of the Vietnam War’s Darkest Chapters

Describe the background of two people in the Charlie Company.

1.

2.

What did the soldiers expect when first arriving in Vietnam? What did they actually encounter?

What was the misinformation given to the soldiers about My Lai?

What happened in the United States when the pictures of My Lai were released to the public?

How did Lieutenant Calley justify what happened at My Lai? What was the outcome of Lieutenant Calley’s trial? How much time did he spend in the stockade? Who intervened on his behalf?

In your opinion, what drove the Charlie Company to commit the worst atrocity in American military history? Were they “just following orders” as some later declared? Or, did they crumble under the pressure of a vicious war in which the line between enemy soldier and civilian and been blurred? Explain.