Carl Paulsen

1. Carl Paulsen • 1st Reporter in Vietnam • 2nd Reporter at Court Martial For Lt. Calley

2. Not well liked by the American military brass Squads they were with normally looked out for them on the battlefield Sometimes told to falsify the body count so the American public was pleased. Tough to get on a excursion with a squad because there was many other reporters. Interesting Death Toll in Vietnam 63 journalists killed in Vietnam, which was over a period of 20 years from 1955 to 1975. Death Toll in Iraq Total of 127 since 2003 22 just in the first 6 months of 2006 Vietnam Reporters

3. My Lai 4 Song My, Vietnam Civilian Massacre

4. What Happened? • The My Lai Massacre was a massacre committed by U.S. soldiers on hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children, on March 16, 1968, in the village of Song My. • It prompted widespread outrage around the world and reduced American support at home for the war in Vietnam. • Informally renamed Pinkville (due to the color printed on maps) by the U.S. military, the province was frequently bombed and shelled. By 1968, almost all homes in the province had been damaged or destroyed.

5. Military Strategy in Vietnam • Rather than measuring success by the acquisition of territory or strategic locations missions were evaluated based on their "body count“ • During the war large numbers of body counts were reported to the American public when in actuality the body count was much less. • Soldiers were encouraged by higher command to exaggerate body counts in order to give the impression of military success. • GIs joked that "anything that's dead and isn't white is a VC" for body count purposes.

6. The Massacre • Who - Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division • Intelligence – • On the eve of the attack, Charlie Company was advised by US military command that any genuine civilians at My Lai would have left their homes to go to market by 7 a.m. the following day. • They were told that they could assume that all who remained behind were either VC or active VC sympathizers. They were instructed to destroy the village. • Confusion – • At the briefing, Captain Ernest Medina was asked whether the order included the killing of women and children; those present at the briefing later gave different accounts of Medina's response.

7. The Massacre (cont) • The soldiers found no insurgents in the village. • The soldiers, one platoon of which was led by Lt. William Calley, killed hundreds of civilians – primarily old men, women, children, and babies. Some were tortured or raped. Dozens were herded into a ditch and executed with automatic firearms. • At one stage, Calley expressed his intent to throw hand grenades into a trench filled with villagers. • The precise number reported killed varies from source to source, with 347 and 504 being the most commonly cited figures. Highest normally is 567. • A memorial at the site of the massacre lists 504 names, with ages ranging from 1 year to 82 years of age. • South Vietnamese army lieutenant told his superiors, it was an "atrocious" incident of bloodletting by an armed force seeking to vent its fury.

8. A hero? • A US Army helicopter crew famously saved some civilians by landing between the American troops and the remaining Vietnamese hiding in a bunker. The 24-year-old pilot, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, Jr. (on the top), confronted the leaders of the troops and told them his gunship would open fire on them if they continued their attack on civilians. • With the support of the other two members of the helicopter crew — Spc. Lawrence Colburn (man on the bottom left) and Spc. Glenn Andreotta — Thompson directed an evacuation of the village. The crew members have been credited with saving at least 11 lives. • but were long thereafter reviled as traitors. • It was not until exactly thirty years later, following a television report concerning the incident, that the three were awarded the Soldier's Medal, the army's highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy. • Michael Bernhardt, an enlisted man in Charlie Company, refused to take part in the massacre, and later came forward to expose the atrocities. In 1970, he was awarded the Ethical Humanist Award for his role that day.

9. Cover-up • Initial investigations of the My Lai incident were undertaken by the 11th Light Infantry Brigade's Commanding Officer, Colonel Oran Henderson, under orders from Americal's Assistant Commanding Officer, Brigadier General Young. • Henderson interviewed several soldiers involved in the incident, then issued a written report in late April claiming that approximately 22 civilians were inadvertently killed during the military operation in My Lai. • The Army was still describing the event as a military victory resulting in the deaths of 128 enemies. • Even a reporter and Photographer who were at My Lai allegedly at first failed to report what they had seen. The reporter wrote a false and misleading account of the operation and the photographer withheld and suppressed the photographic evidence of atrocities he had obtained. • Eventually, Lt. Calley was charged with several counts of premeditated murder in September, 1969, and 25 other officers and enlisted men were later charged with related crimes. It was another two months before the American public learned about the massacre and trials. • Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, after extensive conversations with Lt. Calley, broke the My Lai story on November 12, 1969.

10. Court Martial • On March 17, 1970, the United States Army charged 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident. Most of these charges were dropped. • U.S. Army Lt. William Calley was convicted in 1971 of premeditated murder in ordering the shootings and initially sentenced to life in prison; two days later, however, President Richard Nixon ordered him released from prison, pending appeal of his sentence. Calley served 3½ years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was then ordered freed by Federal Judge J. Robert Elliot. • Calley claimed that he was following orders from his captain, Ernest Medina; Medina denied giving the orders and was acquitted at a separate trial. • Of the 26 men initially charged, Lt. Calley's was the only conviction. The entire episode inspired what is known today as the Medina standard. • The Medina standard is based upon the massacre at My Lai which US captain Ernest Medina failed to prevent. It holds that a commanding officer, being aware of a human rights violation or a war crime, will be held criminally liable when he does not take action.

11. Aftermath • The explosive news of the massacre fueled the outrage of the American peace movement, which demanded the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. • It also led more potential draftees to file for conscientious objector status. • Those who had always argued against the war felt vindicated; those on the fringes of the movement became more vocal. • The attitude of the general public towards the war. People who had not previously been interested in the peace/war debates began to analyze the issue more closely. The horrific stories of other soldiers began to be taken more seriously, and other abuses came to light.

12. Conclusion • How did this happen? • Inexperienced officers- First combat experience, rushed through training • Insurgents were sometimes housed and sheltered by civilians in the area, and American soldiers were frustrated with the complicity of the local people. Together with their inability to close with an elusive enemy and pervasive fear of ambush, this resentment made violent reprisals against civilians more likely. • Cover up at all levels at command. • Allowing Charlie Company to investigate itself • Missing files, and folders • The type of war- Guerilla warfare. • We may never know what actually happened, because so much is missing and it took so long to be made public.