The massacre of My Lai that took place on March 16, 1968. Some 400 civilians were killed by US soldiers of Charlie Company, 11th Light Infantry Brigade, in the village of Tu Chung, part of the larger village of Son My. It was “a place of horror,” writes Traces of War. “The victims were mainly women, elderly people and young children. Several of the victims were first tortured and beaten and many women were raped before their executions. The huts and houses were set on fire and the fleeing people were killed by machine gun fire. Grenades were thrown, grenade launchers were used and people were stabbed with bayonets. Women tried to protect their children, but to no avail, most children were killed as well.”
Of the hundred American soldiers who were present during the massacre, says Traces of War, “one was convicted, Lieutenant William Calley. He received a life sentence, which however was later commuted to house arrest and after three years it was eventually acquitted by a general pardon of Nixon.”
“Today a large stone monument marks the ground where the atrocities occurred,” writes Frommers. The sight is 10km northeast of Quang Ngai, about halfway between Hoi An and Quy Nhon. “There's a small museum with photographs … many veterans groups and former war protestors make the pilgrimage here.”