William Laws Calley jr.

William Laws Calley jr.

Perpetrator in the US war crimes against VietnamRole: US soldier (Lieutunent) The My Lai Massacre

Table of Contents

Slide 2 - Table of Contents

Slide 3 - Context of the War

Slide 1 - Title Page

Slide 4 - Calley's Actions (Crimes)

Slide 5 - Quote from Calley

Slide 6 - Duty Framework

Slide 9 - Nuremberg Defense (Calley's Defense)

Slide 8 - Nuremberg Defense (What is it?)

Slide 7 - Framework

Slide 12 - Citations of Pictures/Visuals

Slide 11 - Citations of Information Sources

Slide 10 - Nuremberg Trials (Judgement on Calley)

Slide 14 - The End

Slide 13 - Learn More

Context of the War (Situation)

With the Cold War intensifying worldwide, the United States hardened its policies against any allies of the Soviet Union, and by 1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower had pledged his firm support to Diem and South Vietnam.

• The war officially began in 1954 and during this over 3 million people were killed out of which more than half were innocent civilians
• The roots of the war began after Japansese forces withdrew when defeated by U.S. and Vietnam leader Ho saw an opportunity to take over the northern city of Hanoi, declaring a Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) with Ho as president.
• Emperor Bao backed by France and soon the U.S. got involved too

Calley's Actions (Crimes)

The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War

• In March 1968, Charlie Company received order for a search-and-destroy mission at My Lai Village

• Soldiers—led by Lieutenant William Calley—found no Viet Cong. but only families including women, children, and infants
• The villagers were rounded up into groups as the soldiers inspected their huts. Despite finding only a few weapons, Calley ordered his men to begin shooting the villagers.

• Calley was reported to have dragged dozens of people, including young children, into a ditch before executing them with a machine gun. He killed over 100 single handedly

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai, I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry."

William Laws Calley jr.

Duty Framework

Duty Obligation

He was ordered to destroy the villaNot doing so will be defiance to his superior

Ethical Obligation

Cannot murder innocent civiliansCannot Rape and Kill women & Children

Conflict

There was a conflict between dury and Ethical ObligationOne cannot be done without defying the other

Consequentiliast Framework

Lt. Calley Jr. recieved orders from a senior who was at a very angry stage and wanted to strike back in whatever way possible- as soon as possible. Conflict between the consequence of facing demotion or expulsion from the army for not following direct orders from his superior and the consequences and lifelong guilt and possible social scrutiny for murdering innocent women, children, men, and elderlies. Calley Jr. decided to face the consequence of the latter.

INFO

Nuremberg Defense

What is it?

The Nuremberg Trials were established after the horrific actions by the Nazi doctors and also the German Army. The purpose was to address immoral acts of war crime and to punish these acts with death penalties, life sentences or 10 to 20 years of sentencing. The only way one can defend oneself being prececuted by Nuremberg trials is by admitting to the crimes for which he has been proven guilty. Pleading for being under direct orders does not give any advantage.

Calley's Defense

Based on the Nuremberg Defense

In his trial Calley Jr. said “My troops were getting massacred and mauled by an enemy I couldn’t see, I couldn’t feel and I couldn’t touch—that nobody in the military system ever described them as anything other than Communism. They didn’t give it a race, they didn’t give it a sex, they didn’t give it an age. They never let me believe it was just a philosophy in a man’s mind. That was my enemy out there.”Long after the incident of the My Lai Massacre and after Calley Jr. has been living as a free man for years he once said at an interview “There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai".

Judgement on William Laws Calley jr.

Based on the Nuremberg Trials

Crimes Against Peace - The horrific acts created conflict inside U.S.A after the story was leaked

War Crimes- Rape of Underaged girls and Innocent Women - Murder of Civilians and infants

Conspiracy to Commit Crimes- Lt Calley never took the opportunity to stop to the operation and also kept secret all details of the incident from authorities

Crimes against Humanity - Brutal Killing of numerous individuals from Mai Lai (Over 500)

Citations of Informative Sources

Works Cited Nuremberg Trials: What Were the Crimes?, marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/classes/33d/projects/nurembg/NurembergCrimes.htm. Aaron Joel Santos, Shaun Raviv. “The Ghosts of My Lai.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ghosts-my-lai-180967497/. “Calley Apologizes for 1968 My Lai Massacre.” WE ARE NOT YOUR SOLDIERS RSS, www.wearenotyoursoldiers.org/an-emotional-william-calley-says-he-is-sorry/. “Calley Apologizes for Role in My Lai Massacre.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 22 Aug. 2009, www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32514139. History.com Editors. “My Lai Massacre.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1. “Nürnberg Trials.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Nurnberg-trials. Shapira, Ian. “'It Was Insanity': At My Lai, U.S. Soldiers Slaughtered Hundreds of Vietnamese Women and Kids.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/03/16/it-was-insanity-at-my-lai-u-s-soldiers-slaughtered-hundreds-of-vietnamese-women-and-kids/. Shuster, Evelyne, et al. “Fifty Years Later: The Significance of the Nuremberg Code: NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2 Apr. 1998, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm199711133372006.

Citations of Visuals/Images

Works Cited “Archives.” " 2009 " January " 15, haimbresheeth.com/gaza/2009/01/15/. “Evidence of the Massacre at My Lai.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mylai-massacre-evidence/. Range, Peter Ross. “My Lai Massacre at 50: Inside the William Calley Trial.” Time, Time, 16 Mar. 2018, time.com/5202268/calley-trial-my-lai-massacre/. Rong, Teng. “Act-Limited-Consequentialism.” Medium, Medium, 26 Mar. 2019, tengrong.medium.com/act-limited-consequentialism-c0e8c737a4e0. Valengilda. “Judge Gavel Isolated on White Background.” IStock, www.istockphoto.com/photo/judge-hammer-gm514079423-47462990. “William Calley - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia.” Alchetron.com, 7 Aug. 2018, alchetron.com/William-Calley. “The My Lai Massacre | History.” Youtube, uploaded by HISTORY, 13 October 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnvTyMptOt8 “What Happened at the Nuremberg Trials? | History.” Youtube, uploaded by HISTORY, 24 November 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsA6AdCRI-k

Learn More at:

https://www.britannica.com/event/My-Lai-Massacre

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ghosts-my-lai-180967497/

The End