[August 28, 2024] The “older generation” like me will remember the news of the My Lai Massacre (Thảm sát Mỹ Lai) when it hit the newspapers in 1968. When I attended the U.S. Army’s Infantry Officers Basic Course (IOBC) in 1983, I was reacquainted with the events of the massacre. Army LT William Calley was the central figure in the massacre.
LT Calley was an Infantry Lieutenant trained at Fort Benning, just as I was in 1983. Every student in IOBC at the time knew of Calley and what he had done. We studied it intensely for the obvious reasons. But what many do not know today is that after Calley’s court-martial and conviction of the premeditated murder of Vietnamese civilians, Calley continued to live just off base in Columbus, GA. He stayed there for many years when we were being trained.
I was told that if you contacted him, Calley would talk about his experience, but I never had the guts to call him. I figured that he had received enough humiliation, and rightly so, for the part he played in the massacre. Maybe I was wrong. I surely could have learned some valuable lessons. But, if you were not an Infantry Officer, he would not talk about the awful things that occurred.
I’m told he was a quiet, respectful man, ordinary in many ways, and those who knew him remained good friends. He lived an unassuming life, “under the radar,” as we might say. He worked in a Columbus jewelry store after his dishonorable discharge from the Army.
John Partin, who had been the military’s assistant prosecutor in the murder cases against Calley, said every once in a while, he would see Calley around Columbus, sometimes while dining in the same restaurant.1 He was asked once to speak publically about the event, and he did so at a local Columbus Kiwanis Club. When a club member asked whether obeying an unlawful order is itself unlawful, Calley said:
“I believe that is true. If you are asking why I did not stand up to them when I was given the orders, I will have to say that I was a second lieutenant getting orders from my commander, and I followed them — foolishly, I guess.” – William Cally, at a 2009 presentation to a Columbus, GA Kiwanis Club
This critical comment should never be forgotten; he followed clearly unethical and unlawful orders. When we speak of evil in our world, it is often done by those following orders. I Was Just Following Orders is no excuse and never will be. Many Senior officers in the WWII Nazi military discovered at the Nürnberg Trails conducted from 1945 to 46 that just following orders was wrong.
We study this today at military schools, where instructors do their jobs properly. Civilians need to also know about this dark time in the history of America and how to conduct themselves.
William Calley died on April 28, 2024, in Gainesville, FL.
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- Soldier in My Lai Massacre Lived Quietly in Georgia for Decades – https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/08/07/soldier-my-lai-massacre-lived-quietly-georgia-decades.html
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God Bless General Satterfield and all our veterans.
I see from Gen. Satterfield’s article that LT William Calley passed away quietly just a few months ago. His life was a living hell. This should be a terrible but hard lesson for those who would do evil and try to justify that evil for any number of reasons. “I was just following orders.” “That man was evil so I killed him.” “The devil made me do it.” “Abortion is health care.” The list goes on and on. Especially evil in today’s society is the harsh evil of abortion. Gen. Satterfield has written about this evil before and it is a central policy of today’s Democrat Party. Well, it is easy now to say that the Dem Party is evil itself for adopting evil as a central part of their policy.
Weak men are the most dangerous men.
… because their minds can be bent to anyway a nefarious manipulator wants.
TRUTH
I’m one of those “old guys” who can look back and I remember well the entire episode as reported in the newspapers. That is the only source of information we could get unless you personally knew someone involved. The newspapers were very “liberal” and therefore unknowingly to us biased. But there was an inkling of truth that seeped out of them and I did get to read about LT Calley and the terrible killings he and his men were involved in. But, despite that evil, we learned that following orders is not always the right thing to do.
Yes! A look back at a difficult time.
Thank you, Gen. S. for this “look back” to LT William Calley. The Vietnam War was being undermined by the Communist USSR. Kids today on college campuses are being influenced by Communist China. Man! How Communism has been sucked up by the weak minded little children in college. There is a dearth of free speech and learning about the history of our nation. And all these young kids are thinking they are smarter, prettier, better, and morally superior to everyone else. Well, that will soon come crashing down upon them. There needs to be a better way to cull out the garbage being taught in college and get down to what really makes people better, not worse.
Good points about communism (small “c” because communism is an evil). I do like the idea that we need to cull the crap that is handed out in college.
Max Foster & The Toad, 👍👍👍👍👍
In Gen. Satterfield’s DAILY FAVORITES you will find this article “Free Speech Is Not Enough” that makes some of the same points you guys are making.
https://www.city-journal.org/article/free-speech-is-not-enough
Sir, yes, a look back into a time that was not so good for the US army. Gen. Satterfield, keep up the great work you are doing and for your website. For new visitors here, I recommend your book “55 Rules for a Good Life.” Anyone who has this book will be happy with themselves they got it and read it.