And if you weren't convinced of my utter geekitude by now...

[rhia_starsong]

Well, I'm a tiny bit embarrassed to admit this, but I think we've come to one of the most interesting parts of the Vietnam War in class now--My Lai. Is it terrible to be interested in a horrible massacre of civilians? Because I am. It was so unusual, so terrible, so savage. And we're seeing the same types of things again in Iraq and Afghanistan. At least we don't seem to be repeating the same mistakes in immediate leadership (how the fuck did someone like Calley ever get to be an officer), but it seems the American military hasn't addressed the core problems that lie at the heart of events like My Lai. Also, my dad grew up in Columbus, GA, actually on the base at Ft. Benning, and he remembers Calley's trial. It was fascinating hearing him talk about what the people in town and the other army personnel thought of Charlie Company's actions, and now I'm getting to put his accounts into perspective with other primary sources regarding the same thing.

What's kind of interesting is that today in class, Dr. Levering presented Medina as a rather incompetent officer, and the reserve reading is strangely sympathetic towards Medina. I wonder if the reading is just taking its stand from the 'official' line adopted after the Calley trial, or if some of those sources give good reason to not hate the guy.

Comments

[seftimiu.livejournal.com]

That is... well COOL. In a morbid way. Because the next chapter? John House is talking to his lawyer, and he talks about My Lai. Weird.

[rhia-starsong.livejournal.com]

O.o That is weird. interestingly enough, the only person who tried to stop the slaughter was an American helicopter pilot who was not part of Charlie Company. He actually saved some of the villagers from one of the hamlets (don't know if it was My Lai 4, 5, or 6) and threatened to shoot Calley's men if they tried to stop him. Pretty amazing.

[seftimiu.livejournal.com]

Wiki has some high resolution pictures included in their article, as well as the names of those involved that refused to participate and quotes from people. (Including those in the helicopters.) /nods/

But in the story? John admits he wasn't there, but he uses it to try and excuse some of his own behavior... (Well, you'll see what I mean sometime this week. ;) XD a matter of getting things smoothed out still.

But yes, it is a fascinating display of human behavior gone horribly wrong. 0_o The psychology of such things, is really just... fascinating.

[rhia-starsong.livejournal.com]

The psychology of such things, is really just... fascinating.
Yes, that's exactly what I mean! Rather like watching a train wreck.

[russianmissile.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I have to agree with the reading more than Dr. Levering here. I see it as Medina's claim being valid, and a lot of what happened being done on the ground, and because of faulty evidence, which I think the reading addresses, but Dr. Levering just glossed over. *shrugs* my 2 cents

[rhia-starsong.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think Dr L tended to gloss a bit, yes, but I also know that my dad says that when he watched the trial, his impression of Medina was not favourable; the guy was more than just hard-assed, he was a bit of a nut. Not to say he wasn't better officer material than Calley, if only because he knew when to employ a policy of CYA where the civilians, higer-ups, and even his subordinates were involved, nuances which Calley could never have hoped to have been bright enough to grasp.