My Lai Massacre

Haeberle photo

Mar. 16, 1968 - C Company, First Battalion, 20th Infantry, 11th Brigade, Americal Division under the command of Lt. William L. Calley, Jr., killed 90-130 men, women, children in the village of My Lai. Helicopter pilot Larry Colburn rescued some villagers during the attack.

Apr. 1969 - helicopter gunner Ronald Ridenhour heard about the massacre from C Company, wrote 30 letters to President Nixon and others, including Arizona Congressman Morris Udall.

April 23 - Army began investigation and charged Calley with the murder of 109 "Oriental human beings."

Sept. 6 - AP released a small story on the charge, published on page 38 of the NY Times.

William Calley

Oct. 22 - free-lance reporter Seymour Hersh began investigating, supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism, interviewed Calley Nov. 11 at Fort Benning.

Nov. 13 - 36 newspapers published Hersh's tory syndicated by the new Dispatch News Service. On this same day, the NY Times ran its own story writted by Bob Smith.

Nov. 20 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer published a second story on the massacre by Hersh, based on his interviews with C Company, with photos by Ronald L. Haeberle.

Dec. 5 - Time magazine published a story on My Lai, followed by Newsweek and Life.

Vietnam My Lai Survivors and Colin Powell from Reuters, July 23, 2001

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