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soldiers arrived in vietnam, and due to its color on maps, my lai was thought of as a communist gathering point
My Lai was pinkish on maps, a shade similar to red, so people just assumed it was mostly communist. -
soldiers are killed by traps in Vietnam
There were traps and mines hidden in Vietnam that American soldiers repeatedly stumbled into, and many died at the hands of unseen enemies. -
soldiers blame my lai citizens for their deaths
They believed that they were hiding where the traps were from the soldiers because they had communist sympathies and wanted the soldiers to die. -
soldiers in my lai were told they would get to kill the enemy
They were told that My Lai's citizens had evacuated and only Viet Cong and sympathizers were left in the area. Troops were also ordered to destroy crops and kill livestock. -
a nearby village was shelled, causing the evacuated citizens to return home in hope of safety
The bombardment was meant to clear an area for helicopters to land. -
the killing began, and immediately became a massacre
Soldiers followed their commanders' examples and orders, and murdered everyone they could find, even children and infants, raping many people, including children, as well. Part of this can be attributed to the anger at My Lai's citizens for letting them walk into traps, or the idea that there were no civilians there, but it was mostly following orders and the examples of the people in charge. -
the my lai massacre is revealed to the public when a veteran tells a journalist about what happened
The veteran had heard about it from a friend who had been there. -
william calley's trial begins
He was a lieutenant who killed 22 innocents and contributed to the start of the massacre. -
William Calley is charged with murder
He was a lieutenant who slaughtered 22 innocent people, and contributed to others joining in on the massacre, and he was convicted with the murders he personally committed.