The morning of March 16,1968 started with killing spree in the Vietnamese village of My Lai. The troops was assigned to, what was known as Charlie Company, had received orders from their superior and commanding officer Lieutenant Willaim Cauley. They were ordered to launched a "search and destroy" mission. This was meant to find any living humans/animals and commence to killing. As good troops they followed the order given and entered into the village opening fire. Hundreds of innocent civilians were murdered including women while praying, babies, and the elderly. During this bloody massacre there were use of firearems, grenades and bayonets. Many were shot in the back of their heads and while trying to escape. That tells us that they were shot with the back turned and unaware of what was about to happen.
Prior to the cold-blooded murders, Charlie Company had lost a quite a few of their men to combat. They were down to approximately 105 men. As a result, they were bound for some brutal tactics and full of rage. They went berserk and engaged in this terrible killing spree, without mercy.
This story did not become public until over an year later in November 1969. It was presented in way to blame failure in the leadership, discipline, and morale of those involved. Lieutenant William Cauley was said to be a unemployed college drop-out. But he graduated from the officer candidate school and were commissioned. He was trial for murder and sentence to life in prision. After a numerous of appeals he was released in 1974.
