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Ernest Medina, Army Captain Acquitted in My Lai Massacre, Dies at 81
NYT ^ | 14 May 2018 | Richard Goldstein

Posted on 05/14/2018 11:06:37 AM PDT by oh8eleven

Ernest L. Medina, the Army captain who was accused of overall responsibility for the March 1968 mass killings of unarmed South Vietnamese men, women and children by troops he commanded in what became known as the My Lai massacre, but was acquitted at a court-martial, died on Tuesday in Peshtigo, Wis. He was 81.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: army; medina; mylai; obituary; veterans; vietnam; vietnamvets
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After all these years it's still hard to believe Calley was the only one convicted.
1 posted on 05/14/2018 11:06:37 AM PDT by oh8eleven
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To: oh8eleven

My uncle was there (later died from a mortar.) His letters home to my Grandmother strongly suggested that Lt. Calley was railroaded and did not deserve most, if not all, of the accusations or treatment he received.


2 posted on 05/14/2018 11:15:39 AM PDT by SoConPubbie (Mitt and Obama: They're the same poison, just a different potency)
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To: SoConPubbie

Being 81 years of age in 2018 would have made him 21 during the Mi Lai Massacre. 21 and a captain?


3 posted on 05/14/2018 11:17:47 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: SoConPubbie

ok 31 and a captain. Pardon my math.


4 posted on 05/14/2018 11:20:05 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

I think 31 (81-50).


5 posted on 05/14/2018 11:20:24 AM PDT by HombreSecreto (Iron Maiden? EXCELLENT!)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

It’s hard not to wonder if that was an intelligence op to provide our enemies with a “gotcha!” moment.


6 posted on 05/14/2018 11:20:36 AM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: oh8eleven
The Joint Chiefs told LBJ they would be hard pressed to find a strategy that would win with a military force not trained for counterinsurgency.

They were correct. And the frustration of attrition and not winning took its toll.

7 posted on 05/14/2018 11:24:06 AM PDT by Salvavida
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To: SoConPubbie

From Wiki:

William Laws Calley Jr. (born June 8, 1943) is a former United States Army officer convicted by court-martial of murdering 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War.

While not technically exonerated, after three and a half years of house arrest, Calley was released pursuant to a ruling by federal judge J. Robert Elliott who found that Calley’s trial had been prejudiced by pre-trial publicity, denial of subpoenas of certain defense witnesses, refusal of the United States House of Representatives to release testimony taken in executive session of its My Lai investigation, and inadequate notice of the charges.

His initial conviction faced widespread public opposition both due to the campaign circumstances of civilian embedded Viet Cong, and due to Calley being singled out as the sole officer convicted with respect to the massacre.


8 posted on 05/14/2018 11:26:27 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: SoConPubbie

You note in your “about” page that McCain finished very low in his Navy Academy class. Calley finished last in his OCS class. I live in the greater Columbus, Georgia area as does “Rusty” and he may be a nice guy most days but his guilt at My Lai is pretty well confirmed.

If so many college boys at not dodged the draft or run to Canada, Calley would never have been an officer and he should not have been one.


9 posted on 05/14/2018 11:28:00 AM PDT by Monterrosa-24
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To: DIRTYSECRET
Being 81 years of age in 2018 would have made him 21 during the Mi Lai Massacre. 21 and a captain?

I seem to remember he was Lt. when all this went down. I have no recollection of him ever being addressed as Capt. Calley

10 posted on 05/14/2018 11:41:35 AM PDT by itsahoot (Welcome to the New USA where Islam is a religion of peace and Christianity is a mental disorder.)
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To: itsahoot

Psst, I believe he is talking about Captain Medina.


11 posted on 05/14/2018 11:46:53 AM PDT by Gamecock (In church today, we so often find we meet only the same old world, not Christ and His Kingdom. AS)
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To: oh8eleven

Simply more Monday morning quarterbacking.


12 posted on 05/14/2018 11:51:04 AM PDT by Rannug (When you're dead, you're dead. Until then fight with everything you have.)
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To: SoConPubbie

No offense to your uncle who gave all but there are reams of testimony that Calley was guilty as hell..and then some

What is also true is that he got scapegoated because he sure didn’t act alone

This was not some pissed of Marine in Tarawa executing s few Jap prisoners or some Airborne guy in France losing his cool and clipping some surrendered Wehrmacht

This was a platoon directed by their CO to massacre an entire village by all means and Calley led the way

That’s not acceptable and nobody I’ve known as an American combat vet thinks it is....

Warrant officer and future major Hugh Thompson stopped the masssacre by force from his chopper and saved dozens from Calley and his men

It’s also true that the army brass tried to cover it up....including former free republic favorite Colin Powell


13 posted on 05/14/2018 12:03:32 PM PDT by wardaddy (Reward for young runaway goes by Kanye fancies hisself a poet...if seen contact his overseer@DNC.org)
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To: Monterrosa-24

James Webb, former Navy Secretary, made the same point. I think he wrote that Calley was passed over 3 times, but due to all the draft dodgers, the Army eventually took him.


14 posted on 05/14/2018 12:06:08 PM PDT by Amberdawn (If The Left Didn't Believe In Double Standards, They'd Have No Standards At All.)
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To: oh8eleven

Yeah, I’ve always wondered why Captain Medina wasn’t held accountable, given that he was nominally “in charge”.


15 posted on 05/14/2018 12:08:14 PM PDT by Amberdawn (If The Left Didn't Believe In Double Standards, They'd Have No Standards At All.)
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To: oh8eleven

Calley was convicted but he did not serve hardly any time, and certainly not nearly enough to pay for what he did. I agree that Calley wasn’t the only bad one. Others deserved punishment too. Calley was guilty but so was Medina and many others. They all said they were told to add to the body count. Truly sad times.

People at the time didn’t want to believe Calley had done such ghastly things. People who spoke out against him were denounced as traitors. The government tried to use the real good guy (Hugh Thompson) to cover up the crimes by lying on his medal, which he threw away. Thompson was then denounced. I thank God for Thompson who stopped it.


16 posted on 05/14/2018 12:29:03 PM PDT by Vaden (First they came for the Confederates... Next they came for Washington... Then they came...)
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To: Monterrosa-24; All

Your comments are a virtual paraphrase of those I heard General William Westmoreland speak to the Army officers attending the USAF War College in 1971.


17 posted on 05/14/2018 12:32:44 PM PDT by robowombat (Orthodox)
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To: Monterrosa-24

Have to agree. Calley was convicted of personally shooting Vietnamese civilians, not just of losing control of his platoon which ran amok.


18 posted on 05/14/2018 12:41:49 PM PDT by elcid1970 ("The Second Amendment is more important than Islam. Buy ammo.")
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To: oh8eleven

RIP CPT

Colin Powel is one who should have been taken down, but wasn’t.


19 posted on 05/14/2018 12:53:42 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: onedoug

Colin Powell ... the “man” who wanted to run for president ... but his wife wouldn’t let him.


20 posted on 05/14/2018 1:32:39 PM PDT by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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