1. Agenda
So, what did all of that tension and paranoia in Vietnam lead to?
Tomorrow: rest of Ch 30.3 AND start 30.4

2. Warm up question:
How did attitudes of the war change over time? Why do you think that is?
What might it lead them to do?

3. The U.S. military used a variety of tactics to fight the war in Vietnam
flammable liquid. Severe burns to people
The military used napalm to destroy villages & pesticides (Agent Orange) to destroy crops

4. Chemical Weapons of Vietnam
Napalm and Agent Orange
Long-term effects to civilians and soldiers
“The Jungle Exception“ to the Geneva Convention
Prohibits states from attacking forests or jungles "except if such natural elements are used to cover, conceal or camouflage combatants or military objectives or are military objectives themselves."
toxic chemical herbicide to deprive the enemy of food sources.

5. The U.S. military used a variety of tactics to fight the war in Vietnam
Soldiers were sent on deadly “search & destroy” missions into the jungles to find the Vietcong

6. General Westmoreland & the Credibility Gap
“Vietcong surrender is imminent”
“The U.S. has never lost a battle in Vietnam”
But, the military continued to draft more young men to fight in Vietnam
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel”
The American public believed their was a “credibility gap” between what the gov’t was saying & the reality of the Vietnam War

7. The Tet Offensive, 1968
In 1968, the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive against U.S. forces in South Vietnam
The attack was contrary to media reports that the U.S. was winning the Vietnam War
Tet offensive = lunar year holiday – January 31st – a series of coordinated attacks

8. The Tet Offensive, 1968
The Tet Offensive was a turning point in the Vietnam War
American attitudes towards the war changed & anti-war movement grew
President Johnson began to question whether the war could be won…
So people were saying “we’re so good the end of the war is in sight” and then this happens
…& LBJ announced that he would not seek re-election
“Johnson’s War”

9. Motivation and morale are waning in the late 1960s…
Wait, why again?

10. My Lai Massacre – March 1968

11. My Lai Massacre Why My Lai?
Believed to be a stronghold of the Vietcong
The lead up?
Heavily bombarded with Agent Orange
Search-and-destroy mission
The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people—women, children and old men—in the village of My Lai on March 16, More than 500 people were slaughtered in the My Lai massacre, including young girls and women who were raped and mutilated before being killed. U.S. Army officers covered up the carnage for a year before it was reported in the American press, sparking a firestorm of international outrage. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the official cover-up fueled anti-war sentiment and further divided the United States over the Vietnam War. (from history.com)

12. My Lai Massacre
Why?
Army Commander Captain Medina ordered the Charlie Company to destroy the village – all who were found in that area were active VC sympathizers
The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people—women, children and old men—in the village of My Lai on March 16, More than 500 people were slaughtered in the My Lai massacre, including young girls and women who were raped and mutilated before being killed. U.S. Army officers covered up the carnage for a year before it was reported in the American press, sparking a firestorm of international outrage. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the official cover-up fueled anti-war sentiment and further divided the United States over the Vietnam War. (from history.com)

13. My Lai Massacre What happened?
Quiet village of women and children, with a few older men
Villagers rounded up into groups
Lieutenant Calley ordered his Charlie Company to shoot the villagers
And livestock
Raped women, and burned the village to the ground

14. My Lai Massacre
“I saw them shoot an M79 (grenade launcher) into a group of people who were still alive. But it was mostly done with a machine gun. They were shooting women and children just like anybody else”
- Sgt. Michael Bernhardt, a soldier at the scene, talking to a reporter long after the event

15. My Lai Massacre Results: 504 deaths 182 women – 17 pregnant
173 children, 56 of whom were infants
Was covered up – the news broke about the massacre in November of 1969
But, Lieutenant Calley was charged with murder in September 1969…
14 men were charged with crimes, Calley was the only one convicted, but he was then pardoned by Nixon in 1974.

16. My Lai Massacre Why do you think this happened?
What will effects of this My Lai massacre (once the news breaks) be?
14 men were charged with crimes, Calley was the only one convicted, but he was then pardoned by Nixon in 1974.

17. Should anyone be guilty?
Let’s examine the extent to which people involved in the My Lai Massacre should be convicted of murder
Did you know that, during wartime, you cannot be charged with the murder of enemy combatants? It’s called noncriminal homicide.

18. Protesting the Vietnam War
Since 1965, U.S. troops had been in Vietnam… but 1968 was the height of the Vietnam War & the year of the disastrous Tet Offensive
As more men were drafted into the war, the larger the anti-Vietnam protests became