The Vietnam War (1955–1975) was an armed conflict which the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in the southern part of the country faced against the government of South Vietnam and its main ally, the USA. The war was directly preceded by the First Indochina War (1946-1954) where the French colonial power fought against the independence movement Viet Minh lead by Hồ Chí Minh. In addition, the Vietnam War was one of the most important demonstrations of the Cold War between the western block lead by the United States of America and the eastern block lead by the Soviet Union. North Vietnam, which had defeated the French colonial administration in 1954, intended to unify all the country under a unique communist regime inspired in the Soviet Union and China. On the other hand, the government of South Vietnam wished to keep Vietnam aligned with the West. The help from the US Army, which was permanent throughout the 1950s, increased from 1961 and, in 1965, included the presence of active combat units in Vietnam.
My Lai is the name of one of the villages which are part of Son My, in the central coast of South Vietnam. Pinkville was the name this region received in the military maps of the US Army. On March 16, 1968, within the framework of the operations against the 48th Battalion of the Viet Cong, a unit of the US Army lead by William L. Calley invaded the village. During the attack, hundreds of unarmed civilians, including children, women and old people, were murdered.
Under the order “burn everything, kill everything” the houses, cattle and crops belonging to the inhabitants were also destroyed. Within the course of four hours, the unit known as the Charlie Company executed 504 persons: 182 women, 172 children and 60 seniors; 247 houses were destroyed. Numerous cases of sexual abuse and torture were also recorded.
The massacre remained unknown until the end of 1969, when a series of letters of former soldier Ronald Ridenhour to officers of the US government forced the army to take action. Several soldiers and veterans were accused​of murder and concealment. The investigations of the army and the Congress concluded that, in fact, a massacre had occurred.
Out of the many originally accused soldiers​, only five were subjected to a martial court and one, Lieutenant Calley, was convicted. He was found guilty (1971) of the premeditated murders of at least twenty-two Vietnamese civilians and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1974, his sentence was annulled.
The US Army published an official report about its investigation in 1974.