LESSON 2
THE GENEVA CONVENTION
2-1.
INTRODUCTION
a. Consider the following, which is, unfortunately, taken from the decisions of
the military appellate courts in an actual case: "The insertion was not opposed by hostile
fire... Despite expectations of heavy resistance, C Company moved through My Lai
without receiving any fire. The unit encountered only unarmed, unresisting, frightened
old men, women, and children. The villagers were found in their homes eating
breakfast and beginning their morning chores. The villagers, including infants held in
their mothers' arms, were assembled and moved in separate groups to collection
points."
b. What happened next is history: One of the collection points for the villagers
was in the southern part of the village. There, PFC Meadlo guarded a group of between
30 to 40 old men, women, and children. Lieutenant Calley approached Meadlo and told
him, 'you know what to do, and left. He returned shortly and asked Meadlo why the
people were not yet dead. Meadlo replied he did not know that Calley had meant that
they should be killed. Calley declared that he wanted them dead. He and Meadlo then
opened fire on the group, until all but a few children fell. Calley then personally shot
these children. He expended 4 or 5 magazines from his M16 rifle in the incident.
Lieutenant Calley and Meadlo moved from this point to an irrigation ditch on the east
side of My Lai. There, they encountered another group of civilians being held by
several soldiers. Meadlo estimated that this group contained from 75 to 100 persons.
Calley stated, "We got another job to do Meadlo," and he ordered the group into the
ditch. Calley and Meadlo opened fire on them. Calley admitted that he fired into the
ditch with the muzzle of his weapon within five feet of the people in it. He expended
afterwards, a young child was observed running toward the village. Calley seized him by
the arm, threw him into the ditch, and fired and killed him.
c. "(He) saw twenty to thirty Vietnamese women, children, and a few old men;
saw Lieutenant Calley and SGT Mitchell shove these Vietnamese down into the ditch
and fire into them from four or five feet. The victims screamed and fell. (Private) Conti
found Lieutenant Calley and SGT Mitchell firing from six or seven feet into a ditch filled
with people who were screaming and trying to crawl up... They were just scattered
all over the ground in the ditch, some in piles and some scattered out 20,25
meters...They were very old people, very young children, and mothers. There was blood
all over them... They were--the majority were women and children, some babies...There
was blood. Some appeared to be dead, others followed me with their eyes as I walked
across the ditch," US v. Calley, 46 CMR 1128 (ACMR 1973), and US v. Calley, 48 CMR
19 (CMA 1973). The Government's official inquiry into this incident concluded that
"during the 1st Platoon's movement through the southern part of the sub hamlet, its
MD0033
2-2