He passed away at the age of 80 William Calleysince your officer American army, the only one convicted of the massacre of civilians in Mi Lai, during its war Vietnam.
According to the Washington Post, William Calley died on April 28 in Gainesville, Florida, but news of his death did not become known until a recent search of public records.
The Mi Lai Massacre
On March 16, 1968, in the midst of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), William Calley, then a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, ordered his men to kill villagers in My Lai because of mistaken information that Viet Cong insurgents were hiding among the civilians.
Although no evidence of the presence of enemy fighters was found by the Americans, villagers were tortured, raped, and massacred by the hundreds.
The count remains disputed to this day. American sources estimate the death toll to be 347, while Vietnam estimates the civilian death toll to be 504.
Most of the victims were women, children and the elderly.
War crimes conviction
William Calley was the only American soldier to be convicted, in 1971, of this crime, which was covered up for more than a year by the American military and presented as a “victory” in the war by General William Westmoreland.
He testified in military court that he was simply following orders from his superiors.
Twelve other military personnel were charged with crimes related to the massacre – including cover-up – but all were acquitted.
William Calley was convicted of the murder of 22 civilians and sentenced to life in prison and hard labor. However, his sentence was commuted a few days later by then-President Richard Nixon, and he was released after three years of house arrest.
He apologized during a speech in Columbus in 2009.
Sources: APE-MPE, AFP