"I don't wish to see anyone hurt: or anyone die for anyone else's sins. Not President Johnson or General Westmoreland or Captain Medina: I don't want to defame anyone to defend myself. I'm sorry about it: sometimes, my attorneys did to Medina what the prosecutor would do to me. "Now, wasn't the real villain in Mylai Captain Medina? And not that poor sweet lieutenant?" But the lieutenant wasn't all so sweet, and the captain was no more villain than any American from the President down. The guilt: as Medina said, we all as American citizens share it. I agree. I don't believe in goats, or pigeons, or patsies. I just don't believe they're in America's interest. For years, we Americans all have taken the easy way out. And been hypocritical fools. And gone around saying, "I'm nice. I'm sweet. I'm innocent." "You starved a thousand people today." "Who me?" "You threw away the scraps from the dinner table." "Aw-" "You killed a thousand people today." "Who me?" "You sent the Army to Mylai and-" "That wasn't me! That was Lieutenant Calley!" No, that isn't right for America. I say if there's guilt, we must suffer it. And learn. And change. And go on. For that is what guilt must be really for."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 174
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Calley
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
William Calley
William Laws Calley Jr. (June 8, 1943-April 28, 2024) is an American war criminal and a former United States Army officer convicted by court-martial for the premeditated killings of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the Mỹ Lai massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. Calley was released to house arrest under orders by President Richard Nixon three days after his conviction. A new trial was ordered by the [[w:United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit|
35 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by William Calley →
Related Quotes
"He just didn't understand it, the captain. Killing people in war's something new? Now what in the hell else is war th…"
"We thought, We will go to Vietnam and be Audie Murphies. Kick in the door, run in the hooch, give it a good burst- ki…"
"A village is the last damned place to RON: to remain overnight in. There would be Vietnamese all around us. Old mamas…"
"Everyone said eliminate them. I never met someone who didn't say it. A captain told me, "Goddamn it. I sit with my st…"
"We had a Plan, Medina was telling everyone now. And went to a Jeep: and taking a shovel out, he drew in the sand bene…"
"I know you'll say, "All right: if Medina said to kill everyone in Atlanta, would you?" And someday an Army officer ma…"
"In war, the dead people don't cry. The ones who are still alive do."
"Americans like to think that war is John Wayne. To get a grenade and a VC's throat, to shove the grenade right down i…"
"Can one credibly talk about fascism in the North American context as we approach the year 2000? Is it even remotely p…"
"It's odd about war crimes. We seem to have tried people only if they've lost the war."