"We had a Plan, Medina was telling everyone now. And went to a Jeep: and taking a shovel out, he drew in the sand beneath him a map of our operation area. From left to right, this was Mylai Four, Mylai Five, Mylai ix, and Mylai One: or Pinkville, on the China sea. Pinkville now was the VC basecamp, Medina said, but we didn't want to get fired on from behind and we would start at Mylai Four. And continue on to Mylai Five, Mylai Six, and Mylai One. "We mustn't let anyone get behind us," Medina said, as I remember it. "Alpha and Bravo got messed up because they let the VC get behind them. And took heavy casualties and lost their momentum, and it was their downfall. Our job," Medina said, "is to go in rapidly and to neutralize everything. Kill everything." "Captain Medina? Do you mean women and children, too?" "I mean everything.""
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 89
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…"
"I know you'll say, "All right: if Medina said to kill everyone in Atlanta, would you?" And someday an Army officer ma…"
"I don't wish to see anyone hurt: or anyone die for anyone else's sins. Not President Johnson or General Westmoreland …"
"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."