"Independently of Glen, Ronald Ridenhour, a former member of the 11th Infantry Brigade, sent a letter in March 1969 to thirty members of Congress imploring them to investigate the circumstances surrounding the "Pinkville" incident.[36][37] Ridenhour had learned about the events at Mỹ Lai secondhand from talking to members of Charlie Company over a period of months beginning in April 1968. He became convinced that something "rather dark and bloody did indeed occur" at Mỹ Lai, and was so disturbed by the tales he heard that within three months of being discharged from the Army he penned his concerns to Congress.[36] Most recipients of Ridenhour's letter ignored it, with the exception of Congressman Mo Udall[38] and Senators Barry Goldwater and Edward Brooke.[39] Udall urged the House Armed Services Committee to call on Pentagon officials to conduct an investigation"[1] (emphasis mine)
This was two months before the public heard about it, and corrective actions were already beginning.
"In November 1969, General William R. Peers was appointed to conduct a thorough investigation into the My Lai incident and its subsequent cover-up. Peers' final report, published in March 1970, was highly critical of top officers for participating in the cover-up and the Charlie Company officers for their actions at Mỹ Lai 4."
The general sense is that whether or not Mai Lai was sanctioned, once congress (e.g. the people) got wind of it they began to look into it. An Army general looked into it (and the cover up) and sought to find those responsible and punish them. It wasn't enough, and Mai Lai added more fuel to anti-war demonstrations, but it was far more than we get today.
Our congressmen sit there watching public videos of war crimes, and do nothing except prosecute (and put pressure on other governments to prosecute) the people responsible for leaking and distributing the evidence.
"Independently of Glen, Ronald Ridenhour, a former member of the 11th Infantry Brigade, sent a letter in March 1969 to thirty members of Congress imploring them to investigate the circumstances surrounding the "Pinkville" incident.[36][37] Ridenhour had learned about the events at Mỹ Lai secondhand from talking to members of Charlie Company over a period of months beginning in April 1968. He became convinced that something "rather dark and bloody did indeed occur" at Mỹ Lai, and was so disturbed by the tales he heard that within three months of being discharged from the Army he penned his concerns to Congress.[36] Most recipients of Ridenhour's letter ignored it, with the exception of Congressman Mo Udall[38] and Senators Barry Goldwater and Edward Brooke.[39] Udall urged the House Armed Services Committee to call on Pentagon officials to conduct an investigation"[1] (emphasis mine)
This was two months before the public heard about it, and corrective actions were already beginning.
"In November 1969, General William R. Peers was appointed to conduct a thorough investigation into the My Lai incident and its subsequent cover-up. Peers' final report, published in March 1970, was highly critical of top officers for participating in the cover-up and the Charlie Company officers for their actions at Mỹ Lai 4."
The general sense is that whether or not Mai Lai was sanctioned, once congress (e.g. the people) got wind of it they began to look into it. An Army general looked into it (and the cover up) and sought to find those responsible and punish them. It wasn't enough, and Mai Lai added more fuel to anti-war demonstrations, but it was far more than we get today.
Our congressmen sit there watching public videos of war crimes, and do nothing except prosecute (and put pressure on other governments to prosecute) the people responsible for leaking and distributing the evidence.
That's a big difference.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre#Reporting.2C_co...