The man who carried his unit's radio on his back in the field. Rock a combat-scarred World War II comic book character SERTS Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School set a party SF Special Forces shake'n'bake sergeant who attended NCO school and earned rank after only a very short time in uniform shamming goofing off or getting by with as little effort as possible shaped charge an explosive charge, the energy of which is focused in one direction shit burning the sanitization of latrines by kerosene incineration of excrement short a term used by everyone in Vietnam to tell all who would listen that his tour was almost over short-timer soldier nearing the end of his tour in Vietnam short-timer's stick when a soldier had approximately two months remaining on his tour in Vietnam, he might take a long stick and notch it for each of his remaining days in-country.
As each day passed he would cut the stick off another notch until on his rotation day he was left with only a small stub. Used for carrying men or anything else that would fit on it. The helicopter did not have protruding armaments and was, therefore, "slick". Used for signaling. The booklet that contained all of the call signals and radio frequencies of the units in Vietnam.
An Army rank immediately above Private First Class. Most enlisted men who had completed their individual training and had been on duty for a few months were Spec-4s. Probably the most common rank in the Vietnam-era Army.
Spec-5 Specialist 5th Class. Equivalent to a sergeant. Supposedly meant to imply superior qualities. Spooky a large propeller-driven aircraft with a Minigun mounted in the door. Capable of firing 6, rounds per minute. Also used to refer to gunship helicopters with Miniguns. SP pack cellophane packet containing toiletries and cigarettes which was sometimes given along with C-rations to soldiers in the field.
Later, a unit being withdrawn from Vietnam and redeployed to the U. Starlifter a C, the largest military cargo transport airplane in the Air Force inventory starlight scope an image intensifier using reflected light to identify targets at night steel pot the standard U. Although Ridenhour is discharged soon after this interview and returns to his home in Phoenix, he continues gathering information about the events of March He writes a letter presenting the evidence of a massacre at My Lai.
April 2, Ridenhour sends his letter to 30 prominent men in Washington, D. Mo Udall's office is the first to respond directly to Ridenhour, calling for an official investigation. April 12, Highly decorated veteran Colonel Howard Whitaker receives orders to investigate Ridenhour's allegations and flies to Chu Lai, Vietnam to begin the process. Whitaker reports almost immediately to Washington that the men of Charlie Company mentioned by Ridenhour should be interviewed.
April 29, After questioning Ridenhour in Phoenix, Army veteran Colonel William Wilson begins to interview members of Charlie Company in an attempt to determine whether the events at My Lai merited a criminal investigation. In his testimony, Sergeant LaCroix admits that there had been "unnecessary" civilian casualties and mentions that Warrant Officer Thompson had filed a complaint following the operation.
Mid-May Colonel Wilson interviews Captain Medina, who reveals that Henderson had been directed to conduct an investigation. This is a red flag to Wilson, and when he interviews Henderson on the 26th he initially claims that his informal investigation revealed nothing alarming. Later in the interview, however, Henderson claims that he made both a formal and an informal investigation, the former conducted by Colonel Barker.
However, due to Barker's death and the disorganization in the Chu Lai headquarters, no report is located. June 5, Lieutenant Calley is identified as a suspect in an official inquiry and recalled to the U. June 13, Warrant Officer Thompson is asked to identify the officer he argued with when he landed his plane at My Lai, and Thompson picks Lieutenant Calley out of a lineup.
July 17, Wilson interviews Private Meadlo, who is the first to personally confess his guilt. With Meadlo's confession, Colonel Wilson presents the findings of his investigation to the Office of the Inspector General in Washington. August 4, The investigation is turned over to the Criminal Investigation Division CID after it is determined that a full criminal investigation is necessary. August 25, Detective Feher interviews former Army photographer Sergeant Haeberle, who shows Feher a collection of personal photographs he had taken at My Lai.
These pictures are the first hard evidence regarding the alleged massacre. September 5, The day before his scheduled discharge from the Army, Lieutenant Calley is charged with six counts of premeditated murder. The public information office issues a press release stating Calley was being retained because of an ongoing investigation.
NBC Correspondent Robert Goralski states during an evening broadcast five days later that Lieutenant Calley "has been accused of premeditated murder of a number of South Vietnamese civilians. The murders are alleged to have been committed a year ago and the investigation is continuing. Hersh's story is the first to explicitly alert the American press to an investigation, and within days the reporters from the New York Times , Newsweek magazine and ABC descend upon Son My village where some My Lai survivors remain.
November 17, The New York Times runs a story that quotes survivors of the My Lai massacre, who claim over Vietnamese men, women and children were killed by American soldiers. November 26, The General of the U. Army, W.
Westmoreland, issues a directive for an investigation into the My Lai incident, and appoints Lieutenant General William R. Peers to lead the inquiry. Peers, a well-respected core commander in Vietnam, is ordered to examine the adequacy of inquiries into the My Lai massacre. This inquiry is intended to focus on a possible military cover up, whereas Detective Feher and the CID are charged with examining potential war crimes during the operation itself. In a hearing before the armed services committee of the House and Senate, Secretary of the Army, Stanley Resor, testifies.
He presents what was incontrovertibly known about the My Lai massacre and announces the appointment of Lieutenant General Peers to lead the inquiry. Resor also presents Photographer Sergeant Ron Haeberle's photos from that day. Early December Lieutenant General Peers' inquiry team grows exponentially, and the number of officers under investigation increases to The Wall Street Journal publishes an informal poll that claims most Americans don't believe the claims that a massacre took place in My Lai.
December 2, The Peers inquiry identifies 10 possible suspects for the My Lai killings and begins taking testimony from witnesses. December 5, Sergeant Haeberle's photos are published and exacerbate the already-strong public outcry over the My Lai massacre.
The horrific images immediately cause a country-wide uproar. December 8, President Nixon speaks for the first time about the My Lai investigation, acknowledging that it appears a massacre took place, but stating his confidence that it was an isolated incident. The census concludes that Charlie Company killed Vietnamese men, women and children. December 24, The Peers Inquiry has gathered testimony from 39 witnesses. General Peers travels to Vietnam to locate copies of Lieutenant Colonel Barker's formal investigation that both Colonel Henderson and Major General Koster insisted existed, but finds no evidence of a report existing.
During his two weeks in Vietnam, Peers also conducts more interviews and takes a reconnaissance flight over the My Lai villages. January 8, Returning from Vietnam, Peers expands his team to accommodate multiple simultaneous interviews. The inquiry report deadline is set for March 14th. March 7, The Peers Inquiry finishes their th interview to complete taking the testimony.
Three days later Captain Medina is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and premeditated murder of over civilians. The Panel names 30 people who had suppressed evidence about the killing of civilians during the My Lai operation. Because of a two-year statute of limitations on military offenses, the army has only two days to press charges. March 15, The Army presses charges against 25 men, including Captain Eugene Koutoc aggravated assault, Colonel Oran Henderson dereliction of duty, failure to report a war crime, perjury, and Brigadier General George Young dereliction of duty, failure to obey lawful regulations.
November 17, Lieutenant Calley's court-martial begins for six counts of premeditated murder that he had been charged with nearly a year before. A conviction of these charges could come with a death sentence, and therefore brought a massive amount of media attention. During the trial, the military prosecutor insisted that Calley ordered his men to deliberately murder civilians, a direct defiance of the U.
Rules of Engagement. Calley's defense was that he was simply following the orders of Captain Medina, a defense damaged by Medina's denial of any such order. January During his trial for charges of assault with intent to murder at least six My Lai civilians, Sergeant Charles Hutto admits to killing a group of unarmed civilians with an M60 machine gun.
Hutto's acquittal on the 14th sets the precedent that "obeying orders" is a viable defense for mass murder. February 26, Despite Lieutenant General Peers' conclusion that General Koster was the motivating force behind the cover-up, charges against Koster are dropped. According to Peers, Koster is the beneficiary of a whitewash, and his only reprimand comes in the form of a reduction in rank. Lieutenant Calley's trial provides the country with a public presentation of what actually occurred at My Lai.
Calley, although not charged with everything that occurred, is accused of causing the deaths of a large percentage of those killed.
March 29, Calley is found guilty of premeditated murder of 22 civilians and sentenced to life in prison. This sentence is extremely controversial and generates a widespread public outcry, as an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that Calley was simply following orders, and condemn the fact that one soldier was serving as the army's scapegoat. Draft board members resign, veterans turn in their medals, and the "Free Calley" movement is born.
Georgian governor Jimmy Carter asked his constituency to drive for a week with their lights on in protest, and flags are flown at half-mast in the state of Indiana. April 1, After the White House receives over 5, letters of protest in one day, President Nixon intervenes and orders Lieutenant Calley released from the stockade and put under house arrest while his case is under review. Nixon's intervention sets a precedent of exoneration for the officers criminally associated with the incident at My Lai.
Lieutenant Calley's release from the stockade triggers other acquittals later this month. Captain Eugene Kotouc, the intelligence officer charged with assault and murder, will be cleared by a court-martial. Fall Captain Medina is acquitted of all charges and Lieutenant Calley's life sentence is reduced to 20 years. December 18, After a trial that included testimony from witnesses, Colonel Henderson is acquitted of all charges.
April 16, Lieutenant Calley's sentence is further reduced from 20 years to 10 years. Another one that sounds like a pretty decent acronym, until you consider that leather personnel carriers are just boots. Just say boots.
Or the mobile kitchen trailer. Bravo Zulu is the Navy way of saying well done. However, our insistence on using the phonetic alphabet on top of it has created a four-syllable acronym to replace a two-syllable phrase.
No Go. What the fuck?
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