It was March 16th, 1968, and I was a platoon leader with the 196th Infantry Brigade in Viet Nam. Not a fun place to be. I remember being struck by the random raggedness and discipline problems within the ranks. It was bad news and reflected the times. We were a uniformed microcosm of what was happening back home "in the world," as we called it. If the USA ever looses its luster and our freedom becomes a footnote in history, 1968 will be the year to stick a pin in as the "start of the fall."
The 23rd Infantry Division, better known as the "Americal," had been moving North into I Corps. My brigade, with our headquarters at LZ Baldy (South of Da Nang) had started to hear about "some pretty bad stuff" that had happened with our sister unit, the 11th Infantry Brigade, further South in a village called My Lai. We heard about a Cpt. Medina (aka "Mad Dog Medina") and a Lt. Calley and "some sort of massacre?" What did that mean? We were Americans, right? We didn't do that sort of thing! Well, during my time, I learned that human nature doesn't leave Americans untouched. They say that "War is Hell." You know what? It's true... literally true. I believe (forgive me for the preaching here) in a very simple, biblical explanation for why we humans often depart from doing the right thing. And for those of you who have experienced war, don't try to tell me that there is not a demonic presence. It is palpable and you can feel it suck on your soul as you live out the madness.
What happened at My Lai that day was demonic, just like Hitler's troops mercilessly eradicating helpless Jews and later saying, "I was just following orders." I thank God that these incidents with our troops are isolated and few and far between... but they happen. War brings it out of all of us - and reading the rules of The Geneva Convention doesn't act as a healing salve. War is not nice... and it takes rough guys (and now gals too!) to win them. Some are justified and some are not. It's often difficult to figure the difference. There are thousands of "massacres" recorded throughout history... most meted out by the bad guys, but not always. There was that bridge in Korea... and that prison in Iraq... The list could be longer, but you see what I mean. Revenge is in the dark part of our nature. Pearl Harbors beget Hiroshimas. It won't stop until this planet does.
Pray for the survivors of My Lai, both Vietnamese and American. Pray that these horrific incidents in some way result in changed lives. God does not do these things to us. But he does allow them, as a result of our choices and will, to happen. Again, I don't mean to preach, but when awful things happen, it's then that we turn to him for help. When Columbine and 9/11 happened, we thumbed our collective noses at the ACLU... and we prayed.
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