40 years since the Mai Lai massacre

this article contains a terrible beauty in a way, and says a whole lot about the capacity for the human spirit to be renewed in the face of such an atrocity. JMO.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080316/ap_on_re_as/vietnam_my_lai;_ylt=AqyWuo52JBL4KgqLxDwNc3qs0NUE

The TWO pictures of John McCain on that site--even though they are not "with" the article--seem extremely inappropriate to me!

Pandora said:

The TWO pictures of John McCain on that site--even though they are not "with" the article--seem extremely inappropriate to me!

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I didn't even notice....

What a beautiful and heartbreaking article.

believe09 said:

this article contains a terrible beauty in a way, and says a whole lot about the capacity for the human spirit to be renewed in the face of such an atrocity. JMO.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080316/ap_on_re_as/vietnam_my_lai;_ylt=AqyWuo52JBL4KgqLxDwNc3qs0NUE

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This brings back a terrible memory for me. When we were young and our friends were being sent over to Nam there were times on leave that we got together. One of my more compassionate friends was home on leave because his brother had been killed in an auto accident. He spoke of a pregnant woman who threw a grenade at them and he killed her. He balled his eyes out but knew that she would kill him or other members of his troup. It was an impossible situation and his young butt never really got over it.

He is still alive and well. He has added value to our world because of it. His compassion but his knowledge moves everything forward. To one of the people who care, Kenneth. The troups were his regard that night. My Lai was a disaster. An embarrassment but it isn't without what was going on at the time.

Yes, I have sat with many Vietnam combat vets over the years. What it all boils down to is that if you weren't actually there, you don't know what it was like. And even some who were there could have been standing 50 yards away for another guy and not see something - like a woman reaching for a grenade to throw at them.

I know it sounds harsh, but many of our guys came home alive because they were taught to shoot first and ask questions later. As time went on during the war, that policy was recinded. And our troops paid an extremely high price for it, as the 50,000+ names on The Wall show us.

My prayers go out to all the combat vets, from that war and the current one. They will never, ever be the same.....never. It stays with them and changes them forever.

AlwaysShocked said:

Yes, I have sat with many Vietnam combat vets over the years. What it all boils down to is that if you weren't actually there, you don't know what it was like. And even some who were there could have been standing 50 yards away for another guy and not see something - like a woman reaching for a grenade to throw at them.

I know it sounds harsh, but many of our guys came home alive because they were taught to shoot first and ask questions later. As time went on during the war, that policy was recinded. And our troops paid an extremely high price for it, as the 50,000+ names on The Wall show us.

My prayers go out to all the combat vets, from that war and the current one. They will never, ever be the same.....never. It stays with them and changes them forever.

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I went to school with "Rusty" Calley. My dad was his math teacher. I've spoken with him several times over the years. We asked him to come to our reunions, but he was so afraid of publicity and being hounded by the media, he declined. I have also known other Viet Nam vets, as well as those whose names appear on the Wall.