Word: calley
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...matter of orders has become the central theme in the defense of those charged in the March 1968 massacre. In Hutto's court-martial and in the separate trial of Lieut. William Calley, the emphasis was on passing the buck upward toward the commanders who directed the assault on My Lai. The names of superiors, among them Company Commander Ernest Medina, Task Force Commander Frank Barker (who was killed three months after My Lai) and Brigade Commander Oran K. Henderson, were mentioned on the witness stand...
Loaded Babies. As he had done on television more than a year ago, Paul Meadlo described how he and Calley shot more than 100 Vietnamese. Meadlo, who left the Army before the criminal investigation began and testified only after being assured his testimony would not be used against him, talked about his constant fear, even of babies in their mothers' arms: "They might have been loaded with grenades that the mothers could have throwed." The image of an American soldier cringing before infants was in its own way as shattering as the massacre...
...Helfand began the SDS attack, saying, "The CFIA helps develop the military strength of reactionary governments to contain popular uprisings, and paves the way for foreign investment," He charged, "Massacres of entire Vietnamese villages can be traced not to Lieutenant Calley but to CFIA research...
Against such damning testimony, Defense Attorney George Latimer faces an uphill battle. But as he opened his defense late last week, he appeared to be arguing on a level different from that of the prosecution. In his opening speech, Latimer pointed out that Calley's platoon was inadequately trained and instructed, that the men were bent on avenging the buddies they had buried the afternoon before, and that although "higher commanders were in the area . . . not until after lunch were there any orders to cease firing." His choice of initial witnesses seemed designed to bear out these contentions...
Latimer has not denied that Calley killed some Vietnamese at My Lai. It is not likely he will do so. Instead, he is offering circumstantial evidence that he hopes will appeal to the military tribunal. Calley will eventually take the stand on his own behalf as well. Perhaps he will answer the one remaining question about My Lai: Why did it happen...