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Calley was charged on September 5, 1969 with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians near the village of Song My, at a hamlet called My Lai 4, more commonly called My Lai in the U.S. press. In this well documented atrocity, 500 villagers, all of them women, children, infants and elderly, were assembled and then executed by soldiers of Charlie Company, Americal Division. Together with massive aerial bombardment, atrocities committed against civilians by ground troops help to explain why the ratio of civilian to soldier casualties in the Vietnam War was 20:1, higher than in previous wars involving the United States.

Calley's trial started on November 17, 1969 and resulted in a conviction on March 29March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in Leap years). There are 277 days remaining. Events 1461 Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England. 1638 Swedish colo, 19711971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). Events January January 1 British divorce Reform Act comes into force January 2 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster. Janua of premeditated murder of 22 civilians for his role in the massacre. On March 31March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years). There are 275 days remaining. Events 307 After divorcing his wife Minerva, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian. 1774 American R, 1971 he was sentenced to life in prison.

Testimony revealed that Calley had ordered the men of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, American Division to shoot everyone in the village. Whether his immediate superior officer, Captain Ernest Medina, had given him that order was disputed. Medina was later acquitted of all charges relating to the incident at a separate trial. Of the 26 officers and soldiers initially charged for their participation in the My Lai massacre or the subsequent cover-up, only Calley was convicted.

Calley was seen by some as a scapegoatThe scapegoat apparently was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. The rite is described in Leviticus 16. In the Hebrew Bible T used by the U.S. Army instead of accepting responsibility for the failure to instill morale and discipline in its troops and commanders. Others, with lack of knowledge about his education or background, sought to excuse his actions because of his low intelligence and cultural background.

On April 1April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. Events 527 Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. 1789 In New York City, the United Stat, only a day after Calley was sentenced, President Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon ( January 9, 1913 April 22, 1994) was the thirty-sixth ( 1953 1961) Vice President, and the thirty-seventh ( 1969 1974) President of the United States. He is the only man to have been elected twice to the Vice Presidency and twice to ordered him released from prison; in August 1971 his term was reduced to 20 years. Ultimately, despite having ordered his troops to commit mass murder of civilians, Calley only served 3 1/2 years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning, Georgia and was then released in 19741974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). Events January-February January 5 Dungeons & Dragons officially released. February 4 Patricia Hearst, the 19 year old granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped by a federal judge. He is now a jeweler in Columbus, Georgia.

See also: Vietnam War