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A quiet hamlet at dawn. No return fire. Smoke, screams, and a ditch that won’t leave your mind. We walk through how an ordinary American unit, raised on heroic war stories and trained to chase “body count,” entered My Lai expecting a firefight and left a graveyard behind. From the briefing that erased the idea of civilians to the moment a single killing unlocked a flood, we examine how culture, orders, and fear converged into atrocity—and how a helicopter crew chose to stand between rifles and villagers to keep them alive.

We dig into the mechanics and morality: scorched-earth tactics, platoons splitting through huts, the ditch executions under Lieutenant William Calley, and the chilling calm of false after-action reports. Then the second battle—truth versus institution—takes shape. Reports disappear, careers are protected, and those who speak up face threats or indifference. The silence finally breaks thanks to Ronald Ridenhour’s persistence, the Peers investigation’s scope, Seymour Hersh’s reporting, and Ronald Haeberle’s photographs that forced a nation to look. The fallout shifted public opinion, fueled the antiwar movement, and exposed a justice system that punished a single junior officer while sparing the chain of command.

Through it all, we center the courage of Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson and his crew, Lawrence Colburn and Glenn Andreotta, who landed between U.S. troops and terrified villagers, evacuated survivors, and later found a lone child alive in the ditch. Their story offers a counterpoint to despair: leadership is a choice, and accountability starts with one person refusing to look away. Press play to hear a stark, human account of My Lai—what led to it, who tried to stop it, who hid it, and why remembering matters now. If this resonates, subscribe, share, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

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Special thank you to Lunarfall Audio for producing and doing all the heavy lifting on audio editing since April 13, 2025, the Murder of Christopher Meyer episode https://lunarfallaudio.com/