The My Lai Village
The My Lai Village was located in the South Vietnamese district of Son My that housed elderly men, women, and children. They were non-combatants during the massacre. Many were also sexually assaulted, tortured, or mutilated. Following orders, U.S. soldiers raided the village in search of Viet Cong, however, they were unsuccessful and created an atrocity that shocked the public.
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The divisive war, increasingly unpopular at home, ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under communist control two years later. More than 3 million people, including 58,000 Americans, were killed in the conflict.
The Viet Cong
The Viet Cong (Viet Nam Cong San or Vietnamese Communists) was a communistic organization and army that opposed the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War. During the war, communists and anti-war spokesmen demanded that the Viet Cong was an insurgency native to the South, while the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments portrayed the group as a tool of the city of Hanoi.