In one of the most horrific incidents of violence against civilians during the Vietnam War, a company of American soldiers brutally killed the majority of the population of the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai in March of 1968.

As many as 500 villagers (exact numbers have never been confirmed) were estimated to have been killed, including men, women and children.

The My Lai massacre reportedly ended only after Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson (an Army helicopter pilot on a reconnaissance mission), landed his aircraft between the soldiers and the retreating villagers and threatened to open fire if they continued their attacks.

Higher-ranking U.S. Army officers managed to cover up the events of that day for a year. This sparked a wave of international outrage and led to a special investigation into the matter.

In 1970, a U.S. Army board charged 14 officers of crimes related to the events at My Lai. Only 1 person was convicted. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the extent of the cover-up exacerbated growing antiwar sentiment on the home front in the United States. This event further divided the nation over the continuing American presence in Vietnam.

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