ed houses, livestock, and all inhabitants they could find in less than 20 minutes.No other resistance was encountered.Some villagers were herded into ditches where they were shot. Still other groups were taken to a southern trail and shot there. Members of the 2nd Platoon killed at least sixty to seventy Vietnamese men, women, and children. The 2nd platoon also committed several rapes of the women. Military photographers recorded graphic images of bodies dumped in ditches. Many of these photos were given to Time Magazine and published. (Time 1) A group of about 70-80 Vietnamese were killed in a mass execution in the same fashion.Orders were given during the morning to stop the mass killings. The 2nd platoon stopped at 0920 hours, but the 1st platoon didn't stop until 1030 hours when the orders were repeated. There were only twenty-five or so Vietnamese survivors who excaped by hiding under the bodies of their neighbors and relatives. This was not an isolated incident however, while the massacre at My Lai was taking place there was a similar mission of nearby My Khe of a lesser magnitude. The death toll in My Khe was over 90 women and children, but far less than the estimated tolls of My Lai. The estimates of My Lai deaths of non combatants ranges from 175-450+. Only one US soldier was killed in action, and seven were wounded in action due to the numerous land mines. My Lai and My Khe are both small hamlets of Son My, an area in Vietnam just east of Cambodia. This is one of the most brutal reports of an attack on a civilian village during the Vietnam war. When one hears about all the horrorousities that occured, it brings one's self to wonder; What was going on over there? What was going through the minds of these people? What atrousities did they see to drive them to this type of brutal attack? We are of course assuming that no one in the right mind would murder large groups of innocent people in that day in age, especi...
