My+Lai+Audio+Files



=Part I= **US soldiers killed 504 innocent Vietnamese villagers at My Lai in Vietnam on March 16th 1968.** Women and children were raped, cattle were slaughtered, houses burned and crops destroyed. It became known as the 'My Lai massacre' and its significance still resonates today. Only one solider, Lt William Calley, was prosecuted for what happened on that day.

**The My Lai Tapes - Part One** In the first episode of this two part series, Robert Hodierne, an American military journalist pieces together the horror and barbarism that swept through the village of My Lai 40 years ago. He reconstructs the events that led up to that day with exclusive archive recordings from the US Army's own investigation into the massacre. He also speaks to surviving victims and to some of the perpetrators of that historic day. **Massacre at 'Pinkville'** The Vietnam war was America's attempt to stop Communists from toppling one country after another in South East Asia. The US fought there from the early 1960s until 1975. It became America's longest war. By 1968 there were nearly half a million US troops in Vietnam and more were being hurriedly drafted in to fight. Most of the men sent into battle in My Lai were very inexperienced and very few of them had seen combat. It was an unconventional war where the enemy wasn't clear - everybody and everything that moved was considered a target. My Lai was a search and destroy mission - everything from housing and food to people was to be wiped out. The operation lasted four hours and in that time, US troops had sustained one death and eight injuries. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">In contrast 504 villagers were murdered and, in some cases, raped and mutilated. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The operation was touted as a success by the US military and the truth of what really happened remained a secret for a whole year. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">**The real truth** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">As misgivings about the Vietnam war grew, news of what happened at My Lai gradually began to surface. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The US Army then ordered its own investigation into the massacre, it was called 'The Peers Inquiry'. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">In the second part of the My Lai Tapes, you can hear, for the first time, the recordings of the US Army's internal inquiry into the massacre. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The tapes lay forgotten for nearly 40 years until they were tracked down by the British journalist Celina Dunlop, who spent two years trawling through the national archive near Washington. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The Peers Inquiry proved that US soldiers raped and killed hundreds of civilians. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">It showed just how badly trained and ignorant many of the young men were about the proper treatment of civilians during war. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The conclusions of the inquiry went on to make important and lasting recommendations about how soldiers should be trained in the laws of war.

media type="file" key="My Lai Tapes part one -bbc.mp3" width="240" height="20"

=Part II=

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">**The My Lai Tapes - Part Two** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">In 1969, almost a year after the atrocities in My Lai, the US Army were so concerned about the rumours of a cover-up of the massacre, that an internal inquiry was ordered. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">It became known as 'The Peers Inquiry'. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">In the second part of this series, Robert Hodierne, an American military journalist looks at the investigation in detail. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">In this programme you can hear for the first time, the actual recorded testimonies of soldiers, senior officers, chaplains and journalists. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The tape recordings from the Peers Inquiry were tracked down only last year by the British journalist Celina Dunlop. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">These recordings provide crucial evidence about this notorious event - a turning point in the Vietnam War. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">**The Peers Inquiry**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The Inquiry was led by General William Peers and took place behind closed doors in the basement of the Pentagon from December 1969 to March 1970. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">More than 400 witnesses were questioned under oath - everyone from foot-soldiers to the Division Command was interviewed. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">Transcripts were made of every word and 400 hours were recorded. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The Inquiry ended on March 14th 1970, nearly 2 years to the day after the My Lai Massacre. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">It proved that US soldiers raped and killed hundreds of civilians in not just one but three villages that day. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">It also proved that two companies, not only the infamous Charlie Company, were involved. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">It showed just how badly trained and ignorant many of the young men were about the proper treatment of civilians during war. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em;">The Peers Inquiry went on to make important and lasting recommendations about how soldiers should be trained in the laws of war - issues that still resonate in Afghanistan, Iraq and other conflicts today.

media type="file" key="My Lai Tapes part two BBC.mp3" width="240" height="20"

If you want to download them just follow this link (right click on it and choose "open in new tab"):

then scroll down to the files, right click on the file name and when a menu appears click on save link as and save it to somewhere like the desktop of the computer you are using. From there you can listen to it or load it onto your i-pod, i-pad, i-phone, or any mp3 player.

Here are the source web pages (you can also download directly from these):

Program #1

Program #2