Today we visited the Son My (My Lai) Memorial. It commemorates the massacres that took place in this area on March 16th 1968 during the American war when US troops killed 504 unarmed villagers.
The memorial is very well done and truly one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. Many of the homes that had been destroyed have been rebuilt with a plaque naming the family members that were killed. The concrete path connecting the houses is covered in boot prints to represent the soldiers and bare footprints to represent the villagers. Yet another plaque marks the ditch where 170 villagers were gathered and shot. A museum documents the events and displays many very graphic photos. I’m not sure what was worse to look at; the photos of the victim’s bodies or the photos taken moments before they were killed. It shakes you to the core, and leaves you wondering how people can perpetuate such unspeakable acts…how people can be ordered to perpetuate such acts. There were soldiers that bravely tried to stop the massacre and help the villagers. One soldier shot himself in the foot so that he wouldn’t have to take part. The memorial honors them and those that stood up and blew the whistle.
Such unspeakable and senseless acts have occurred throughout history and will unfortunately continue to do so. It’s a grim reminder of what war is and the cruelty that humankind is capable of. I’m usually talking about the beauty and kindness in the world, today I had to talk about the ugliness. If you are in the area, I do recommend going to see the memorial.
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