The Massacre at My Lai | The Road to My Lai | 1

0:00Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. A listener note, this episode contains descriptions of violence and may not be suitable for all audiences.

0:42It's late November 1969 in New York City. Inside a television studio at CBS News, two men sit quietly as all around them, crew members get cameras and microphones ready. One of the men is Mike Wallace, a veteran broadcaster wearing a sharp suit and a no-nonsense expression. But the pale young man sitting across from him is very different. Wearing glasses and a patterned sweater, Paul Meadlow is a 22-year-old from Indiana who served as a U.S. Army private in Vietnam. He fidgets in his seat, squinting under the bright stage lights. He's nervous, not just because he's about to be broadcast on TV across the nation, but because he has a secret to tell.

1:26The crew get in their places, and the director counts Wallace in, giving him the signal that the cameras are rolling. We're speaking today with Paul Meadlow, who served in Charlie Company, 11th Infantry Brigade. Paul, I want to ask you plainly, were you present at My Lai on March 16th, 1968? Yes, sir. Can you describe what your unit was instructed to do that day? We were told to search the village for the Viet Cong and ensure there were none left. And what did you encounter upon entering the village? There were a lot of people. They weren't supposed to be there. Our intelligence reports said that all civilians would be gone to the market that morning.

2:00So what did you do with them? We gathered them up, and these were old men, women, children. Is that right? We didn't know who was the enemy and who wasn't. They could have been VC sympathizers, so we all huddled them up. What happened then? Lieutenant Callie came over and said, You know what to do with them, don't you? I thought he meant to guard them, but he came back later and asked why they weren't dead yet. He started shooting. He told me to start shooting, too. Did you comply? Yes, I fired my weapon. At whom? At the villagers. The old men, women and children. Meadlow nods and Wallace leans forward.

2:36And babies? And babies. How many rounds did you fire? About four clips. Do you know how many people you might have killed? It's hard to say. Maybe ten or fifteen? Wallace fixes Meadlow with an intense stare. You're a father, is that correct? Yes, sir, two children. How does a father of two shoot babies? I don't know, it was just one of them things. Why did you do it? I felt I was ordered to. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. Do you often think about that day? Yes. I see the women and children in my dreams. Some nights I can't even sleep. This CBS interview with Paul Meadlow will be front-page news all across America.

3:19Mike Wallace's unflinching forensic questions draw out shocking revelations about what happened at Mealai. It's an interviewing masterclass that leaves the audience in no doubt. An atrocity has been committed in Vietnam. And for those watching at home, it's hard to reconcile the ordinary-looking farm boy with the terrible things he's describing. But it's even harder to comprehend how this tragedy has been swept under the rug. It's been more than a year and a half since the massacre took place. And up until just a few days ago, no one in the American public had any idea it had even happened.

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4:38From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal.

5:02On March 16, 1968, during the height of the Vietnam War, a unit of U.S. Army soldiers entered a village in South Vietnam and murdered hundreds of unarmed civilians. It was not a firefight or a battle gone wrong. It was a massacre. And for over a year, it was covered up with the army burying reports, the Pentagon keeping it quiet, and most politicians simply not wanting to know the truth. But thanks to the bravery of whistleblowers and the determination of reporters, what happened in the village of My Lai eventually became public knowledge. What followed was a countrywide reckoning over truth, accountability, and the real cost of war.

5:40This is Episode 1, The Road to My Lai.

5:47It's mid-March 1967 at Fort Benning, a U.S. Army base in Georgia. Dozens of young recruits pack into an overheated training room, standing shoulder to shoulder. The windows fog up as fluorescent lights buzz overhead. Among the soldiers is Florida-born William Calley. He's 24 years old, 5 '3", and weighs barely 130 pounds. He enlisted last year and has already completed basic training. Now he's beginning a 26-week course to qualify as a junior officer. Callie's eyes flick around the room, pausing briefly on the broader shoulders and taller frames of most of the other men. He knows what they all must think of him, that he's too small, too weak, but he's determined to prove them all wrong.

6:30At the front of the room, a drill sergeant paces slowly back and forth, his boots thumping against the linoleum floor as he speaks. He beckons forward a young recruit in the front row, and Callie has a flash of envy. Part of him wants to be the one up there in front of everyone. But then, without warning, the sergeant drives his boot straight into the man's stomach. The soldier drops to the floor, clutching himself in pain. Callie winces, now grateful it wasn't him who was chosen. The sergeant barks at the man to get up and get back in line. Holding his side, the recruit scrambles to his feet to do as he's told.

7:03But the sergeant isn't finished yet. As soon as the first man rejoins the other recruits, he calls forward another. He grabs that soldier by the collar and flips him hard onto the floor. Then he raises his boot high over the man's face and then slams it down. The recruit flinches, bracing for impact, but the sergeant stops his boot an inch above the soldier's head. The sergeant explains how from that position you can push the nose right into the brain, or stomp on the ribcage and puncture the lungs. No weapon is required. Bone can become shrapnel if you know where to crush it. The sergeant's tone is clinical and emotionless.

7:40But the message is simple. If you go in for the kill, make sure you finish it. Then do it again. Some of the men in the room exchange glances. Others stare blankly. But Callie leans forward, absorbing everything. This is why he's here, to become a warrior. But during his training at Fort Benning, Callie is not that successful. He struggles with the basics of soldiering. He can barely read a map, and he's hopeless with a compass. Even more concerning to his superiors is his lack of what the army calls command presence. Cali isn't well-liked or respected by his fellow recruits. Something about him just doesn't inspire loyalty or confidence in others.

8:19Still, the army needs as many bodies as they can get. America's involvement in the war in Vietnam has deepened steadily through the 1960s. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops are now on the ground, trying to support the government of South Vietnam in their fight against the communist North. But with casualties growing, public support for the war in America is beginning to crack. Many young men try to avoid the draft, and the military is always desperate for more junior officers to lead the fight. So although Calley graduates in the bottom quarter of his class, it's good enough. He's commissioned as a lieutenant and assigned to lead a platoon in Charlie Company in a battalion of the 11th Infantry Brigade.

8:58And on December 1st, 1967, he departs for South Vietnam. After a 12-hour flight to Da Nang Air Base in the middle of the country, Cali and his men are airlifted 75 miles south to Quang Nha province, a volatile region on the coast regarded as a stronghold of the Viet Cong, the communist guerrilla army fighting in South Vietnam. There, the men of Charlie Company are folded into a new unit, the Americal Division. As Cali and the rest of the men settle into their new home, they are briefed on what to expect. They get general instructions on how to patrol, how to call in fire support, and how to distinguish Viet Cong from non-combatants.

9:35And within only days of his arrival in Vietnam, Cali is sent out on his first mission. But it doesn't take him long to make a mistake. He's deep in the Quang Nhai jungle with the men of the 1st Platoon when he realizes that somewhere between gearing up and reaching the patrol checkpoint, he forgot his grenades. It's an unforgivable error for a platoon leader heading into hostile terrain. Now, Callie is alone, backtracking through the sweltering jungle to fetch them. The air around him is dense and claustrophobic. Vines catch on his uniform, and with each footstep he sinks into damp and uncertain ground.

10:10Finally, he makes it back to camp. He keeps his head down, avoiding eye contact with the other men there. He doesn't want to explain why he's back without his platoon. He'll just get in and out, and hopefully his superiors will be none the wiser. So he heads straight to the ammo cache and grabs a crowbar, fumbling to crack open one of the wooden boxes. Sweat pours down his face as the lid finally gives with a groan. Inside, rows of grenades sit in neat foam slots. He reaches for a few of them, but then hears footsteps behind him. He spins around to see Captain Ernest Medina scowling. Callie straightens at attention.

10:47Medina is the commanding officer of Charlie Company and a decade older than Callie. He's known as Mad Dog, and for good reason. He's a fearsome soldier and a well-respected leader, but when his men fail to meet his high standards, his temper ignites like right now. He rips into Cali for being idiotic and irresponsible. It's a barrage of fury launched at Cali in front of half a dozen nearby men. Cali just stands there, staring forward, his jaw locked as his face goes red. He can feel the other soldiers watching and smirking. But worse is Medina's obvious contempt for him. Cali has looked up to his captain ever since he met him.

11:26He sees Medina as everything he is not, everything he wishes he was, confident, respected, a war hero in the making. But now the disgust in his eyes hurts Cali more than any of his words. The dressing down stretches on for what feels to Cali like several excruciating minutes. And when Medina is finally finished, he turns on his heel and storms off. The only sound left is the buzzing of flies. Callie looks away from the other men. His hands tremble as he grabs the grenades and stuffs them into his belt pouch. Hurrying out of the camp, he tells himself that this won't ever happen again. Unfortunately for William Callie, this grenade incident is just the beginning.

12:07A few weeks later, he makes another mistake. Callie and his platoon are on a mission, moving through an open field just after midnight. Fog hangs low over the land and visibility is near zero. Suddenly, Callie hears rustling in the stalks behind him. He thinks it's the Viet Cong sneaking up on them. He panics and calls for the launch of yellow flares. The entire field lights up like a football stadium. But it's not the Viet Cong. It's just his imagination giving in to paranoia. And what he hasn't considered is that the flares don't just illuminate the terrain around his men. They also give away their exact position to any enemy watching from the shadows.

12:47It's a textbook blunder, but by sheer luck, there's no attack. The field remains quiet, the flares eventually sputter out, and darkness returns. Still, Captain Medina lets Callie have it in another harsh public reprimand. In front of the entire platoon, Medina gives Callie a nickname for being too soft and scared, Lieutenant Sweetheart. For Callie, it's a crushing blow. but he refuses to crumble under the pressure. With every day that passes, he only hardens more, becoming stricter with his men and with the Vietnamese civilians around them. Cali believes it's the only way to meet Medina's high expectations.

13:24One afternoon in late December 1967, Cali and his men are out on patrol. The sun beats down on Charlie Company as they guard a rickety wooden bridge in Quang Nhai province. Insects buzz past their heads, and it's stiflingly hot. They're here to hold the perimeter around a small rural village. Huts with thatched roofs line the edge of a rice paddy where smoke rises from cooking fires. A few Vietnamese women linger nearby, baskets balanced on their hips, while their children stare at the American troops. Shy but curious, some of the children just wave, but the braver ones work up the courage to come closer.

14:05One young American GI kneels down, pulls a stick of gum from his shirt pocket, and hands it to a smiling boy. Go on, take it, kid. It's yours. You chew it, like this. He unwraps the gum for the child. Nearby, another soldier lets a little girl try on his helmet, laughing as it wobbles over her eyes. From a few paces away, though, Callie watches, his arms crossed. To him, this is not a heartwarming moment. It's a breakdown in discipline, and it makes his skin crawl. The G.I. looks up. Hey, sir, I don't think these kids have ever seen gum before. You got any more? I'm all out. Maybe some candy? That'll blow their minds.

14:42You think this is a damn ice cream social? I'm just giving the kids a piece of gum, sir. They're not hurting anyone. That is not the point. I'm sorry, sir. You don't know who the enemy is. None of us do. That's the point. You might think they're harmless, but the last guy who let his guard down got blown apart. Sir, they're just kids. I mean, that little boy, he could be marking our position. Taking your candy and then running home to tell Daddy everything about us. And that little girl, her mom might be bearing a mind right now on the other side of the village. And you're going to hand her gum while she does it.

15:14Jesus, Lieutenant, do you want to go home in a body bag? Because this is how it happens. We've got targets on our back every minute we're out here. And you're an idiot if you think handing a girl some gum is going to make a damn bit of difference here. These people hate us. They want to see every last one of us dead. The G.I. walks off muttering under his breath. Callie watches him go without saying another word. But inside he draws a quiet, private conclusion. If he wants to keep these men alive, he's got to teach them to stop seeing villagers, stop seeing civilians, and start seeing threats.

15:48The sooner they learn that, the better.

15:55I'm Alice Levine. And I'm Matt Ford. and we're the hosts of British Scandal. Yes, indeed. In this series, a Derbyshire couple are bored of their curtain-twitching, lawn-mowing suburban life. So they sell their house, build a yacht and sail off around the world. Which sort of sounds idyllic until a sperm whale sinks their boat and they begin to starve. Oh, yes, and they didn't bring a radio because real sailors don't use radios. Right? This is the story of Marilyn and Maurice Bailey. And the 117 days they spent lost at sea. Follow British Scandal wherever you get your podcasts or listen early and ad-free on Audible.

16:35I'm Alice Levine. And I'm Matt Ford and we're the hosts of British Scandal. Yes, indeed. In this series, a Derbyshire couple are bored of their curtain-twitching, lawn-mowing suburban life. So they sell their house, build a yacht and sail off around the world. Which sort of sounds idyllic until a sperm whale sinks their boat and they begin to starve. Oh, yes, and they didn't bring a radio, because real sailors don't use radios. Right? This is the story of Marilyn and Maurice Bailey. And the 117 days they spent lost at sea. Follow British Scandal wherever you get your podcasts or listen early and at free on Audible.

17:27By New Year's Day 1968, the war in Vietnam is growing more chaotic and dangerous. Morale among the U.S. forces in the country is low, and suspicion toward the Vietnamese population is deepening, especially in rural areas. In Quang Nhai province, Army leadership assembles a new combat unit from the AmeriCol Division called Task Force Barker. It's named after its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Barker. Barker is an 18-year Army veteran with a reputation for discipline and results. Drawn from multiple commands, his new unit is made up of 500 men and includes Lieutenant William Calley and Charlie Company.

18:04The task force is given the mission of destroying the Viet Cong presence in a region of Quang Nghai that Americans call Pinkville. It's a dense, treacherous area of rice paddies, narrow footpaths, and scattered hamlets where the enemy can easily blend in with civilians. And the goal of the task force's 90-day campaign isn't to capture the territory, but to eliminate resistance. Enemy kills would be the measure of success. When Captain Ernest Medina relays this mission to Charlie Company, his men erupt in cheers. And no one is happier than William Calley. This is what he's been waiting for. He spent months training for combat back home, but since arriving in Vietnam, he's seen little of it, and his frustration has been growing.

18:46Now here's a chance to actually fight the enemy, to use the skills he learned from his drill sergeant, and to prove to Captain Medina that he's a real soldier. So day after day, the men of Task Force Barker patrol through the heat and muck of Quang Nye. The enemy seems to be everywhere and nowhere at once. The Viet Cong strike from the shadows. They bury mines in the dirt, hide snipers in the trees, and string tripwire along footpaths. American soldiers are maimed or killed without ever seeing who fired them, without ever getting the chance to shoot back. For Callie and the others, every step they take in Pinkville seems like another gamble, and eventually they figure they're all going to lose.

19:26One evening in mid-January 1968, Callie and the rest of Charlie Company are sent out on another patrol deep in Quang Nye. As night falls, Callie lies on his back beneath a low canopy of jungle trees, staring up at the slivers of sky above him. In the heavy, moist air, Callie's uniform clings to him like a second skin. Mosquitoes whine around his ears, but he doesn't move. Charlie Company is camped on a hillside in a tight, defensive circle, rifles close. There are no fires, and the usual nighttime gripes and banter are absent. In their place is nothing but silence. A small recon team went out earlier, just a few men sweeping ahead, and they were supposed to be back before nightfall.

20:08But now the sun's gone, and there's no sign of them. Callie grips his rifle a little tighter. Every creak of the jungle around him sounds like a warning or a threat. And then suddenly, a blood-curdling scream slices through the silence. Callie bolts upright, his heart pounding. Around him, heads snap toward the scream, twisting and rising, high-pitched and guttural and never-ending. They all know what it is, the sound of one of their own being tortured.

20:38white around his rifle. But there's nothing he can do. No one's stupid enough to go stumbling into the enemy's jungle in the dead of night. That's not bravery. That's suicide. So they all sit frozen, just listening to their friend dying and praying for it to stop. The hours crawl by. No one sleeps. But in the anonymous darkness, Callie can hear at least one young man crying until finally dawn comes and the exhausted soldiers move out. It doesn't take long for Charlie Company to find one of the missing men. He's hanging from a bamboo pole, suspended like an animal, having been flayed alive. The rest of the recon team is never found.

21:18After that night, Callie feels the change in attitude among his platoon. Something hardens in the men. They all want revenge, but they don't know who to take it out on. They see the entire countryside as complicit. Every villager who offers them no help or refuses to divulge the location of Viet Cong weapons might as well be VC themselves. The very idea of civilians begins to lose its meaning altogether. The higher-ups and task force Barker can see the men are growing frustrated. They assure the soldiers that there will be plenty of face-to-face combat in the future. They'll soon flush the Viet Cong out of hiding and deliver a decisive blow.

21:57But in the early hours of January 31st, 1968, it's the enemy that strikes first. At 4 a.m., the men of Charlie Company are jolted awake in their bunks by explosions and the roar of gunfire. The nearby airfield and the local headquarters of the South Vietnamese Army are under attack. Similar scenes erupt all across South Vietnam, as more than 70 ,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops launch a coordinated surprise attack, what will become known as the Tet Offensive. The aim of this operation is to trigger the total collapse of the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government. It's the largest offensive in the war so far.

22:35Over 100 cities, towns, and military bases are targeted. The capital Saigon is hit, the border city of Hue is overrun, and American outposts all over the country are soon under siege. Days of heavy fighting follow. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces ultimately managed to repel the attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese in the process. But this is not a victory for the Americans and their allies. Although the Tet Offensive did not achieve all its goals, the surprise attack is a strategic triumph for North Vietnam. Back in the United States, U.S. officials have been insisting that the war was near a turning point and that victory was within reach.

23:14But this Tet Offensive has shattered that illusion and exposed the truth. America's enemy in Vietnam is more resilient, more organized, and more fearless than anyone in Washington is willing to admit. Despite everything that's been said publicly, many in the United States now begin to think that this war may be unwinnable. And on the ground in Pingville, the Tet Offensive only deepens the fear and anger felt by the men of Task Force Barker. Lieutenant William Calley sees the attack as confirmation of everything he suspected since he arrived in Vietnam, everything he's been telling his men. The entire Quang Nhai province is the enemy's backyard, where the Viet Cong have friends in every village and can strike whenever they please.