Former US officer William Calley, the only person convicted in connection with the infamous My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, has passed away at the age of 80, according to reports from the Washington Post and New York Times.
Calley led the US Army platoon responsible for the mass murder of hundreds of civilians, including women and children, in the Vietnamese village of Son My in 1968. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1971 for killing 22 civilians, but only served three days behind bars after then-President Richard Nixon ordered his release under house arrest.
The My Lai massacre is considered one of the worst war crimes in American military history, shocking the US public and fueling the anti-Vietnam war movement. According to the Vietnamese government, 504 people were killed in the massacre.
Calley, a junior college dropout from South Florida, enlisted in the army in 1964 and quickly rose through the ranks. On the morning of 16 March 1968, his unit was airlifted to Son My on a mission to search and kill Viet Cong members and sympathizers. The officers encountered no resistance from the villagers and proceeded to kill civilians in a brutal manner, as reported by journalist Seymour Hersh.
The massacre was initially covered up but became public knowledge thanks to Hersh’s reporting, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize. Calley was one of 26 soldiers charged with criminal offenses and the only one convicted, sparking a polarized reaction among Americans.
Despite his conviction, Calley only served a fraction of his sentence under house arrest before being released. He rarely spoke about his role in the massacre but offered an apology in 2009, expressing remorse for the lives lost.
The cause of Calley’s death has not been disclosed, but his passing marks the end of a controversial chapter in American military history.
