KANSAS CITY, MO -
When former Lt. William Calley stepped to the microphone at a Kiwanis meeting in Columbus, GA last month, the 50 or so in attendance had no idea they were about to witness history. According to an Associated Press report of the meeting, Calley gave his first public apology for the so-called My Lai Massacre of March, 1968.
Calley was the only soldier convicted in the killings of Vietnamese civilians, including women and children. His life sentence from his court martial was commuted by President Nixon, and he lived quietly in Georgia after that.
He had remained silent, until his appearance before the service club, saying he's remorseful, and adding "I am very sorry" according to the A.P. report.
The chief prosecutor of his case wasn't at that Kiwanis meeting, but Retired Colonel Bill Eckhardt learned about the apology through news accounts.
"I suppose the first reaction was surprise," says the UMKC law professor. "And then when I read the accounts of what happened, it was not the words, it was the emotion that was so meaningful."
Eckhardt, who teaches criminal law at UMKC, was a young major when the My Lai cases landed in his lap. He served as the chief prosecutor, overseeing the prosecution of Calley and several others.
"You obviously don't have a crime scene, you don't have the police to come around and investigate, you don't have crime labs, the witnesses aren't around, they're just different cases."
To add to his challenge, Eckhardt says the public and politicians opposed the prosecutions, encouraging witnesses to claim they'd forgotten what happened. But Eckhardt says, enough came forward to earn at least Calley's conviction, despite his defense that he was only following orders.
"There would have been no prosecutions at My Lai had it not been for the values of the regular Army, which insisted that this incident be branded for what it was, and that was criminal," Eckhardt says.
He believes the country has learned valuable lessons from My Lai, including that misconduct on the battlefield loses wars. Eckhardt is also happy that the heroes of My Lai are now the focus, including helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and his crew. Witnesses say Thompson saw the massacre underway, landed his helicopter, and even trained his guns on his own soldiers to stop the killing.
"As is often true, incidents such as this have a villain and a hero. And I suspect we can never forget either," Eckhardt says. "But I would hope we would concentrate on the hero, because the example of My Lai is Hugh Thompson."
Thompson and his crew were later given medals by the Army.
And Eckhardt believes the lessons of My Lai will long be remembered.
"Talking about My Lai is not self flagellation. It's used as an exercise to remember to be sure we correct and act correctly in the future."
For more on the My Lai trials, see UMKC Professor Doug Linder's "Famous Trials" website: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm
Calley was the only soldier convicted in the killings of Vietnamese civilians, including women and children. His life sentence from his court martial was commuted by President Nixon, and he lived quietly in Georgia after that.
He had remained silent, until his appearance before the service club, saying he's remorseful, and adding "I am very sorry" according to the A.P. report.
The chief prosecutor of his case wasn't at that Kiwanis meeting, but Retired Colonel Bill Eckhardt learned about the apology through news accounts.
"I suppose the first reaction was surprise," says the UMKC law professor. "And then when I read the accounts of what happened, it was not the words, it was the emotion that was so meaningful."
Eckhardt, who teaches criminal law at UMKC, was a young major when the My Lai cases landed in his lap. He served as the chief prosecutor, overseeing the prosecution of Calley and several others.
"You obviously don't have a crime scene, you don't have the police to come around and investigate, you don't have crime labs, the witnesses aren't around, they're just different cases."
To add to his challenge, Eckhardt says the public and politicians opposed the prosecutions, encouraging witnesses to claim they'd forgotten what happened. But Eckhardt says, enough came forward to earn at least Calley's conviction, despite his defense that he was only following orders.
"There would have been no prosecutions at My Lai had it not been for the values of the regular Army, which insisted that this incident be branded for what it was, and that was criminal," Eckhardt says.
He believes the country has learned valuable lessons from My Lai, including that misconduct on the battlefield loses wars. Eckhardt is also happy that the heroes of My Lai are now the focus, including helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and his crew. Witnesses say Thompson saw the massacre underway, landed his helicopter, and even trained his guns on his own soldiers to stop the killing.
"As is often true, incidents such as this have a villain and a hero. And I suspect we can never forget either," Eckhardt says. "But I would hope we would concentrate on the hero, because the example of My Lai is Hugh Thompson."
Thompson and his crew were later given medals by the Army.
And Eckhardt believes the lessons of My Lai will long be remembered.
"Talking about My Lai is not self flagellation. It's used as an exercise to remember to be sure we correct and act correctly in the future."
For more on the My Lai trials, see UMKC Professor Doug Linder's "Famous Trials" website: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm
