Much has been
made in the news lately about whether soldiers are required to follow an illegal
order. That got me thinking. Full disclosure: I am not a legal scholar, nor
have I ever been in the military. So, I would not presume to tell you what
constitutes an “illegal order.” I presume that is the kind of thing that has to
be decided by a court of law. I am not trying to make a political point here
for one side or the other. I just have an observation. One thought I keep
coming back to with all the discussion is this: if you follow an illegal order, you
might find yourself in the shoes of Lieutenant William Calley.
Those of us who
grew up during the Viet Nam War have the My Lai Massacre seared on our psyches.
It was one of the most shameful chapters in American military history, and
helped to galvanize the protests against the war. In 1968 a company of soldiers
led by Lt. Calley entered the village of My Lai and slaughtered everyone they
could find. These were unarmed civilians. They were mostly elderly men, women
and children. The exact number of dead is not known but it is somewhere between
400 to 500 people. Calley was put on trial for murder.
This incident
divided the country. People who knew nothing of the specifics thought that
Calley was being railroaded. Other people who knew nothing of the specifics
thought Calley should be hung. All things become political.
Calley said his
commanding officer ordered him to do it. His commanding officer denied it.
Calley was convicted. His commanding officer was acquitted. After all the
appeals and a presidential order reducing his sentence, Calley wound up serving
three years under house arrest. His name and reputation were forever tainted.
While I can’t
tell you what constitutes an illegal order, this order, whoever gave it, was
obviously illegal, immoral and flies in the face of what the Army is supposed
to do. Further evidence of guilt was proved when the higher-ups tried to cover
up the incident. If Calley was ordered to do this, it was an illegal order. If
Calley ordered his men to do this, it was an illegal order.
In the fog of
war, bad things happen. That’s why war is an undesirable state. There is always
uncertainty. Uncertainty promotes adrenaline. Once a group of men is engaged in a
course of action it is hard to stop. Maybe that is why the punishment for the
My Lai Massacre focused on the order givers. The highest order giver who
was responsible (the military courts decided) was Calley. I don’t know if that
was right or wrong, but he was the one who got the blame.
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