War crimes and atrocities by the American Military
In every war in which the United States has been engaged, there have been atrocities and war crimes committed by American troops. In two wars, the American Revolution and the Civil War, there were atrocities committed on fellow Americans, on both sides of the conflict. In World War II, in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation, charges of rape committed by American troops were numerous, and American commanders took steps to keep them from being reported to the American people. As time passes and more and more records are declassified, these crimes have become public knowledge, but much of the public doesn’t want to know.
This in no way impugns the majority of the men and women who made up the military in America’s past wars and its wars today. The overwhelming majority of America’s military served and serves honorably, expressing as well as defending the values of the nation. One of those values is truth, and it is an obligation of all to ensure that the truth of our history is recorded, rather than glossing over the mistakes to present a mythological record of our collective past.
America’s military has always reflected America’s society of its day. The racist attitudes of the past were exploited to ensure that servicemen looked down upon their enemy, whether they were Confederate troops engaging Union black troops, US Marines opposing Philippine insurgents, or Navy sailors and aviators encountering what was then referred to simply as the Jap. The efficiency of the propaganda campaigns in all of America’s wars in dehumanizing the enemy went a long way towards fomenting the hatred which led to many of the war crimes committed by American troops.
The behavior of the enemy added to that hatred as well. The number and nature of the war crimes committed by Japan against all of its enemies in World War II made retaliation against them more palatable to many. The same is true of the crimes of the North Vietnamese against the South, the Germans against the civilians of Europe, and the Filipinos against the Spanish and later the American troops there. But none of these facts makes the commission of war crimes against civilians or helpless prisoners compatible with why American troops were deployed in the first place.
The best-known American war crime remains the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Between 350 and 500 Vietnamese were killed by American troops in that event. Twenty-six Americans were charged with participating but only William Calley Jr. was convicted of killing 22 civilians. He served three and one-half years, mostly under house arrest. What is forgotten about My Lai is that three soldiers tried to stop it as it occurred, and for their efforts, they received death threats and were condemned as traitors by some in Congress. Thirty years later, when little attention was given to the matter anymore, they were honored for their efforts, despite one of them not living to see the justice he was due.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“War Crimes in Sicily: Sergeant West, Captain Compton, and the Murder of Prisoners of War in 1943”, by Fred Borch, The Army Lawyer, March 2013
“One Common Enemy: The Laconia Incident: A Survivors Memoir”, by Jim McLoughlin, 2006
“Philippine-American War, 1899-1902”, by Arnaldo Dumindin
“Wahoo: The Patrols of America’s Most Famous WW2 Submarine”, by Richard O’Kane, 1987
“Gnadenhutten”, by William Dean Howells, 1884
“Dachau: The Hour of the Avenger”, by Howard Buechner, 1986
“Complete Program Transcript, My Lai”, WGBH The American Experience, pbs.org