Page 207 - Stand Down Vietnam

"There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel
remorse for what happened that day in My Lai. I feel
remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their
families, for the American soldiers involved and their
families. I am very sorry. If you are asking why I did
not stand up to them when I was given the orders, I
will have to say that I was a second lieutenant getting
orders from my commander and I followed them --

foolishly, I guess."

William Calley, Jr.
Speaking at a Kiwanis Club meeting in Georgia
August 22, 2009

“I was a second lieutenant getting orders from my
commander and I followed them….”

William Calley, Jr.

“Basic training curtails our personal will ...”

War and the Soul
Edward Tick, Ph.D.

Special permission to use this quote was granted by Doctor Tick on April 11, 2019, and Quest
Books, Theosophical Publishing House on May 2, 2019.

Was Calley’s personal will affected by his training and
his chain of command? What if, use your critical
thinking skills, what if, doctor Tick, and others who
think and believe like him, what if they are right?

Calley, and his subordinates, must carry the events of
My Lai for the rest of their lifetime.

The discussions and the “mind-set” of soldiers I served
with were centered on one thing: “Can I legally disobey
an order; what would I have done?

My Lai is, but one example, of the complexities of the
“fog of war”.