Detail

Die Son My Gedenkstaette - Das Massaker von My Lai am 16. Maerz ...
(Vietnam, 2008)

Vor ein paar Tagen machte ich mich an einem grauen und leicht vernieselten Nachmittag von meinem Quatier in Quang Ngai mit dem Moped auf, um einen in der Naehe gelegenen Ort tragischster Geschichtsereignisse zu besuchen. Dieses Wetter passte dann wenigstens gut zu den Gefuehlen, die man bekommt, wenn man sich mit einer der grausamsten Gewalttaten innerhalb des Vietnamkriegs auseinandersetzt.


Schicksal der Familie Phung.

15 Kilometer von der Stadt Quang Ngai entfernt liegt der Bezirk Son My - nicht zu verwechseln mit den historischen Tempelruinen von My Son (siehe letzter Bericht), die sich ungefaehr 150km nordwestlich befinden. Hier landeten am 16. Maerz 1968 3 Platoons US-Soldaten und toeteten in 4 Doerfern der Gegend systematisch 504 Einwohner, von denen Alte und Kinder die Mehrheit bildeten.


Schicksal der Familie Ly ("tuoi" ist das Alter der Getoeteten).

Die Son My Gedenkstaette ist in dem Dorf errichtet, in dem die grosste Opferzahl zu beklagen war. Ein anderes Dorf lieh den Namen unter dem dieses Ereignis international bekannt wurde - das My Lai Massaker.


Einfachster Bunker der vietnamesischen Landbevoelkerung.

Die Gedenkstaette ist als eine Art gruener Park mit Reisfeldern, Kokussnussbaeumen, einem sich hindurchschlaengelnden Fluesschen, Maisfeldern,... usw. angelegt - also in etwa so, wie damals das Dorf ausgesehen haben muss. Ein kleiner Pfad fuehrt auf dem Gelaende durch die dazwischenliegenden Grundmauern der zahlreichen niedergebrannten Haeuser, zu den kleinen Schutzbunkern der Familien, zu einem originalgetreu wiederaufgebauten Haus, zwei nach dem Massaker hier entdeckten Massengraebern, einer martialischen Steinstatue und schliesslich zu einem Museum mit einer teilweise sehr bizarren Ausstellung (s.u.).


Narben aus der Vergangenheit sind immer noch deutlich zu erkennen.

"My Lai Massacre

At about 7.30am on the 16 March 1968 - after the area had been bombarded with artillery, and the landing zone raked with rocket and machine-gun fire from helicopter gunships - the US army's Charlie Company (commanded by Captain Ernest Medina) landet by helicopter in the west of Son My, regarded as a Viet Cong stronghold. They encountered no resistance during the 'combat-assault', nor did they come under fire at any time during the entire operation; but as soon as their sweep eastward began, so did the atrocities.


Schicksal und wiederaufgebautes Haus der Familie Ky.

As Lieutenant William Calley's 1st Platoon moved through Xom Lang, they shot and bayoneted fleeing villagers, threw hand grenades into the houses and bomb shelters, slaughtered livestock and burned dwellings. Somewhere between 75 and 150 unarmed villagers were rounded up and herded to a ditch, where they were moved down by machine-gun fire.


Bauernhaus der Landbevoelkerung des Son My Distrikts in den 1960er Jahren.

In the next few hours, as command helicopters circled overhead and American navy boats patrolled offshore, the 2nd Platoon (under Lieutenant Stephen Brooks), the 3rd Platoon (under Lieutenant Jeffrey La Cross) and the company headquarters group also commited unspeakable crimes. At least half a dozen groups of civilians, including women and children, were assembled and executed. Villagers fleeing towards Quang Ngai were machine-gunned, and wounded civilians (including young children) were summarily shot. As these massacers were taking place, at least four girls and women were raped or gang-raped by groups of soldiers.


Ein weiterer wiederaufgebauter Schutzbunker der damaligen Zeit.

By the end of the murderous rampage, 504 people had died including 182 women (17 of them pregnant), 173 children and 37 men over the age of sixty. One soldier is reported to have shot himself in the foot to extricate himself from the slaughter; he was the only American casualty in the entire operation.


Auf dem Gelaende der Son My Gedenkstaette befinden sich auch 2 Massengraeber,...

Troups who participated were ordered to keep their mouths shut, but several disobayed orders and went public with the story after returning to the USA. When it broke in the newspapers it had a devasting effect on the military's morale and fuelled further public protests against the war. It did little to persuade the world that the US Army was fighting on behalf of the Vietnamese people. Unlike WWII veterans, who returned home to parades and glory, soldiers coming home from Vietnam often found themselves ostracised and baned as 'baby killers'.


...ein dramatisches Steindenkmal (die Frau haelt ihr totes Baby im Arm, waehrend zu ihren Fuessen der Rest der Familie stirbt) und...

A cover-up of the atrocities was undertaken at all levels of the US army command, eventually leading to several investigations. Lieutenant Calley was made chief orge and was court-martialled and found guilty to murder of 22 unarmed civilians. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1971 and spent three years under house arrest at Fort Benning, Georgia, while appealing his conviction. Calley was paroled in 1974 after the US Supreme Court refused to hear his case. Calley's case still causes controversy - many claim that he was made a scapegoat because of his low rank, and that officiers much higher up ordered the massacres. What is certain is that he didn't act alone.


...ein Museum.

For the full story of this horrendous event and its aftermath, pick up a copy of Four Hours in My Lai by Michael Bilton and Kevin Sim, a stunning piece of journalism."
(Lonely Planet Vietnam, 9th ed., Aug. 2007, p.271)


Das Museum beherbergt in seiner Ausstellung unter anderem...


...die Fotografien eines US-Militaer-Fotografen,...


...der den Massaker-Einsatz peinlich genau dokumentierte. Einige ausgestellte Bilder wollte ich mir und euch lieber ersparen.


Ohne Worte.

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