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Vietnam War Crimes Working Group Files
The Vietnam War Crimes Working Group (VWCWG) was a Pentagon task force set up in the wake of the My Lai massacre and its media disclosure. The goal of the VWCWG was to attempt to ascertain the veracity of emerging claims of war crimes and atrocities by U.S. armed forces in Vietnam allegedly committed during the Vietnam War period. The investigation compiled over 9,000 pages of investigative files, sworn statements by witnesses and status reports for top military officers, indicating that 320 alleged incidents had factual basis. See also * Brigadier General John Donaldson *Human Rights Record of the United States *Pentagon Papers *Phoenix Program *Tiger Force *War crimes committed by the United States References Further reading * Greiner, Bernd. ''War Without Fronts: The USA in Vietnam''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. ''Memorandum from John W. Dean III, counsel to President Nixon'' \''Mirror''Press statement by James D. Henry'' \" Mirror "''Excerpt of Henry's 10-p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metonym for the Department of Defense and its leadership. The building was designed by American architect George Bergstrom and built by contractor John McShain. Ground was broken on 11 September 1941, and the building was dedicated on 15 January 1943. General Brehon Somervell provided the major impetus to gain Congressional approval for the project. Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which supervised it. The Pentagon is List of largest office buildings, the world's second-largest office building, with about of floor space, of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Michigan is one of the earliest American research universities and is a founding member of the Association of American Universities. In the fall of 2023, the university employed 8,189 faculty members and enrolled 52,065 students in its programs. The university is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". It consists of nineteen colleges and offers 250 degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The university is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2021, it ranked third among American universities in List of countries by research and development spending, research expe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Letter Of Reprimand
A letter of reprimand is a US Department of Defense procedure involving a letter to an employee or service member from their superior that details the wrongful actions of the person and the punishment that can be expected. A ''Formal Letter of Reprimand'' is one in which a copy of the letter is kept in the personal service record of the individual. In military contexts, a formal letter of reprimand can be career-ending, even without prescribed punishments, because it makes it difficult to secure advancements in rank or to enjoy the respect of one's peers. In legal contexts, a letter of reprimand is sometimes called a ''letter of admonition''. It is the lowest form of attorney discipline under the Code of Professional Responsibility. The United States Manual for Court Martial, R.C.M. 306(c)(2), states: Administrative action. A commander may take or initiate administrative action, in addition to or instead of other action nonjudicial punishment">non-judicial punishment (Art ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court Martial
A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the military, armed forces subject to Military justice, military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoner of war, prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Conventions require that Prisoner of war, POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding military's own forces. Finally, courts-martial can be convened for other purposes, such as dealing with violations of martial law, and can involve civilian defendants. Most navies have a standard court-martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost; this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing, but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Telephone
Field telephones are telephones used for military communications. They can draw power from their own battery (electricity), battery, from a telephone exchange (via a Common battery, central battery known as CB), or from an external power source. Some need no battery, being sound-powered telephones. Field telephones replaced flag signals and the telegraph as an efficient means of communication. The first field telephones had a battery to power the voice transmission, a hand-cranked Electrical generator, generator to signal another field telephone or a manually operated telephone exchange, and an electromagnetic ringer which sounded when current from a remote generator arrived. This technology was used from the 1910s to the 1980s. Later the ring signal was operated by a pushbutton or automatically as on domestic telephones. Manual systems are still widely used, and are often compatible with the older equipment. Shortly after the invention of the telephone, attempts were made to ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Shock
An electrical injury (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current. The injury depends on the Current density, density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact. Very small currents may be imperceptible or only produce a light tingling sensation. However, a shock caused by low and otherwise harmless current could startle an individual and cause injury due to jerking away or falling. A strong electric shock can often cause painful Spasm, muscle spasms severe enough to Joint dislocation, dislocate joints or even to Bone fracture, break bones. The loss of muscle control is the reason that a person may be unable to release themselves from the electrical source; if this happens at a height as on a Overhead power line, power line they can be thrown off. Larger currents can result in tissue damage and may trigger ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest. If death res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoner Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons. These may include isolating them from enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and Repatriation, repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishment, prosecution of war crimes, labour exploitation, recruiting or even conscripting them as combatants, extracting collecting military and political intelligence, and political or religious indoctrination. Ancient times For much of history, prisoners of war would often be slaughtered or enslaved. Early Roman gladiators could be prisoners of war, categorised according to their ethnic roots as Samnites, Thracians, and Gauls (''Galli''). Homer's ''Iliad'' describes Trojan and Greek soldiers offeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of torture, Some definitions restrict torture to acts carried out by the state (polity), state, while others include non-state organizations. Most victims of torture are poor and marginalized people suspected of crimes, although torture against political prisoners, or during armed conflict, has received disproportionate attention. Judicial corporal punishment and capital punishment are sometimes seen as forms of torture, but this label is internationally controversial. A variety of methods of torture are used, often in combination; the most common form of physical torture is beatings. Beginning in the twentieth century, many torturers have preferred non-scarring or psychological torture, psychological meth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noncombatant
Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities. People such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent armed forces but are protected because of their specific duties (as currently described in Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, adopted in June 1977); combatants who are placed ''hors de combat''; and Neutral country, neutral persons, such as Peacekeeping, peacekeepers, who are not involved in fighting for one of the belligerents involved in a war. This particular status was first recognized under the Geneva Conventions with the First Geneva Convention of 1864. Under international humanitarian law, certain non-combatants are classified as protected persons, who are to be protected under laws applicable to international armed conflict at all times. The principle of "non-combatant immunity" protects non-combatants against being attacked intent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Fire Zone
A free-fire zone is an area in which any person present is deemed an enemy combatant who can be targeted by opposing military forces. The concept of a free-fire zone does not exist in international law, and failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians is a war crime. World War II General Chuck Yeager in his autobiography describes his (and his associates') disapproval of shoot-anything-that-moves low level strafing missions during World War II (although they were not necessarily called "free-fire zone" missions). He described his feeling that, had the U.S. lost the war, it might have been considered a criminal activity. Vietnam War Returning veterans, affected civilians and others have said that U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), based on the assumption that all friendly forces had been cleared from the area, established a policy designating "free-fire zones" as areas in which: *Anyone unidentified is considered an enemy combatant *Soldiers were to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Wilkerson
Lawrence B. Wilkerson (born June 15, 1945) is a retired United States Army Colonel and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. Since the end of his military career, Wilkerson has criticized many aspects of the Iraq War, including his own preparation of Powell's presentation to the United Nations Security Council, as well as other aspects of American policy in the Middle East, as well as criticizing Israel. As of 2024, he is a member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. Education and early military service Wilkerson was born in Gaffney, South Carolina. After three years of studying philosophy and English literature at Bucknell University, Wilkerson dropped out in 1966 and volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War. He told ''The Washington Post'': "I felt an obligation because my dad had fought, and I thought that was kind of your duty." Wilkerson arrived as an Army officer piloting an OH-6A Cayuse observation helicopter and logged a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Soldier Investigation
The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) from January 31, 1971, to February 2, 1971. It was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War. The VVAW challenged the morality and conduct of the war by showing the direct relationship between military policies and war crimes in Vietnam. The three-day gathering of 109 veterans and 16 civilians took place in Detroit, Michigan. Discharged servicemen from each branch of the armed forces, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed or witnessed during the years 1963–1970.Richard Stacewicz; ''Winter Soldiers: An Oral History of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War''; Twayne Publishers, 1997; p. 234 With the exception of Pacifica Radio, the event was not covered extensively outside Detroit. However, several journalists an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
