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The Sơn Mỹ Memorial () is a memorial to victims of the My Lai massacre, which took place on 16 March 1968 in Son My, Vietnam. This was a
Report of the Department of the Army Review of the Preliminary Investigations into the My Lai Incident
', Volumes I–III (1970). The event is referred to as the ''Mỹ Lai Massacre'' in the United States and the ''Sơn Mỹ Massacre'' in Vietnam.Commemorating victims of Son My massacre
''VOV News'', 13 March 2012. The memorial includes a museum and a large monument honoring the hundreds of civilians killed by American troops. It is located at the site of the massacre in Quảng Ngãi Province and includes the remains of the village of Sơn Mỹ. A large black marble plaque just inside the entrance to the museum lists the names of all 504 civilians killed, including "17 pregnant women and 210 children under the age of 13". A number of enlarged versions of U.S. Army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle's photos of the massacre are shown inside the museum. The images are dramatically backlit in color and share the central back wall with a life-size recreation of American soldiers "rounding up and shooting cowering villagers". The museum also celebrates American heroes, including Ronald Ridenhour, who first exposed the killings, as well as Hugh Thompson and
At the center of the museum grounds, which is at the heart of the destroyed village, is a large stone monument (see image), which was sculpted and donated by the Vietnamese artist Ho Thu, husband of Vo Thi Lien, one of the few survivors of the massacre; she was 13 years old at the time. The monument, built in 1978, is located within the outdoor compound of the Son Mỹ Vestige Site.
At the time of the massacre, Sơn Mỹ was a village that included Mỹ Lai and several other hamlets. Because Mỹ Lai was not the only hamlet involved, the Vietnamese refer to the event more accurately as the "Sơn Mỹ massacre". Sơn Mỹ was divided into four hamlets: Mỹ Lai, Co Luy, My Khe, and Tư Cung. The U.S. army designated the various sectors of each hamlet in the form My Lai (1), My Lai (2), etc. The massacre took place most notably in My Lai (4) (Xom Lang subhamlet) and in My Khe (4) (My Hoi subhamlet), but also in My Lai (5) (Binh Dong and Binh Tay subhamlets) and in Tư Cung.Oliver, Kendrick, ''The My Lai Massacre in American History and Memory'', 2006, p. 192
Footprints at My Lai
– traveler's report about visiting Sơn Mỹ Memorial
Son My Memorial – Lonely Planet
Buildings and structures in Quảng Ngãi province Vietnam War sites Monuments and memorials in Vietnam {{Vietnam-stub
war crime
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
committed by United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
personnel involving the mass murder
Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...
of unarmed civilians in Sơn Tịnh district
''Toxicodendron succedaneum'', the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), sơn in Vietnamese or charão in Portuguese, is a flowering plant species in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' found in Asia, although it has been planted else ...
, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Mỹ Lai was actually the name of only one of four hamlets in the village of Sơn Mỹ in Quảng Ngãi Province
Quảng Ngãi is a northern coastal Provinces of Vietnam, province in the South Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam. It borders Quảng Nam to the north, Bình Định to the south, Kon Tum province, Kon Tum to the ...
.Department of the Army. Report of the Department of the Army Review of the Preliminary Investigations into the My Lai Incident
', Volumes I–III (1970). The event is referred to as the ''Mỹ Lai Massacre'' in the United States and the ''Sơn Mỹ Massacre'' in Vietnam.Commemorating victims of Son My massacre
''VOV News'', 13 March 2012. The memorial includes a museum and a large monument honoring the hundreds of civilians killed by American troops. It is located at the site of the massacre in Quảng Ngãi Province and includes the remains of the village of Sơn Mỹ. A large black marble plaque just inside the entrance to the museum lists the names of all 504 civilians killed, including "17 pregnant women and 210 children under the age of 13". A number of enlarged versions of U.S. Army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle's photos of the massacre are shown inside the museum. The images are dramatically backlit in color and share the central back wall with a life-size recreation of American soldiers "rounding up and shooting cowering villagers". The museum also celebrates American heroes, including Ronald Ridenhour, who first exposed the killings, as well as Hugh Thompson and
Lawrence Colburn
Lawrence Manley Colburn (July 6, 1949 – December 13, 2016) was a United States Army veteran who, while serving as a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War, intervened in the March 16, 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre.
Born in Coulee Dam, Washington, Colb ...
, who intervened to save a number of villagers.
At the center of the museum grounds, which is at the heart of the destroyed village, is a large stone monument (see image), which was sculpted and donated by the Vietnamese artist Ho Thu, husband of Vo Thi Lien, one of the few survivors of the massacre; she was 13 years old at the time. The monument, built in 1978, is located within the outdoor compound of the Son Mỹ Vestige Site.
At the time of the massacre, Sơn Mỹ was a village that included Mỹ Lai and several other hamlets. Because Mỹ Lai was not the only hamlet involved, the Vietnamese refer to the event more accurately as the "Sơn Mỹ massacre". Sơn Mỹ was divided into four hamlets: Mỹ Lai, Co Luy, My Khe, and Tư Cung. The U.S. army designated the various sectors of each hamlet in the form My Lai (1), My Lai (2), etc. The massacre took place most notably in My Lai (4) (Xom Lang subhamlet) and in My Khe (4) (My Hoi subhamlet), but also in My Lai (5) (Binh Dong and Binh Tay subhamlets) and in Tư Cung.Oliver, Kendrick, ''The My Lai Massacre in American History and Memory'', 2006, p. 192
Gallery
References
External links
Footprints at My Lai
– traveler's report about visiting Sơn Mỹ Memorial
Son My Memorial – Lonely Planet
Buildings and structures in Quảng Ngãi province Vietnam War sites Monuments and memorials in Vietnam {{Vietnam-stub