The My Lai massacre is an important event because what happened to the soldiers who committed the atrocities (nothing) echoes through history. Nobody is still being punished for what happened in Haditha, Abu Ghraib or Gitmo.
During the 1940s the US prosecuted Japanese and German war criminals by adhering to the Yamashita principle and disqualifying the Nuremberg defense; basically, commanders are always responsible for crimes that their soldiers commit if they aren't actively combating it themselves (this is what convicted Yamashita, who occupied the Philippines) and you can't blame your CO when you commit war crimes (which convicted a lot of people in Nuremberg).
But, after the My Lai massacre, the soldiers could successfully use the Nuremberg defense themselves. Their CO was also not under the Yamashita principle because he only served three years of a commuted sentence.
The My Lai massacre should not be forgotten because it's a reminder that it's been more than 50 years now, when is America going to start measuring up to the moral standards it claims it has?
During the 1940s the US prosecuted Japanese and German war criminals by adhering to the Yamashita principle and disqualifying the Nuremberg defense; basically, commanders are always responsible for crimes that their soldiers commit if they aren't actively combating it themselves (this is what convicted Yamashita, who occupied the Philippines) and you can't blame your CO when you commit war crimes (which convicted a lot of people in Nuremberg).
But, after the My Lai massacre, the soldiers could successfully use the Nuremberg defense themselves. Their CO was also not under the Yamashita principle because he only served three years of a commuted sentence. The My Lai massacre should not be forgotten because it's a reminder that it's been more than 50 years now, when is America going to start measuring up to the moral standards it claims it has?