About the story of a few 'lucky' Americans in Son My

The stele records the 504 victims who died in the Son My massacre on March 16, 1968 (also known as the My Lai massacre). Photo: THANH CHUNG

But I also wonder about this way of calling. It somehow touches the endless pain of the Son My people over the past 57 years.

Therefore, on our journey to the South to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification, we visited the Son My Relic Site, now in Tinh Khe Commune, Son Tinh District ( Quang Ngai ). Here, I shuddered again when standing before the large stele listing the 504 victims of the massacre that occurred on March 16, 1968 (also known as the My Lai massacre).

Line 25 is Nguyen Thi Be, 1 year old, female.

Line 26 is Nguyen Thi Be, 3 years old, female.

Line 27 is engraved with Pham Thi Be, 1 year old, female...

What crime did the Son My children commit in 1968? I have asked and answered myself many times.

They are innocent. There are no children in this world who are innocent. After 57 years, if it weren’t for that massacre, they would be nearly 60 years old now, not old enough to retire if they had been working in the community…

I flipped through Son My’s files. The pages were soaked in the blood of the elderly, children, mostly women… They were led to the fields, forced into ditches… and then shot. Many of the victims were also raped, harassed, tortured, beaten or had parts of their bodies mutilated…

That painful tragedy took place in the rice fields, in the sweet potato fields, in people's houses, right in the countryside of Son My.

This is a revolutionary countryside. The people are patriotic and resilient. They protect the communist soldiers like many other countrysides in this S-shaped strip of land. They hate the invaders. And they were subjected to vile revenge in the search and destroy campaign of American soldiers after Tet Mau Than 1968.

Amidst the brutality of war, amidst the swarms of American soldiers intent on firing at civilians, there appeared a few human hearts. They were the awakened Americans, the ones I called "lucky".

An American soldier shot himself in the leg, injuring himself so he wouldn't have to participate in the shooting of innocent civilians.

The story of pilot Thompson flying over Son My and discovering dead bodies, he tried to save innocent civilians from the guns of American soldiers. He asked the gunner on the helicopter to aim the gun at the American soldiers, to open fire if they continued to kill the villagers. Thompson was able to get some people on the helicopter and fly away…

US veteran Billy Kelly sent 504 roses to commemorate the 504 people of Son My who were killed. Photo: QUANG NGAI NEWSPAPER

Every year on the anniversary of the My Lai massacre, an American veteran flies from the other side of the world to Son My to play his violin in memory of the innocent civilians. The film “The Sound of the Violin in My Lai” is very famous. It is like a repentance, like a desire for reconciliation, like a sound that soothes the pain of the Son My people and of Americans with conscience.

Then another American veteran, Mr. Billy Kelly, when he was too weak to go there, sent 504 roses to visit the 504 victims.

Americans do this to make amends.

Without the above decisions, without the above actions, they would have been haunted by their conscience for the rest of their lives. Their families, their children could not erase the haunting, repentant feelings... So they were "lucky" to awaken their conscience at the most barbaric moment of the massacre. They awakened their conscience after the massacre took place, after the war.

The American soldiers did not win this massacre, they lost. They lost their conscience and dignity. The American soldiers were tormented. According to the American press, many later suffered from severe post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).

The innocent Son My people, without any weapons in their hands. They did not expect the disaster to befall them and they had no way out… Their tragic deaths awakened the conscience of many Americans, pushing the anti-war movement to rise in the heart of America in the time after that.

Son My relic site becomes a placeto educate revolutionary traditions in Quang Ngai homeland. Photo: QUANG NGAI NEWSPAPER

Now, Son My has been revived. The people of Son My are full of great forgiveness. The foreheads of those who remained still have wrinkles, the corners of their eyes are dry, but their hearts do not bear hatred. Forgiveness is the most effective weapon to comfort the souls of those who died in the 1968 massacre, and their relatives who have been deeply traumatized.

That is humanity, that is reconciliation.

Despite the Americans, America still owes this land so much…

On the morning of March 16, 1968, US Army units massacred 504 unarmed Son My residents, including many elderly people, women and children; 247 houses were burned down, thousands of livestock and poultry were killed, and food and crops were burned and completely destroyed.

The massacre shocked world public opinion about war crimes, creating a wave of protests against the war of aggression against Vietnam right in the United States.