At 0750 Hrs on the 16th of March, 1968, nine US Army helicopters touched down in an open field 2 Klicks west of the Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai (pronounced ‘Me Lie‘). My Lai was part of a village called Son My. One hundred and twenty men jumped off the birds and ran, pressed into a low, flat-backed crouch by the rotor wash. They reflexively established a defensive perimeter in case of hostile fire. An unnecessary precaution as it turned out. As soon as all of the men had disembarked, the helicopters lifted off safely and returned to base. The infantrymen were armed with M-16 assault rifles, hand grenades, M-60 machine guns and M-71 grenade launchers. These troops made up the 1st, 2nd and 3rd platoons of Charlie Company, 11th Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Division.
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