5. The My Lai Massacre (1968)
On March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War, U.S. Army soldiers from Charlie Company entered the village of My Lai, expecting to engage Viet Cong forces. Instead, they found unarmed civilians—mostly women, children, and the elderly—and proceeded to kill between 347 and 504 of them. The military initially covered up the atrocity, issuing false reports and suppressing evidence. It wasn’t until investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published the story in 1969 that the massacre became widely known, leading to public outrage and a reevaluation of U.S. military conduct. For more details, refer to the PBS resource on the My Lai Massacre. (pbs.org)
