‘My Lai: A 50-Year Perspective’ is next Vietnam Lecture

The next lecture in the Vietnam War Commemoration Lecture Series is scheduled for March 1 at 6 p.m. in the Stove Factory Ballroom in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas (417 S. 2nd Street). A reception sponsored by the CGSC Foundation will begin at 5:30 p.m.

In this 11th lecture of the series, Dr. Bill Allison, professor of history at Georgia Southern University, will present “My Lai: A 50-Year Perspective.”

On March 16, 1968, members of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd (Americal) Infantry Division, murdered as many as 500 South Vietnamese civilians in less than three hours. Covered-up by the Americal Division for over a year, the American public learned of the My Lai killings in September 1969. Ultimately, only one soldier – Lt. William Calley – was convicted. Dr. Allison will discuss the incident, the difficulty of evidence, and impact My Lai had on the American War in Vietnam.

In addition to Dr. Allison’s presentation, CGSC Foundation trustee Col. (Ret.) Bill Eckhardt will be in attendance and contribute to the discussion. A major in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps at the time, Eckhardt was the U.S. Army’s chief prosecuting attorney in the My Lai trials.

For more information on the content of lectures in the series contact Dr. Tom Hanson, CGSC’s director of the Department of Military History: email– thomas.e.hanson.civ@mail.mil or phone– 913-684-2056. For other questions, contact Rod Cox, email– rcox@thesimonscenter.org, or Ann Soby, email– ann@cgscf.org, at the CGSC Foundation or phone 913-651-0624.

All lectures in the series are free and open to the public. This lecture series is presented by CGSC’s Department of Military History, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leavenworth and supported by the CGSC Foundation and the Henry Leavenworth Chapter of AUSA.

The CGSC Foundation has received additional support for the Vietnam lectures in academic year 2018 from the national headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Kansas City, Missouri, First Command Financial Services in Leavenworth, Kansas, and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).

Download the information flyer for this lecture.