30 Years after the My Lai/Son My Massacre: An Burden on the Americans

Abstract

30 years have passed since 1968, the year of which was the turning point in the Vietnam War. The My Lai/Son My Massacre, the most notorious atrocity of the Vietnam War, was executed in the year. Both the United States and Vietnam have changed since than in many respects. But the massacre has been "the severest wound" for the Americans. This paper deals with deep consideration of the My Lai Massacre and its aftereffects on the Americans, examining the political and social changes in recent years. America and Vietnam established full diplomatic relations in 1995, and many American citizens have visited Vietnam, and they are trying to put the past behind them. It can be said that the new era began in the mid 1990s. But the analysis of the documentary film Four Hours in My Lai makes it clear that both Americans and Vietnamese, who concerned the incident, are living their lives full of sorrow, agony, and regret, even though some of the Americans say that they just obeyed the order. On the other hand, there are many people and organizations that make efforts to make peace between the two countries by raising subscriptions and so on. They keep devoting themselves to healing the wounds. What has been examined in this paper finds that it will take more time for Americans to be relieved from the burden of the My Lai Massacre.