What was the name of the U.S. Army Lieutenant court-martialled for permitting atrocities in Vietnam in 1971?

The 1971 court-martial was a result of the My Lai Massacre, one of the most infamous events of the Vietnam War. In March 1968, a platoon from Charlie Company entered the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai and killed between 300 and 500 unarmed civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. The officer in command of the platoon, and the central figure in the subsequent investigation, was Second Lieutenant William Calley.

News of the massacre was initially covered up by the military but was eventually exposed by investigative journalism. The revelations shocked the American public and led to a military inquiry. Of the 26 soldiers initially charged, only Calley was convicted. At his court-martial, he was found guilty of the premeditated murder of 22 villagers and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor.

The verdict was highly controversial. Many saw Calley as a scapegoat for a systemic failure of leadership that went far higher up the chain of command. His sentence was ultimately reduced, and he served just over three years under house arrest before being paroled. The My Lai Massacre and Calley's trial became a powerful symbol of the war's brutality and further eroded public support for the conflict.