Combat Photography: My Lai Massacre

Meghan McManamon
mm434215@ohio.edu

Imagine that you are a photojournalist that was sent to report in a warzone. You see a young boy shot and killed by an American soldier in a crossfire. As a photojournalist, you are left to ask yourself one question: do I take this photo?

This might be a hard question to ask yourself because human instinct probably tells you not to or that you must help in some way. Another thing to debate is not to take the picture because the American soldier did not mean to hit the boy. It is the journalist's duty to their job and to their country to take that picture. They would do it despite being credible for the American soldier or the terrible death of the young boy because of their ethical standards to report the truth. Photojournalist Michael Kamber stated to CBS in an interview, "You never fake a photograph. If we ever saw a photographer altering a scene in any way, they would never work again. That was really the code, was it had to be done with complete integrity."

These ethical decisions were made by Robert Haeberle, a combat photojournalist, who was in My Lai on March 16th, 1968. Hundreds of innocent people were violently murdered by American soldiers in a small village. The Infantry Brigade, Charlie Company, was sent to the area after being given a search-and-destroy mission against Viet Cong troops that were reported to be passing through the village. Men, women, and children were victims of this tragedy. Lt. William Calley was leading the American troops and ordered his soldiers to round up the villagers and shoot them with machine guns. Not a single shot was fired at the American soldiers but, in no time, hundreds of innocent civilians were killed.

Photo Courtesy to Ron Haeberlie/TIME/Getty Images

 

Haeberle took many photos of the victims and the soldiers during this time that are very disturbing. It was not until a year after the massacre that the Cleveland Plain Dealer finally published his photos. It came as a shock to many Americans and most went into denial. It is hard to believe that the people that you think are fighting for your freedom just killed hundreds of innocent, unarmed people. Along with Haeberle reporting many instances of young girls and women being raped before they’d be executed. Though Haeberle felt that what was going on wasn’t right, he knew it was his job as a photographer to capture it all. 

The fact that many Americans went into denial is the main reason why war photography is ethical. Although it seems wrong to capture gruesome events, photos are a very strong piece of evidence to prove what actually happens in warzones. In the case of My Lai, Robert Haeberle’s photos are the only thing that the court had to prove that innocent people were the victims of this.

Another ethical issue at this time was that the American government was being accused of trying to keep this situation quiet. It was not until three years after the massacre that Lt. William Calley was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Without photo evidence, the decision would have taken a very long time to come to a conclusion because of soldiers siding with Calley were saying that all killed were Viet Cong troops. 

A lot of the Haeberle's photos that you can see are only feet and minutes away from where these massacres occurred. That just goes to show the dedication that photojournalists take to report the truth. Capturing these images not only is a risk for the photographer’s credibility but is a risk to their lives.