Special Features
- Further Reading: Related Books and Websites
- Timeline: Charlie Company and the Massacre at My Lai
- Interview: Author Tim O'Brien
- Interview: Larry Colburn
- Biography: Selected Men Involved with My Lai
- Preview: My Lai Preview
What drove a company of American soldiers -- ordinary young men from around the country -- to commit the worst atrocity in American military history? Were they “just following orders” as some later declared? Or, did they break under the pressure of a vicious war in which the line between enemy soldier and civilian had been intentionally blurred? AMERICAN EXPERIENCE focuses on the 1968 My Lai massacre, its subsequent cover-up, and the heroic efforts of the soldiers who broke ranks to try to halt the atrocities, and then bring them to light.
My American Experience
Share Your Story
What are your thoughts about the Vietnam War, American remembrances of the war, history's judgments, your personal experience, or that of a family member?
Series Blog
Documentary Craft: Interview with Composer Joel Goodman
Acclaimed by The Hollywood Reporter as an "Indie Composer to Watch," Joel Goodman is a multi-talented, award-winning composer. His original composition credits include work on the Oscar and Emmy Award-winning films Sister Rose's Passion; The Collector of Bedford Street and Children Underground. Joel recently scored the American Experience film My Lai, produced and directed by Barak Goodman. You can listen to three tracks from the film on his website,joelgoodman.com.
