Special Features
- Photo Gallery: Photographic Evidence of the Massacre at My Lai
- Biography: Selected Men Involved with My Lai
- Interview: Author Tim O'Brien
- Further Reading: Related Books and Websites
- Preview: My Lai Preview
- Timeline: Charlie Company and the Massacre at My Lai
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.
Jesse James
America's Robin Hood who robbed not only the rich but the poor and defenseless as well, always saving the treasure for himself. Part of the Wild West collection.
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Woodrow Wilson
President Woodrow Wilson lead America during World War I, created the Federal Reserve, and helped create the League of Nations. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
Film Details
Race for the Superbomb
The U.S. and the Soviet Union race to build the hydrogen bomb during the Cold War, thus beginning the nuclear arms race.
Film Details
Building the Alaska Highway
The Alaskan Highway stands today as one of the boldest homeland security initiatives ever undertaken.
Film Details
Love in the Cold War
An American Communist family that had fled to Moscow in the late 1920s, return to America in 1935 but can not bring their 5-year-old son.
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Radio Bikini
While the U.N. debated strategies for control of atomic energy, the U.S. Navy was preparing for nuclear tests on Bikini Island.
Film Details
Fly Girls
During World War II, more than a thousand women signed up to fly with the U.S. military as WASPS.
Film Details
FDR
Franklin Roosevelt restored hope after the Great Depression and led the nation during World War II. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
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