Son My (My Lai)

Introducing Son My (My Lai)

It’s unfathomable that this pleasant rural spot could have been the setting of horrific crimes during the American War. On the morning of 16 March 1968, US troops swept through four hamlets in the Son My subdistrict, systematically killing 504 villagers, many of them elderly and children. The largest mass killing took place in Xom Lang (Thuan Yen) subhamlet, where the Son My Memorial (admission 10, 000d; 8-11.30am & 1-4.30pm Mon-Fri) now stands. However, it is one of the other hamlets that lent the name the world remembers – the My Lai Massacre.

The memorial is centred around a dramatic stone sculpture of an elderly woman holding up her fist in defiance, a dead child in her arms, as the rest of her family die at her feet. Many visitors bring incense to burn here. The US military ploughed the ground to destroy the evidence of their crimes, but the scene has been recreated to reflect the aftermath of that fateful day. Burnt-out shells of homes stand in their original locations, each marked with a plaque listing the names and ages of the family that once resided there. The concrete connecting the ruins is coloured to represent a dirt path, and indented with the heavy bootprints of American soldiers and the bare footprints of fleeing villagers.

The fact that the event was painstakingly documented by a US military photographer is quite bizarre in its own right. These graphic images are now the showcase of a small museum on the site. While a distressing experience, the display ends on a hopeful note – chronicling the efforts of the local people to rebuild their lives after liberation. A prominent section honours the GIs who tried to stop the carnage, shielding a group of villagers from certain death, and those responsible for blowing the whistle.

The road to Son My passes through particularly beautiful countryside: rice paddies, cassava patches and vegetable gardens shaded by casuarinas and eucalyptus trees. However, if you look closely you can still make out the odd bomb crater, and the bare tops of hills are testimony to the continuing environmental devastation caused by Agent Orange.

Last updated: Jul 22, 2009