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Anniversary of Son My massacre honored
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Minh Thu
Hundreds of locals and international visitors on Monday honored the Son My villagers brutally murdered 41 years ago by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War

On March 16, 1968, U.S. soldiers killed 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians in Son My Village’s My Lai and My Khe hamlets after being ordered to search for and destroy communist fighters in the village.

The victims included women, children and old people. Many were beaten, tortured, maimed and sexually abused before being killed. Some of the villagers’ bodies were found mutilated after the massacre.

To mark the anniversary, tourists from the United States, England and Japan and local people laid flowers and wreaths and burnt incense at the foot of the monument in the Son My Remnant Area in central Quang Ngai Province.

U.S. war veteran Mike Boehm, who featured in the 1998 documentary “The Sound of the Violin in My Lai,” played the violin in memory of the victims. Over the past 10 years he has attended many anniversary ceremonies at the village.

As he has done for the past 12 years, U.S. war veteran Bill Kelly sent a postcard and 504 roses to be placed at the foot of the Son My monument in memory of the victims.

After the ceremony, a bell tower worth VND100 million (US$5,714) was dedicated. It will be rung 504 times at 6 a.m. every day for the souls of the 504 Vietnamese victims of the mass murder.

Boehm also announced a VND1.3 billion ($74,560) upgrade of the Son My primary school, financed by money raised by U.S. veterans through Madison Quakers Inc.