Calley, however, returned 10 minutes later and became enraged by the fact that the 30 villagers were still alive. After telling Meadlo that he had wanted them dead, Calley backed up about 20 feet, opened fire on them himself and ordered Meadlo to join in, which he did. Meadlo then proceeded to round up more villagers to be massacred.[16]
Conti's testimony corroborated that given by Meadlo, and laid the blame on Calley not only for the initiation of the massacre but also for the participation in it by his subordinates.[17] Another witness, Leonard Gonzalez, told of finding seven women, all naked, all dead, killed by several M-79 grenade launcher rounds. [18]
“Everyone moved into My Lai firing automatic,†Calley later wrote. “And went rapidly, and the GIs shot people rapidly. Or grenaded them. Or just bayoneted them: to stab, to throw someone aside, to go on.†"The soldiers tore through the tiny hamlet, killing civilians, raping women, and mowing down anyone who moved with M-16s. They continued to shoot, even as the villagers offered up no resistence. One soldier, who later committed suicide, recalled that: “I cut their throats, cut off their hands, cut out their tongue, their hair, scalped them. I did it. A lot of people were doing it, and I just followed. I lost all sense of direction.â€
https://allthatsinteresting.com/william-calley
