"Because I felt like I was ordered to do it, and it seemed like that, at the time I felt like I was doing the right thing." Private First Class Paul Meadlo explaining his role in the My Lai Massacre.

"How do you shoot babies?" Meadlo was then asked. His reply... "I don't know. It's just one of them things."

"I felt then and I still do that I acted as I was directed, and I carried out the order that I was given and I do not feel wrong in doing so." Lieutenant William Calley Jr. addressing his own leadership during the action.

"Every Day/ On our fellow man we prey/ Dog eat Dog/ To Get by/ Hope you like my genocide” The Offspring

“Hello darkness, my old friend…” Simon and Garfunkel

I’m not going to lie. This is one of the darkest episodes of History on Fire. But there are reasons for this journey into the heart of darkness. The stories of Sand Creek and My Lai offer an opportunity to explore human agency, the choices separating good and evil, and how some individuals can choose to become sources of light even in the most horrible circumstances. In part B, I hand the microphone to my friend and master podcaster Darryl Cooper (from The Martyrmade Podcast.) Darryl explores the context of the Cold War in order to come to terms with what happened at My Lai, in Vietnam, in 1968. Horror abounds, but if you are looking for heroes in the midst of the horror, you can do a lot worse than hear about the story of Hugh Thompson.

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