Son Thang: An American War Crime - Hardcover

Solis, Gary D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557507430 ISBN 13: 9781557507433

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 1997

Synopsis

Three months after Army lieutenant William Calley was charged with the infamous massacre of civilians at My Lai, the Marine Corps had to deal with a savage war crime of its own. Although the incident received little of the media attention focused on Calley's crimes, the murder of sixteen women and children by five Marines at Son Thang-4 raised serious questions for the Corps and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Gary Solis, a Marine combat officer in Vietnam and later a judge advocate, draws on his considerable experience to describe the horrifying crime, its problematic investigation, and the complex courts-martial. It is an engrossing true courtroom drama, complete with unpredictable outcomes and the involvement of both Oliver North and James Webb. Were the five Marines of the self-styled killer team sent to Son Thang-4 on 19 February 1970 carrying out orders to punish the hamlet or reacting to snipers when they opened fire on noncombatant civilians at point-blank range? Were their actions simply a consequence of weeks of unrelenting combat in which fellow Marines were killed by the invisible Viet Cong and their boobytraps? Using trial records and extensive interviews, Solis brings to life the host of military and civilian attorneys, judges, and juries who wrestled with these and other thorny questions in the midst of a combat zone. His riveting courtroom narrative is every bit as fast-paced and readable as the best legal fiction, and his authoritative assessments of the principals' performances, explanations of the peculiarities of military justice, and analysis of issues that rocked the very foundation of the military code of justice assure the book's long-lasting value. Herefor the first time is the full story of what happened at Son Thang-4, including the controversial deliberations and verdicts - a study as pertinent today as it was in 1 Corps, Vietnam, more than twenty-five years ago.

About this title

From the Author:

Son Thang wins Marine Historical Foundation best book award
In November, Son Thang, by Gary Solis, a West Point law professor and retired Marine, won the Marine Corps Historical Foundation's annual Greene Award, as the best nonfiction Marine Corps-related book of 1997. The book is also on the U.S. Military Academy's professional reading list, and is nominated for the Army's professional reading list. Son Thang has not been reviewed or advertised in the Marine Corps Gazette, the Marine officer's professional journal, because the publisher of the Gazette feels that Solis has not shown the proper respect and deference to a Marine Corps three-star general depicted in the book. Nevertheless, word-of-mouth sales have been impressive for this "select audience" book. The Pentagon book store has twice sold out its copies. Check it out.

Synopsis:

Describes the murders of sixteen women and children by United States Marines during the Vietnam War, the investigation of the war crime, and the courts-marshall that followed.

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1557507430
• ISBN 13: 9781557507433
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 340