1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: know that you're going to be hearing two different events 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: in history in this episode. They're both good, if I 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: do say so myself. On with the show word of warning. 5 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: Today's episode contains mentions of physical and sexual violence. Hi again, 6 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to this day in History class, where history waits 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: for no one. The day was March six. The US 8 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: was in the thick of the Vietnam War, a deadly 9 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: and costly conflict where communist North Vietnam in South Vietnamese 10 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: supporters of the National Liberation Front went up against South 11 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: Vietnam and the United States. The National Liberation Front has 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: also been and still is referred to as the viet Cong, 13 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: but the term Vietcong has been considered offensive. U s 14 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: soldiers have been targeting Kuang Nai Province, where Meli is located, 15 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: because it was home to a lot of National Liberation 16 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:18,119 Speaker 1: Front activity. When US forces found out the troublesome forty 17 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: Battalion of the National Liberation Front would be in the 18 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: Melai area, Army Captain Ernest Medina told his soldiers this 19 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: would be their opportunity to fight them. On May Captain 20 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: Medina had told his soldiers that all the residents of 21 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: Mili would have left and that the only people left 22 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 1: would be National Liberation Front sympathizers and enemy troops, but 23 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: this was not the case. The soldiers ended up murdering 24 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: as many as five hundred unarmed civilians in Meli that day. 25 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: The Melai massacre took place in the wake of the 26 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: Tet Offensive, a series of North Vietnamese attacks in South 27 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: Vietnam that greatly weakened US support for the war. US 28 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: military intelligence suggested that the n LF battalion had taken 29 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: refuge in sun me E Village, where the Meli hamlets 30 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: were located. The Charlie Company, part of the Americal Divisions 31 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: eleventh Infantry Brigade, had already suffered a lot of losses 32 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: due to enemy attacks. Regardless, Charlie Company was sent to 33 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: sun me E on March sixt on a search and 34 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: destroy mission under Task Force Barker, with the directive to 35 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: shoot anyone and destroy buildings, crops, and livestock. So, around 36 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: seven thirty in the morning, U S forces shelled son 37 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: Mee and entered the village. As the US bombarded the 38 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: village with artillery rounds, villagers sought cover fled and hid 39 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: in their homes. Within twenty minutes, Charlie Company was headed 40 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: towards Meli, but thet NLF Battalion was not there. NLF 41 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: units had fled in the previous days. A few NLF 42 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: members were scattered about sunm E, but the U. S 43 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: soldiers were mainly met by locals. But that didn't seem 44 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: to matter. Though there had been no resistance or enemy fire. 45 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: Charlie Company rounded up villagers and shot them. They even 46 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: raped and mutilated some of the girls and women before 47 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:36,839 Speaker 1: killing them, and at nine am, Second Lieutenant William Cally, 48 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: who led Charlie Company's first platoon, ordered the execution of 49 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: dozens of locals in an irrigation ditch. Some soldiers objected 50 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: to shooting the villagers at first, but in the end, 51 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: somewhere between three hundred and forty seven and five hundred 52 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: and four unarmed villagers were killed, including women, children, and 53 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: the elderly. The only death on the U. S side 54 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: occurred when a soldier shot his own foot. An army 55 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: photographer took pictures of the atrocities, photos that would go 56 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: on to fuel anti Vietnam war sentiment. Around eleven AM, 57 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 1: Captain Medina ordered the soldiers to break for lunch. Warrant 58 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: Officer Hugh Thompson, who was an army helicopter pilot, and 59 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: his crew members blocked U. S. Soldiers from continuing to 60 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: attack locals and took wounded villagers to get medical care. 61 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: After the massacre was over, higher ups tried to keep 62 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: the truth of the massacre on the hush. Officials said 63 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: the operation had been successful, but ron Rydenhower, a soldier 64 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: in the eleventh Brigade who had not been involved in 65 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: the events, didn't interview with journalist Seymour Hirsch, outing the 66 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:01,239 Speaker 1: harsh realities of the massacre. The U. S. Army ordered 67 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: a special investigation into the day's events and the cover 68 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: up afterward, but only fourteen men were charged with crimes 69 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: related to the massacre and all were acquitted, except for Cali, 70 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: who was found guilty of premeditated murder, and sadly, Meli 71 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: wasn't the only instance of sinceless killing of Vietnamese civilians 72 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: during the war. After the massacre and investigations, support for 73 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: the Vietnam War and the US dwindled, and American troops 74 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: morale was shrinking. Still, the war didn't end until nineteen seventy. 75 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Stepcote and hopefully you know a little more 76 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. Here's a note 77 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: about the naming conventions when it comes to the villages 78 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: and the hamlets. American mapmakers named hamlets based on the 79 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: administrative district followed by a number, not what low Goals 80 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: actually called the villages a lot of the time, so 81 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 1: villagers knew me Lie number four as Sam long and 82 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: being tie. We love it if you left us a 83 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: comment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. At t d i 84 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: h C podcast, come back tomorrow for another tidbit from history. 85 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, welcome to the show. I'm Eves and you're 86 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: listening to This Day in History Class, a show that 87 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: uncovers a little bit more about history every day. The 88 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: day was March. Gustav the third of Sweden was shot 89 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: at a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. 90 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,160 Speaker 1: He died on March twenty nine after the wound became infected. 91 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: Gustave the third succeeded his father as king of Sweden 92 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: in seventeen seventy one. Throughout most of the seventeen hundreds, 93 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: the Rick's Dog or National legislature of Sweden was at 94 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: the mercy of two rival factions, the Hats and the Caps. 95 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: When Gustav began his reign, he attempted mediation between the factions. 96 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: In seventeen seventy two, he arranged for a coup to 97 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: take over the government and a new constitution was adopted. 98 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: The new constitution increased the crown's powers at the expense 99 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: of the riks Dog of the Estates or the Diet, 100 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: made up of the nobility, clergy, burghers and peasants, but 101 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: it did not completely abolish it. Over the next several years, 102 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: Gustav introduced many reforms. He abolished torture as a tool 103 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: of legal investigation, free trade was encouraged, and freedom of 104 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: the press was granted. He also strengthened Sweden's naval and 105 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: military forces. The the Estates initially supported his reforms. The 106 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:02,119 Speaker 1: ricks Dog of seventeen eighty six oppos most of them. 107 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: Looking to gain support from his opposition and taking advantage 108 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: of Russia's war with Turkey, Gustav went to war with 109 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: Russia in seventeen eighty eight, but the war did not 110 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: help his position, and some members of the nobility were 111 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: working with the Russians. He appealed to the three Lower Estates, 112 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: and in seventeen eighty nine the Union and Security Act 113 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: increased royal power and undermined much of the nobility's power. 114 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: Sweden won a big naval victory at spin Soon in 115 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: July of seventeen ninety in the Russo Swedish War. The 116 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: war ended with a peace treaty the next month, but 117 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: much of the Swedish nobility, especially younger aristocrats, were developing 118 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: an increasing hatred toward the king and his power. The 119 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: nobility began conspiring to kill the king and reform the government. 120 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 1: On March sixteenth, seventeen ninety two, Gustav was eating dinner 121 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm when he received 122 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: an anonymous letter saying that his life was threatened. Gustav 123 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: still chose to go to the mast ball that night 124 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: in his masquerade dress. On the way to the ball, 125 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 1: the king was shot by Jakob Johan Ankerstrom, a military 126 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,440 Speaker 1: officer from a noble family. Gustav twitched, but he did 127 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: not fall. He was escorted away from the scene to 128 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: his room. Some of the conspirators, including Ankerstrom, were arrested 129 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,839 Speaker 1: and Gustav continued to act as head of state as 130 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: he attempted to recover from the shooting, but the wound 131 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: became infected and he developed sepsis. Gustav the Third died 132 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: just thirteen days after he was shot. His funeral took 133 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: place on May fourteenth. Gustav the third son, Gustaf the 134 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: fourth Adolf, succeeded him as king under the regency of 135 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: his uncle until he reached adulthood. I'm Eve Steff Coote 136 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 137 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you haven't gotten your fill 138 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,359 Speaker 1: of history yet, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook 139 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d I h C podcast. If 140 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: you prefer something a little bit more formal, then you 141 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: can write us at this Day at I heart media 142 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll catch you 143 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: tomorrow same place. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 144 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 145 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.