The US soldiers found no insurgents in the village on the morning of March 16. Led by Lieutenant William Calley, they killed the civilians - primarily old men, women, children and babies. Some were tortured or raped. Dozens were herded into a ditch and executed with automatic firearms.
Calley was convicted in 1971 of premeditated murder in ordering the shootings and was initially sentenced to life in prison. Two days later, however, president Richard Nixon ordered him released from prison. Calley claimed that he was following orders from his captain, Ernest Medina, who denied giving the orders and was acquitted at a separate trial. Of the 26 men initially charged, Calley's was the only conviction.
Senator John Kerry gave a statement to Congress on the Vietnam massacre in 1971 regarding Calley. He said: "I think if you are going to try Lieutenant Calley then you must at the same time, if this country is going to demand respect for the law, you must at the same time try all those other people who have responsibility, and any aversion that we may have to the verdict as veterans is not to say that Calley should be freed, not to say that he is innocent, but to say that you can't just take him alone."