William Calley dead at 80: The only person convicted over 1968 atrocity in which US troops killed hundreds of unarmed South Vietnamese died in a hospice

William Calley, nan service serviceman who was nan only personification to beryllium convicted successful narration to nan wide execution of Vietnamese civilians, including children, successful what came to beryllium known arsenic nan My Lai massacre, has died astatine nan property of 80. 

The Washington Post connected Monday first reported Calley's death, which happened successful April, according to a decease certificate nan newspaper cited. The New York Times, citing Social Security Administration decease records, besides reported Calley's death.

Neither insubstantial reported a origin of death. Calls to numbers listed for Calley's son, William L. Calley III, were not returned.

American soldiers killed 504 group connected March 16, 1968, successful Son My, a postulation of hamlets betwixt nan cardinal Vietnamese seashore and a ridge of misty mountains, successful an incident known successful nan West arsenic nan My Lai Massacre. The killings shocked nan U.S. and galvanized nan anti-war movement.

Initially charged successful an Army tribunal martial for 102 deaths, Calley was sentenced to life successful situation successful 1971 for nan sidesplitting of 22 civilians. He was down bars only 3 days earlier past President Richard Nixon ordered him released nether location arrest.

Despite being told that My Lai was a hotbed of communist National Liberation Front guerrillas, U.S. forces met nary superior equipped guidance and recovered very fewer weapons, according to nan Army Historical Foundation. Still they killed almost everyone there, and raped women and girls.

Four soldiers were brought up connected charges stemming from nan massacre but only Calley was convicted.

Calley spent 3 years successful location detention astatine his flat successful Fort Benning, Georgia, wherever he had visits from his girlfriend, and was past paroled and cashiered retired of nan Army.

Maintaining that he had simply followed orders and considering himself a scapegoat, Calley became a lightning rod for a state bitterly divided complete nan unpopular Vietnam War.

In later years, arsenic a successful businessman successful Columbus, Georgia, Calley refused to talk astir My Lai pinch reporters aliases historians.

Friends, however, said he admitted committing nan deeds he was charged pinch and had learned to unrecorded pinch it. In 2009, he made his first nationalist apology.

'There is not a time that goes by that I do not consciousness remorse for what happened that time successful My Lai,' Calley told a Kiwanis Club successful Columbus, Ohio. 'I consciousness remorse for nan Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for nan American soldiers progressive and their families. I americium very sorry.'

William Laws Calley Jr. was calved June 8, 1943, nan only boy and 4th kid of a Miami businessman. He attended 4 precocious schools successful 4 years, 2 of them subject academies. After he flunked retired of inferior college, he worked arsenic a bellhop, dishwasher, security interrogator and train conductor.

Broke successful Albuquerque, New Mexico, successful 1966, he joined nan Army and excelled. Despite a mediocre world record, Calley graduated from Officers' Candidate School astatine Fort Benning 1 twelvemonth to nan time earlier nan My Lai incident.

After his discharge from nan Army, Calley joined Penny Vick successful 1976 and went to activity for her begetter successful nan jewelry business successful Georgia, becoming a certified gemologist. They had 1 boy and later divorced.