IF TRUTH IS HARD, SILENCE IS WORSE
In 1969, a 32-year-old free-lance reporter named Seymour Hersh broke a news release that shocked the world and shook a nation to its very core.
The story? On March 16, 1968, members of the U.S. Army’s 11th Brigade, Charlie Company, had entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai, raped women, slaughtered the inhabitants (including children and babies), destroyed its food, killed its livestock, and poisoned its wells. It was a massacre of hundreds, mostly women and children. The Army, Hersh claimed, was aware of this, and covered it up.
For millions of Americans, this was a turning point in their support for the war. The veneer of American exceptionalism was suddenly growing thin.
One of those Americans was my Father. A patriotic veteran of World War II (like the Dad of every other kid I grew up with), he had, against his better instincts, voted for Nixon a year earlier because Nixon claimed to have “a secret plan” to end the war. He regretted that vote for the rest of his life.
Working at my Dad’s Burlington Railroad station was a Mexican immigrant known only by his last name. Moreno. Most people wouldn’t give him the time of day.
Not my Dad, though. He was equally gruff with everyone. Whenever he’d see him, it was “hey, Moreno. What’s going on? Whatcha’ up to?” Moreno would usually smile and talk. He didn’t have many friends.
One day it was different. Moreno was withdrawn and quiet. My Dad tried to roust him out. Finally he spoke. “Mr. Frey (he always called my Dad Mr. Frey), I got a letter from my son.”
Instantly my Dad panicked. He knew Moreno’s son was in Viet Nam. “Moreno, is he alright? What happened?”
“He’s alright, it’s what his Captain told him to do.”
“What’re you talking about, Moreno?”
“My son’s Captain, he tell my son he must shoot children. Little babies. Mr. Frey, what should he do? I don’t want him to disobey his Captain. But children?”
My Father immediately went into denial mode. Of course, he didn’t believe it. “Look Moreno, he must’ve been confused. The Captain couldn’t have said that. Your son just misunderstood him. He didn’t understand the Captain’s English.”
“No Mr. Frey,” Moreno shook his head. “My son, he speak good English. Not like me. Mr. Frey, I don’t know what to do.”
My Dad came home that night troubled, but still convinced it was all a misunderstanding.
A month later, the My Lai story broke. My Father’s view of the war changed forever.
The story further polarized an already polarized nation. More demanded an end to the war. Others doubled down.
This is war, they said. These things happen. Charlie Company had suffered more than its share of casualties, and just the day before, lost a comrade to a Viet Cong sniper. My Lai itself was considered a hot bed of enemy activity.
It was also a “free fire zone.” Inhabitants had been warned to flee (just where to was somehow never considered) and the Army authorized units to shoot to kill any perceived threat. Charlie Company was angry, fearful, and sick of the near constant death. Charlie Company’s First Platoon, led by junior college dropout Lt. William Calley (who was considered incompetent by many of his peers) initiated the slaughter.
Although 25 soldiers were eventually charged with murder, only Calley was convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison. His defense at trial was a familiar one.
He’d just been following orders. But none of it mattered. Nixon had him released after only 3 days.
To many Americans, he was just a scapegoat. Why focus on him? It was those damned Viet Cong! And how was Calley or anyone else supposed to know who to trust in Viet Nam? As one soldier said, “They pretend to help us during the day and put on black pajamas and try to kill us at night.”
It was Hersh who should be blamed. Why did he push this story? So what if a few people were killed? It wasn’t worth dragging America’s name through the mud. We’re trying to win this war! If Hersh was a real American, he would have just sat on the whole thing. He’s a communist sympathizer and a traitor.
Indeed, hate mail and death threats followed him for decades. All of this despite the fact that other civilian killings were eventually uncovered.
But the bigger question of confronting the truth, even when it’s ugly and painful, continues to this day.
Which brings us to Nicholas Kristof, and the New York Times. For the record, Kristof is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist whose reporting on atrocities against civilians in war zones, particularly sexual violence, is considered some of the best in the world.
On May 11, 2026, the Times published Kristof’s article The Silence that Meets the Rape of Palestinians In the article, he reports multiple individuals describing systematic rape of men, women, and children by Israeli captors. The details are sickening.
The blowback was immediate and deafening. “This can’t possibly be true! You’re just stirring up antisemitism! Didn’t Hamas rape Israelis on October 7?” (of course they did, but how does that justify further perpetration of rape, especially against those who had nothing to do with it?)
And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamen Netanyahu took it one step further. Kristoff’s article was “Blood Libel” and would serve only to whip up hatred of Jews.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term Blood Libel, look it up. Here it is, to the best of my understanding (Jewish readers, feel free to add or detract, based on your understanding of the term). Dating back to the Middle Ages, wild rumors were spread for the expressed purpose of driving hatred and murder of Jews. One such rumor was that Jews murdered Christians and used their blood in religious rituals.
Of course it’s nuts. To begin with, Jewish Kosher Laws (like Muslim Halal, or for that matter, the Christian sect, Jehovah’s Witnesses) forbids consuming blood. But apparently bigots don’t have time to bother with actual facts.
So what about Netanyahu’s claim? Or similar claims by hundreds of demonstrators who showed up in front of the Times headquarters?
The only answer to any of this that I can see is to seek the truth. Either Kristof’s claims are true, or they aren’t. If the Israeli government is truly concerned about human rights, it should investigate these claims, just like they investigated and validated claims of the rape of Israelis by Hamas.
Will such an inquiry happen? Who knows? But if these allegations are true, they constitute war crimes. Just like My Lai. But keep in mind this isn’t the first time such allegations have been made. Israeli Doctor Yoel Donchin documented findings of beatings, torture, and sexual assault in Israeli prisons, and the country’s top military prosecutor was jailed for releasing evidence that these crimes to the publicd.
Will all of this increase antisemitism? In the fertile minds of bigots, almost certainly. Just like My Lai generated a wave of hatred toward America.
Make no mistake. Violence against Jews has been rising throughout the world. Just like violence against Muslims. Against immigrants. Against gays. And depending on the country, against Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists. But the only way evil can be confronted is by first calling it out.
No matter where it occurs. And no matter who’s the perpetrator.
For animal lovers, another heartbreaking story was revealed days ago. A video surfaced of a masked Israeli settler repeatedly beating a Palestinian family’s pet dog. The dog was chained and couldn’t run. It took blow after blow from clubs, and rocks to its head.
Her name was Lucy.
Apparently, the settler got tired of his orgy and left. Lucy managed to survive, albeit with a skull fracture, broken bones, and a blind eye. With enough care, she might just live. Sadly, this isn’t the first time Palestinians animals and pets have been killed. It was just the first time it was caught on camera.
I wish I could tell you what I’d like to do to the punk who attacked Lucy if I could get my hands on him, but I’ll spare you those details. But I don’t think that makes me antisemitic. The actions of that Israeli settler don’t represent all Jews, any more than Calley’s actions at My Lai represented all Americans. Sadly, though, we all have to deal with the outcomes of those actions.
Would the story of My Lai have ever been told if Hersh had just “sat on it” out of concern that some might find it offensive and somehow “anti-American? Would America really have been better off if we hadn’t heard the truth? Think about it.
But if you ask me, the world could use a lot more Hershs and Kristofs, and a lot fewer Netanyahus, Sinwars, Putins, and Trumps.
Post scripts: 1. Plenty of arguments, pro and con, can be found about Kristof’s article and whether it constituted Blood Libel. I suggest checking both sides.
2. You can find the video of the Lucy’s brutal beating several places online, but I’d suggest not watching it. It’s pretty sick.
3. Atrocities against civilians continue, and will scar our country’s reputation for years to come. Feel free to look up the case of Lt. Clint Lorance, convicted of murdering civilians in Afghanistan, after 9 members of his own platoon testified against him. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison for murder, but like Calley, was set free by another American president of questionable integrity.
4. Finally, to end on a positive note, look up the story of Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, Jr., the pilot who arguably saved many lives at My Lai by landing his helicopter in the midst of the massacre, training his guns on those doing the killing, and ordering them to stop. For his heroic efforts, he was called a traitor and received a steady stream of hate. Only after 30 years was he recognized as a hero and awarded the Soldiers Medal for his courage and bravery.