Ernest Lou Medina was a captain in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He was the commanding officer Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry of the 11th Brigade, Americal Division. Captain is both a nautical term and a military rank. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and their allies—notably the United States military in support of... A company in the broadest sense is an aggregation of people who stay together for a common purpose. ... In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... Americal Division Shoulder Patch The Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. ...

Lieutenant William Calley was a platoon leader serving in Medina's company during the My Lai Massacre. A Lieutenant is a military, paramilitary or police officer. ... William Calley (born June 8, 1943) is a convicted war criminal. ... See also Platoon (movie) and platoon (automobile) for the concept for reducing traffic congestion. ... Photographs of the My Lai massacre provoked world outrage and became an international scandal. ...

Captain Medina was charged in connection with the crimes, but was ultimately found not guilty of all charges relating to the massacre. He was represented by F. Lee Bailey at the 1971 court martial. In criminal law, an acquittal is the legal result of a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict of guilty being entered against the accused. ... Bailey made the cover of Time in the late 70s for defending Patty Hearst Francis Lee Bailey, often referred to as F. Lee Bailey (born 1933), is a U.S. lawyer. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

Calley, on the other hand, was found guilty of various crimes, but ultimately, he only served 3½ years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning, Georgia and was released in 1974 by a federal judge. Guilty is a Anarcho-punk album, by the band Oi Polloi. ... Fort Benning is a military base facility of the United States military southwest of Columbus, Georgia. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

External Links

• Biography of Ernest Medina

• Court Martial Documents

• Trial Transcript