The My Lai massacre was committed by American Soldiers on March 16th, 1968 in an area known as "Pinkville". 'C' Company led by Lt. William Calley were under orders to visit the village of My Lai and remove the Viet Cong presence in the village. However due to a "communication" error, Lt. Calley ordered his men to kill everyone, including women, children and elderly. An estimated 500 people died without a single shot being fired against the American Soldiers. Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson and his helicopter crew intervened and put an end to the massacre, threatening to fire upon the soldiers if they didn't stop the massacre.