" One of the American soldiers at My Lai was Private Paul Meadlo . While guarding a group of about sixty Vietnamese who had been rounded up and made to squat down , Lieutenant Calley approached and ordered Meadlo to ' take care of them . ' At first Meadlo did not understand . ' Come on , ' Calley barked , we will kill them . Fire when I say ' Fire . ' " Meadlo obeyed . The villagers were about ten feet away when the two men began firing their M-16 rifles on automatic . After killing many of the Vietnamese , Meadlo stopped . With tears streaming down his face , he turned to a buddy , shoved the M-16 toward him , and said , ' You shoot them . "
" Two days after the massacre , Calley ordered his platoon to walk through a known minefield that had recently caused American casualties . Most of the men ignored the order so Calley took only a small squad . Paul Meadlo was ordered to walk point carrying a mine detector . Calley grew impatient with Meadlo's careful movements and ordered him to stop sweeping and pick up the pace . A few seconds later , Meadlo stepped on a mine . His left foot was blown off . When an evacuation helicopter arrived , he seemed to be thinking more about My Lai than his missing foot . He screamed at Calley : ' Why did you do it ? Why did you do it ? This is God's punishment to me , Calley , but you will get yours ! God will punish you , Calley ! ' "
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