What was the U.S troops motive for the My Lai Massacre?

Question

What was the U.S troops motive for the My Lai Massacre?

Answer 1

I don't think there was any motive, that's what happened in the Vietnam war. Napalm was used over large areas, people Discriminately bombed. 3-4 million Vietnamese lost there lives (both sides). There are many such cases.  

Answer 2

There was no motive, those troops were battle hardened, battle weary and I believe there was a break down in that platoon/squad leadership. A break down to the point where their leader Lt William Calley snapped and ordered the random killing of those villagers.

Answer 3

The motive was "Revenge".  Earlier in the day several of the platoon were killed and wounded in an ambush close to the village.

The cause of the massacre is something different.  

1) US troops (the ordinary soldiers) were generally poorly educated and many came from the poorer and uneducated sections of American society.

2) Many of the platoon leaders were 2nd Lieutenants with very little training and only completing their obligations for assistance for their university scholarships. Most officers were doing 4 and six month tours compared with the ordinary soldiers doing 12 months.

3) It was difficult to determine who the enemy were in many cases. The  members of the NLF (mistakenly called Viet Cong) were villagers and farmers by day and part-time soldiers at night or when needed. Also, most Vietnamese wore the same "black pyjamas" all the time.

4)  There was a culture amongst the US military,  "Kill them all and let God sort them out".