Friday, October 9, 2009

1968 Vietnam War - My Lai Massacre

The My Lai Massacre, also known as the Son My Massacre, was a mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians that occurred on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. The massacre was committed by a unit of the U.S. Army, known as Charlie Company, under the command of Lieutenant William Calley Jr.

The events of that day began early in the morning, when Charlie Company was ordered to search and destroy the hamlets of My Lai and My Khe in Quang Ngai province, as it was believed that the area was a stronghold of the Viet Cong, the communist forces fighting against the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam. However, upon arriving at the hamlets, the soldiers found no evidence of the Viet Cong and instead encountered only unarmed civilians.

Over the course of the next four hours, the soldiers of Charlie Company indiscriminately killed between 347 and 504 civilians, the majority of whom were women, children, and elderly people. The soldiers also raped women, mutilated the dead, and destroyed homes and livestock. The massacre was not limited to My Lai, but also in the nearby hamlet of My Khe where they killed between 50 and 80 villagers.

The My Lai Massacre was initially covered up by the U.S. military, but the story eventually came to light through investigations by investigative journalists and the testimony of veterans who had participated in the massacre. In 1971, Lieutenant William Calley Jr. was court-martialed for his role in the massacre and found guilty of murder for the deaths of 22 civilians. He was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was later reduced to 20 years and he was released on parole after serving just three and a half years.

The My Lai Massacre is widely considered to be one of the most egregious war crimes committed by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, and it had a profound impact on the American public's perception of the war. The incident also led to changes in U.S. military policy and increased scrutiny of military operations. The memory of My Lai massacre is still alive today, and it continues to be used as a symbol of the atrocities of war.

In conclusion, the My Lai Massacre was a tragic event in which hundreds of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were brutally murdered by U.S. soldiers. The massacre, which occurred on March 16, 1968, was a grave violation of human rights and had a profound impact on the American public's perception of the Vietnam War. The memory of the massacre continues to be a reminder of the atrocities of war and the importance of holding those responsible accountable for their actions.
"I would say that most people in our company didn't consider the Vietnamese human." —Dennis Bunning, 

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Philippines 1968 Wedding of the Year


December 25, 1968, Christmas - the most celebrated Wedding of the Year was took place at Santuario de San Jose, Greenhills, Mandaluyong, Rizal.

" It is an understatement to say that the grand wedding of superstars Fernando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces is the wedding of the year. Like the comments of many who attended the nuptials, it was the most they have seen; different in many ways; significant to a large number of people - even affecting a lot of them."- Stardom

Get the details about the wedding of the year here.


Photo source - fpj-daking

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Mao Tse-tung 1968 Leader of China



Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), also known as "Chairman Mao", was the leader of the Communist Party of China from 1935 to 1976 and dictator of Communist China from 1949-1976.
Mao led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War, and was the leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. Commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, he has been regarded as one of the most important figures in modern world history, and named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Mao Zedong remains a controversial figure to this day, with a contentious and ever-evolving legacy. Critics blame many of Mao's socio-political programs, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, for causing severe damage to the culture, society, economy, and foreign relations of China. Mao's policies and political purges in the first decades of the People's Republic are widely attributed to the deaths of between 40 to 70 million people.

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao became the focus of a personality cult. A number of the Chinese people regard Mao as the savior of the nation, who laid the military, political, economic, technological and cultural foundations of modern China.

Mao is officially held in high regard in China where he is known as a great revolutionary, political strategist, and military mastermind who defeated Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War, and then through his policies transformed the country into a major world power. Additionally, Mao is viewed by many in China as a poet, philosopher, and visionary. However, attitudes towards Mao have changed since Deng Xiaoping took power and initiated market-economic reforms in 1978, but the official party line makes a distinction between Mao's contributions to the Communist revolution and the "errors" he committed later in life.[5] His portrait continues to be featured prominently on Tiananmen Gate and on all Renminbi bills.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Celine Dion born March 1968


Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC, OQ who born on March 30, 1968 is a Canadian singer, occasional songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.

Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a temporary retirement from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B to gospel and classical. While her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. Dion is the best selling Canadian artist of all time; and her album, D'eux is the best selling French-language album of all time. In 2004, after surpassing 175 million in album sales worldwide, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for becoming the best selling female artist of all time. In April 2007 Sony BMG announced that Celine Dion had sold over 200 million albums worldwide.

Will Smith born September 1968

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968)is an American actor, film producer and rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards. Smith rose to fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince in the late 1980s and his role in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His most notable films include Bad Boys and its sequel; Men in Black and its sequel; Independence Day; I, Robot; Ali; The Pursuit of Happyness; I Am Legend; Hancock; and Seven Pounds. He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films open at #1 on the domestic box office as a Lead Actor. Read more here

Monday, September 14, 2009

1968 Top Song by Beatles - Hey Jude


"Hey Jude" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon/McCartney, and released as a single by The Beatles in 1968. Originally titled "Hey Jules", McCartney wrote the ballad to comfort John Lennon's son Julian during his parents' divorce.
"Hey Jude" was the first single from The Beatles' record label Apple Records. Over seven minutes in length, "Hey Jude" was at the time the longest single ever to top the British charts. It also spent nine weeks as number one in the United States—the longest run at the top of the American charts for a Beatles single. The single has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best songs, such as number eight on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs.
"Hey Jude" was released on 26 August 1968 in the United States and 30 August in the United Kingdom, backed with "Revolution" on the B-side of a 7" single. The single was the debut release of the Beatles' record label Apple Records; in the US, it was also the first Beatles single to be issued in a paper sleeve instead of a picture cover. Even though "Hey Jude" was recorded during the sessions for the album The Beatles, also known as The White Album, it was always intended as a single and not an album track. Lennon wanted "Revolution" to be the A-side of the single, but the other Beatles did not agree.Read more about this here.

Hey jude, dont make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

Hey jude, dont be afraid.
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better.

And anytime you feel the pain, hey jude, refrain,
Dont carry the world upon your shoulders.
For well you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.

Hey jude, dont let me down.
You have found her, now go and get her.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey jude, begin,
Youre waiting for someone to perform with.
And dont you know that its just you, hey jude, youll do,
The movement you need is on your shoulder.

Hey jude, dont make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin,
Then youll begin to make it
Better better better better better better, oh.

Na na na na na ,na na na, hey jude...

Sunday, September 13, 2009

1968 Summer Olympics



The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and were also the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country. It is the only Games ever held in Latin America, and it was the second to be hosted outside of Europe, Australia, or the United States. It was also the first Olympic Games to be held in Autumn until the 1988 Summer Olympics.