What instructions did Captain Ernest Medina give Charlie Company before the operation at My Lai?

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A group of frightened Vietnamese women and children stand close together outdoors during the My Lai Massacre in the Vietnam War. — My Lai Massacre Vietnamese citizens photographed during the My Lai Massacre, March 16, 1968.

In a briefing on March 15, 1968, Captain Ernest Medina instructed the men of Charlie Company that they would finally have the opportunity to engage the enemy that had eluded them for over a month.1

Operating under the belief that all civilians had already departed the area for Quang Ngai city, Medina directed his troops to treat anyone found in My Lai as a Viet Cong fighter or sympathizer. Under these rules of engagement, soldiers were authorized to fire at anyone or anything they encountered. Additionally, the company was ordered to destroy crops and buildings and to kill all livestock.1