PHIL MAXWELL

50th Anniversary Of The My Lai Massacre

March 17, 2018

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the My Lai massacre, one of the most infamous moments in American military history.

Survivors of the 1968 massacre spoke to the dpa news agency about the deaths of up to 504 civilians at the hands of US soldiers during the war in Vietnam. Although 26 US soldiers were charged with war crimes, only the platoon leader Lieutenant William Calley was convicted of murder. Calley made his first public apology in 2009:

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai … I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry … If you are asking why I did not stand up to them when I was given the orders, I will have to say that I was a second lieutenant getting orders from my commander and I followed them – foolishly, I guess.”

American soldiers treated all the villagers, including women and children, as hostile. One of them, Private Paul Meadlo, recounted what he had done in a 1969 interview for CBS News.

“You just spray the area on them and so you can’t know how many you killed ’cause they were going fast. So I might have killed 10 or 15 of them,” he told interviewer Mike Wallace.

“Men, women, and children?” asked Wallace.

“Men, women, and children,” he replied.

“And babies?”

“And babies.”

Despite what happened that day 50 years ago, the Vietnamese, bear no ill-will towards the American people. These photographs were taken in Hoi An which is 121 Kilometers north of My Lai.

Cyclist. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Two women. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Boats on the river. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Fruit & veg market stall. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Boat on the river. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Market. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Boats on the river. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Newspaper seller. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

On the way to the market. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

Boats on the river. Hoi An, Vietnam 2016.

You may also be interested in:

On The Road In Vietnam

No War

You can support a feature length film I am helping to make about pensioners and their campaigns here: Pensioners United.

Ern Malley Liverpool Poet

March 16, 2018

Last Tuesday hundreds gathered at the Handyman bar on Smithdown Road to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Liverpool-born poet Ern Malley.

The Ern Malley orchestra added spice to an amazing evening of readings, discussion and live relays from Australia where Malley worked as an insurance salesman, and watch repairman. Following his tragic death from Graves’ disease at the age of 25, unpublished poems were discovered by his sister. In death Malley gained international recognition as the foremost surrealist poet of his generation.

Robert Sheppard reading ‘Ern Malley suite’, The Handyman Liverpool, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Listening to a reading by Robert Sheppard. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Transfixed members of the audience (with DJ Frank Scenario on the left). The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

The readings were subjected to intense scrutiny by a critical audience. The Handyman. Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Another transfixed member of the audience. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Kirsteen Paton explaining the cultural influences on Ern Malley, The Handyman Liverpool, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Derek McCormack and Imbe Nembe of the Ern Malley Orchestra singing Palinode relayed from Melbourne to The Handyman Liverpool, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Patricia Farrell, reading Petit Testament, The Handyman Liverpool, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Justin Clemens reading Young Prince of Tyre relayed from Melbourne to The Handyman Liverpool, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

The Ern Malley Orchestra. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

The hand of Ern Malley Orchestra vocalist & guitarist David Whyte. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Andrew Kirton minamalist keyboard player of the The Ern Malley Orchestra. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Paul Jones, bass guitarist of the The Ern Malley Orchestra. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Vocalist Vickie Cooper and Kait of the The Ern Malley Orchestra. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

The blazing birthday cake was accompanied with a surrealist version of ‘Happy Birthday’. The Handyman Smithdown Road, Tuesday 13th March 2018.

Albert O’Sullivan is a customer in my local pub who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. Over a year ago I had a long conversation with him about photography. He modestly describes himself as a ‘keen amateur photographer’. He began taking photographs with a box camera his dad gave him when he was 8. After many requests on my part he agreed to show me some of his archive. Last week I went to his house to see photographs from the 1920s. He has many interesting images of buildings that have disappeared.

The photograph of the Plaza cinema on Allerton Road (below) was taken by Albert in 1927. I asked him why he took the photo and he told me he used to go there regularly with his school friend. I asked him if his friend was still alive and he said he lost contact with him around 10 years after he left Liverpool and moved to Australia. Apparently they corresponded with each other. Believe it or not he told me his name was Ern Malley! I said that was the name of a famous poet and he replied “I know. It was him”. He told me they were very close and had met up after he left Liverpool.

Albert agreed that I could interview him about his photography. He also told me that he would like to talk about what he remembers of his friend Ern Malley. I asked him if he has any photos of Ern or any of the letters he sent. He said “Yes but I’m not sure where they are”. I am returning to see and interview Albert next month.