Direct examination by Aubrey Daniels:
Q: What did you do in the village?
A: We just gathered up the people and led them to a designated area.
Q: How many people did you gather up?
A: Between thirty and fifty. Men, women, and children.
Q: What kind of children?
A: They were just children.
Q: Where did you get these people?
A: Some of the was in hooches and some was in rice paddies when we gathered them up.
Q: Why did you gather them up?
A: We suspected them of being Viet Cong. And as far as I'm concerned, they're still Viet Cong....
Q: What did you do when you got there?
A: Just guarded them.
Q: Did you see Lieutenant Calley?
A: Yes
Q: What did he do?
A: He came up to mean and he said, "You know what to do with them, Meadlo," and I assumed he wanted me to guard them. That's what I did.
Q: What were the people doing?
A: They were just standing there....
A: [Calley] said, "How come they're not dead?" I said, I didn't know we were supposed to kill them." He said, I want them dead." He backed off twenty or thirty feet and started shooting into the people -- the Viet Cong -- shooting automatic. He was beside me. He burned four or five magazines. I burned off a few, about there. I helped shoot ‘em.
Q: What were the people doing after you shot them?
A: They were lying down.
Q: Why were they lying down?
A: They was mortally wounded.
Q: How were you feeling at that time?
A: I was mortally upset, scared, because of the briefing we had the day before.
Q: Were you crying?
A: I imagine I was....
Q: Were there any Vietnamese there?
A: Yes, there was Viet Cong there. About seventy-five to a hundred, standing outside the ravine....
A: Then Lieutenant Calley said to me, "We've got another job to do, Meadlo".
Q: What happened then?
A: He started shoving them off and shooting them in the ravine.
Q: How many times did he shoot?
A: I can't remember.
Q: Did you shoot?
A: Yes. I shot the Viet Cong. he ordered me to help kill people. I started shoving them off and shooting.
Q: How long did you fire?
A: I don't know.
Q: Did you change magazines?
A: Yes.
Q: Did Lieutenant Calley change magazines?
A: Yes.
Q: How many times did he change magazines?
A: Ten to fifteen times.
Q: How many bullets in a magazine?
A: Twenty, normally.
Q: How was Lieutenant Calley armed?
A: He had a M-16.
Q: What were the people doing after you and Lieutenant Calley shot them?
A: The people were just lying there, with blood all over them.
Q: What was the condition of the people?
A: I can't say what their condition was. I didn't get down in the ditch and check them out.
Q: Were they wounded?
A: They had wounds in the head, in the body, in the chest, in the stomach.
Q: Where were you when you shot at those people?
A: We was standing on top of the ravine and shooting down.
Q: Did you miss?
A: On automatic? Yes.
Q: Did Lieutenant Calley miss?
A: On automatic? Yes.
Q: Was anyone still alive when you stopped firing?
A: I couldn't tell whether they was mortally wounded. I didn't check them out.
Cross examination by George Latimer:
Q: You did start firing into that group, didn't you?
A: Yes.
Q: You killed men, women, and children?
A: Yes.
Q: You were ordered to do so?
A: Yes.
Q: Why did you carry out that order?
A: I was ordered to. And I was emotionally upset . . . And we were ordered to get satisfaction from this village for all the men we'd lost. They was all VC and VC sympathizers and I still believe they was all Viet Cong and Viet Cong sympathizers.
Q: Did you see Captain Medina?
A: Yes. And he didn't say anything and did not even try to put a stop to it. So I figured we was doing the right thing.
Q: What was your impression of Lieutenant Calley at this place where he gave you these orders?
A: I thought the man was doing his duty and doing his job....
Q: Was Lieutenant Calley violent and in a sense raving around?
A: No.
Re-direct examination by Aubrey Daniel:
Q: Why didn't you fire when you got on line?
A: I don't know. There was a lot of firing going on and I couldn't tell whether it was incoming or outgoing.
Q: Weren't you ordered to fire into that village?
A: I don't remember whether the orders was to fire when we hit the ground.
Q: Wasn't everyone else firing?
A: I don't know.
Q: When did you first see a Vietnamese?
A: Right after we landed. In an open field.
Q: Did you fire?
A: No.
Q: Why not?
A: I didn't have orders to fire.
Q: Was he a resident of the village?
A: He was a Viet Cong, yes.
Q: Then why didn't you fire?
A: I didn't have my orders to fire.
Q: Didn't you get orders to kill him from Medina?
A: No. And besides, he was being guarded.
Q: When did you see the next Vietnamese?
A: In the village. He was thirty to fifty years old.
Q: Did you shoot him?
A: Yes.
Q: Why?
A: I was ordered to by Sergeant Mitchell, I believe. And besides, why take chances?
Q: Then you gathered up people. Why?
A: That was my orders. It ain't my reason to say why.
Q: When Lieutenant Calley came up and said, "Take care of these people," why did you continue to guard them?
A: I figured he just wanted me to guard them.
Q: Why didn't you shoot them?
A: I figured maybe he wanted to hold them for interrogation.
Q: What did you do?
A: I held my M-16 on them.
Q: Why?
A: Because they might attack.
Q: They were children and babies?
A: Yes.
Q: And they might attack
A: They might have a had a fully loaded grenade on them. The mothers might have throwed them at us.
Q: Babies?
A: Yes.
Q: Then why didn't you shoot them?
A: I didn't have no orders to kill them right then.
Q: Why didn't you fire first when Lieutenant Calley said, "I want them dead?"
A: Because Lieutenant Calley started firing first. I don't know why I didn't fire first.
Q: What were the people doing when Lieutenant Calley arrived?
A: They were sitting down.
Q: The women, the children and babies were sitting down?
A: Yes. Q: Did they attack you?
A: I assumed at every minute that they would counterbalance. I thought they had some sort of chain or a little string they had to give a little pull and they blow us up, things like that.
Q: What did you do?
A: I just watched them. I was scared all the time.
Q: How many people did you take to the ditch?
A: Seven or eight people.
Q: Why didn't you shoot these people rather than take them with you?
A: I assumed we was going to hold them for interrogation.
Q: Why didn't you kill them?
A: I didn't have my orders to kill them. It ain't my reason to figure what they was going to do with them. It was just natural procedure to hold them for questioning.
Q: Captain Medina's orders did not change that standard operating procedure for these seven or eight people, to hold them for interrogation?
A: No.
Q: What changed the order?
A: Lieutenant Calley said, "We've got another job to do, Meadlo."
Q: You said you were under emotional strain. Can you describe the strain?
A: Just I was scared and frightened.
Q: At what?
A: At carrying out the orders.
Q: Why?
A: Because nobody really wants to take a human being's life
Q: But they were Viet Cong, weren't they?
A: Yes, they were Viet Cong.
Q: And it was your job?
A: It was my job, yes.
Q: What were the children in the ditch doing?
A: I don't know.
Q: Were the babies in their mother's arms?
A: I guess so.
Q: And the babies moved to attack?
A: I expected at any moment they were about to make a counterbalance
Q: Had they made any move to attack?
A: No.
Q: When you left the ditch, were any of the people standing?
A: Not that I remember.
Q: Did you see anyone who was not shot?
A: I can't say. I didn't get down and check them out.
Q: Did you see anyone who wasn't shot?
A: There might have been a few. I didn't check ‘em out.
Q: Now, Mr. Meadlo, one last question: Did Lieutenant Calley or did Captain Medina order you to kill?
A: I took orders from Lieutenant Calley. But--
Daniel: That's all.