A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? It was in their hands. They couldnt have been killed by artillery. Now, if I had known then what I know now about some of the activity going on there, the rapes and barbarism. What led you to enlist in the Army? As the wounded tried to crawl out, they were fired on by someone who had been left there to do just that. Exactly what you saw. Since we were sitting shoulder to shoulder, we saw virtually the very same things. %PDF-1.6 % All of the investigations led to nothing, Hugh and I felt like all three trials were just window dressing. Hugh told her he probably didnt have any family left. They also led as many surviving civilians as they could to shelter. "They said I was screaming quite loud," he told U.S. News & World Report in 2004. endstream endobj 172 0 obj <. I figured, I was in the Army, so I should experience it where the action was. PDF The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story The high gun stayed in the air and circled. Calley was paroled just three years later, in 1974, after Richard Nixon commuted his sentence. Upon entering Sn M, officers and soldiers of Company C moved through the Song My Village and vicinity, murdering civilians, raping women, and setting fire to huts. I told him everything and he didnt know how to respond, he had no idea how to deal with it. Having redeemed himself for other peoples mistakes, his heroic act was written in US Military history. In late December 1967, at the age of 25, Hugh Thompson was ordered to Vietnam and assigned to Company B, 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Division. Well, Hugh told them, if you just give it to me Ill take the medal, with a camera crew, to the first mens room I can find and Ill flush it down the toilet. This is a colonel he is talking to. By then I was a civilian and was trying to attend college on the GI Bill, but I kept getting subpoenas. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a49bccbef3b55dea5fdfe48a500a42a9" );document.getElementById("c08a1a06c7").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Content on this website is free to use and share, but please provide a link back to Spec Ops Magazine as a source. But still, who do you shoot? The dead were women, old men and children. But in the end,. The troops also burned the village and Sn Ms surrounding hamlets to the ground and slaughtered the livestock. I was back at Ft. Medina and maybe higher. Thompson and his crew stood in front of the bunker, protecting the civilians. Some were sent out into the field for 60-75 days straight, and they started getting the feeling somebody was trying to get rid of them. That is what other people say. There was some chatter since most of the people at Ft. On March 16, 1968, Chief Warrant Officer Thompson and his two crewmen were flying on a reconnaissance mission over the South Vietnamese village of My Lai when they spotted the bodies of men, women and children strewn over the landscape. The cause was cancer, Jay DeWorth, a spokesman for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center where Mr. Thompson died, told The Associated Press. I was hoping there would be justice, but what did it achieve? The sergeant waited until Thompson left and then fired on the helpless civilians. Two young infantrymen in Iraq came upon a situation where a number of civilians were questionable and the men werent sure whether to engage or not. But remember, at My Lai only about a third of the men participated in the massacre, but no one else tried to stop it. We had thought there were two or three, but there were about 10 in the bunker. The bodies of massacred villagers at M Lai, as captured by a U.S. Army photographer. Hugh Thompson Jr. - Wikipedia I felt that my testimony validated Hughs, and that was why it was important. After My Lai, did you feel traumatized or feel like you carried a huge burden? Unfortunately, Lt. Calley and the rest of Company C never paid the price for the atrocities they committed. No. Did you get help? Hugh was the generals personal pilot. I always thought the American people deserved to know what was going on and I just thought it was good the public got a color photo layout of what happened at My Lai. And then she finished her sentence: she said, So we could forgive them.'. It took several weeks of time, and several volumes of testimony to satisfy the United States pen<rion bureau that "Old Reliable" was the identical soldier who had enlisted in Company H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer Infantry, in 1862, and who was last reported "wounded and missing In battle of . hbbd``b`:$WXWkZ ["|Ab b:H2@#H@ ( Does it worry you that it was, and remains, in our capacity to excuse or rationalize an atrocity like My Lai committed by Americans? The Army covered it up, but the facts eventually came to light and the responsible officer, Capt. This ended his combat career in Vietnam. It was denial on the part of the public. To do something like that in the whirlwind of war was downright insane, and thats exactly what he did. Among those numbers were 17 pregnant women and 56 infants. Hugh said, No, lets do it at the Wall. They said no, the weather might be bad or something. You can imagine the emotions that surfaced. You and Hugh had the opportunity to tell your stories to young military officers. Some of Calleys men didnt follow Calleys orders and did nothing. In November 1970, the M Lai trials started and Hugh Thompson testified against William Calley. Calley pointed his weapon at him and threatened him with a court-martial. Would I have? Mr. Thompson radioed for a helicopter gunship to evacuate the group, and then his crew chief, Glenn Andreotta, pulled a boy from a nearby irrigation ditch, and their helicopter flew him to safety. "Something terrible happened here 30 years ago today," Mr. Thompson was quoted as saying by CNN. Then he assumed the Army initiated an investigation. Commentary: Opponents need to stop equating abortion with eugenics, Editorial: Polluters keep trying to block gas bans. You still didnt understand what was actually happening? In the midst of it, they had a conversation like this: Remember those old guys from Vietnam and what they told us back at Annapolis?. After the trial, Hugh Thompson received death threats. Hugh Thompson - Collierville, Tennessee, United States - LinkedIn The second time, he touched down near a bunker in which a group of about 10 civilians were being menaced by American troops. Calley had many supporters, who condemned and harassed Thompson. Ill have no part of this, Ill tear these wings off and never fly again!. I thought that from a historical perspective, something needed to be in place so that when Im gone, what Hugh did at My Lai wont just fade into obscurity. This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast 73K 94 2.4K 2.4K comments Best artnaqent 1 yr. ago Standing up for what's right, shouldn't be as hard as that. When Hugh realized it was our people doing this killing, he knew he had to take drastic measures, recalled Larry Colburn, a gunner on Thompsons crew. Were you talking about this at the time? They were shooting women and children just like anybody else.. Were you vilified or the target of death threats the way Hugh Thompson was? Mr. Thompson worked as a veterans' counselor in Louisiana after leaving military service. When you see something like that happen, with no negative repercussions, you begin to think perhaps this is the method of operation. When did you see those particular villagers again? According to Miriam-Webster.com, the word "testimony means: proof or evidence that something exists or is true, firsthand authentication of a fact, an open acknowledgment, a public profession of religious experience . William Calley, the officer in charge of Charlie Company, ordered American soldiers to round up the villagers and open fire. Yet in the midst of the chaos and bloodshed, one U.S. soldier followed his convictions. Thompson and his crew managed to evacuate the civilians and stop the massacre. Then came the backlash. Except for the boy, it appeared the rest were already dead. Instead, the Army hid the slaughter of hundreds of innocent people, including 182 women and 173 children. Hugh and I went in 1998 with 60 Minutes, just after we were given the Soldiers Medal. As we flew around more, we started seeing small groups of people dead or dying in other parts of the village. I think that is probably what has helped me get through it all. Youve got to love this guy. It can be disturbing. Oh, no, Mr. Thompson, let me see what we can do, he said. He is an amazing person made me cry just reading the research about him. In 1998, 30 years after the massacre, Hugh Thompson and the two other crew members, Andreotta and Colburn, were awarded the Soldiers Medal (Andreotta posthumously), the United States Armys highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy. Thompson was the first to communicate back to headquarters about the killing occurring on the ground. He started accusing me of being with CID. When it was all over, hundreds of unarmed civilians had been murdered by American forces. And although he lived with post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, and nightmare disorder for decades, he eventually became a veterans counselor for the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs. You are the ones that deserve to be called American Soldiers. That particular morning we were to provide reconnaissance for a ground operation that was going on in My Lai 4, which was better known to us as Pinkville." It was supposed to be a real big operation that day. Calley was convicted, and Medina was acquitted. But, after going through the process and seeing the ultimate outcome, I wasnt really surprised, but I was disillusioned. You risked your lives, I said, to protect those Vietnamese civilians., Well, it didnt come to that, he replied. Andreotta died in action a few weeks later, but Thompson and Colburn were key witnesses in the investigations and trials to follow. At first, I just felt shock. After evacuating the people, you thought you could do more? We kept flying back and forth, Thompson recalled, and it didnt take very long until we started noticing the large number of bodies everywhere. In harsh times, heroes are ordinary men doing extraordinary things. It wasn't war.". Now we saw them again, but they were all lying on the road, dead or dying. Hugh was being jovial. If Hugh knew that, it would have made everything he went through worthwhile for him. DOC HUGH THOMPSON'S TESTIMONY: - Social Studies with Miss Daniel I was encouraged in that there was an investigation going on and they were going after some people in a big way. So we continued our recon. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Glenn and I were staring them down and watching to see how it would unfold. Typically, when we post testimonies here on truthsaves, we're detailing conversion experiences. When he arrived, American soldiers had already killed 504 Vietnamese civilians (thats the Vietnamese count; the U.S. Army said 347). In 1964, Thompson received an honorable discharge from the Navy and returned to Stone Mountain to live a quiet life and raise a family with his wife. Then, in 1998, the Army awarded him the Soldiers Medal for heroism. I waited in the hospital waiting room for about four hours to see a psychologist. By this time, Lt. William Calleys Charlie Company was reaching My Lai? Particularly because of the Peers and the IG investigations, I thought there were people sincere about upholding the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968, stands as one of the darkest moments in U.S. military history. I have a few lined up at some universities this year. Only he would have known that. This is not what Im here for. You started out on an OH-23 scout helicopter? I was always comfortable as the sidekick and enjoyed the time with Hugh. At the age of 62, after extensive cancer treatment, Thompson was removed from life support and died on January 6, 2006, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pineville, Louisiana. They were not running, but just slowly moving out of the village. Hugh Thompson is a genuine, bone-fide hero of the Vietnam war, protecting hundreds from being massacred by US troops at My Lai. We even started marking the wounded with smoke, thinking the men on ground would come assist them. hb```,(qaB3W[ 4 `Tfc" QB\%xv{ He has had an impact on many young minds in the military. Its like the line from the movie No Country for Old Men when the Vietnam veteran played by Josh Brolin, who responds to another guy who introduced himself and says he was in Nam too: Oh, you were in Vietnam too. If they fire on these people, or fire on me while Im doing that, shoot em!. On March 16, 1968, he was flying a mission in Vietnam and came across a large number of dead civilian bodies; and in pursuing surveillance, he discovered that those civilians had been killed, and the survivors were still under fire, by American forces. Traces the life of U.S. Army helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson, who tried to stop the infamous My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War Genres NonfictionHistoryWar BiographyMilitary HistoryMilitary Fiction 248 pages, Hardcover First published May 1, 1999 Book details & editions About the author Trent Angers 40 books6 followers Friends Following For his interference. Months later you were surprised with a medal for action at My Lai? How did you get to the 123rd Aviation Battalion? They were taking volunteers for the 11th Brigade. 0 And he was a character, a real joker. I stayed on gunships for rest of my time in Vietnam. One of the ladies that we had helped out that day came up to me and asked, Why didnt the people who committed these acts come back with you? I went back in 2008 for the 40th anniversary. These were infants, two-, three-, four-, five-year-olds, women, very old men, no draft-age people whatsoever.. 1st Platoon of Company C, commanded by Lieutenant William Laws Calley Jr., forced approximately 7080 villagers, mostly women and children, into an irrigation ditch and murdered the civilians with knives, bayonets, grenades, and small arms fire. Among those numbers were 17 pregnant women and 56 infants. I testified in the trials of Henderson, Medina and Calley. When the orders came down, the CO called me into his office and demanded to know what they were for. They tried to make arrangements to get him there, but couldnt find him. Everywhere wed look, wed see bodies. That is completely false, there was no backstabbing going onwe were right in their face at My Lai, we were ready to confront those people then and there. So he called our low gunship, piloted by a friend of his, Dan Millans, and said: Danny, I need a favor. The truth of the M Lai massacre did not come out until a year and a half later when a soldier whod seen reports on the massacre contacted a journalist. Thompson kept testifying against the butchers of My Lai in hopes of securing justice for the civilians killed that day. I was back in Mount Vernon, outside Washington, and I got a call from my mother saying there were some people at the house who wanted to talk to me. Larry Colburn talks about his late friend Hugh Thompson, the My Lai massacre, the subsequent cover up, investigations and trials, https://www.historynet.com/interview-larry-colburn-why-my-lai-hugh-thompson-matter/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot. But one of things the most infuriating is being called a whistleblower, as if we went and ratted someone out. On February 8, Congressman Charles Boustany (R-La.) View the profiles of people named Hugh Thompson. US military helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson helped stop one of the most infamous massacres of the Vietnam War. Then again, it was a Saturday morning and they were possibly going to market. Using hand signals, Mr. Thompson persuaded the Vietnamese to come out while ordering his gunner and his crew chief to shoot any American soldiers who opened fire on the civilians. As we watched from about 15 feet off the ground, back maybe 20 meters, we saw this captain approach the woman, look down at her, kick her, step back and then blow her away. He ranked higher than a warrant officer. No, we had no knowledge of who they were, we just knew they were Americans on the ground and we would have done anything for them. Nearby, a squad of soldiers approached with weapons drawn. Mr. Thompson landed twice in an effort to determine what was happening, finally coming to the realization that a massacre was taking place. Then He Assassinated a US President. Did you have a sense that what you had seen at My Lai was and isolated incident or did you suspect similar atrocities were happening elsewhere? I walked in and told Henderson we saw unnecessary killing of many civilians. He was evacuated to a hospital in Japan and began a long rehabilitation period. He remembered how Glenn would put him down and pick him back up as he checked on other victims in the ditch. No, because the commander was on a different frequency. We hope to link up with other organizations and grow some legs. As he told The Associated Press in 2004: "Don't do the right thing looking for a reward, because it might not come. I may have clipped him but he made it to the trees. There could be a reason for doing it, or there could have simply been a complete breakdown in leadership. Our purpose for being there was to protect them. It was denial on the part of the public, said Colburn. None did. .d,H2F How do you think your story, of an event now long in the past, can make a difference? Colburn came from Atlanta to be at his bedside. I didn't want to be a part of that. The villagers offered no resistance as U.S. soldiers shoved them into a ditch and opened fire with machine guns. Hugh Thompson & Helicopter Crew Honored for Helping End My - YouTube On March 16, 1968, did you have any expectations of serious action? We want to recognize people in the military and all walks of life who really make difficult decisions the way Hugh did. No, but Hugh was sent on missions in his OH-23 with his back up another OH-23no gunshipsinto Dragon Valley, where there was rocket activity. After seeing U.S. troops advancing on a Vietnamese family, he landed his helicopter, called in gunships to rescue the civilians, and ordered his gunner to fire on any American who interfered. Then, take a look through these declassified Vietnam War photos. I believe Glenn got a Bronze Star too. Hugh told me to keep my mouth shut and I did. Trent Angers, Thompsons biographer and friend, analyzed the list and found about 50 there who were 3 years old or younger. Everybody walked. Could you have just reported this and left, knowing youd at least made an effort? Thompson spent the rest of his life wondering if he could have saved more lives. They got some people to listen, and then there were others in the Pentagon trying to put it at the bottom of the stack. They landed their helicopter between the American forces and the civilians, and they trained their guns on the advancing Americans. The My Lai Massacre was and still is a huge, shameful event that will be hard for several generations to get past. Heroes of My Lai - University of Missouri-Kansas City It was absurd, but you have to be willing to pay the price. I dont know, at the time I thought about creating a diversion, discharging my weapon in another direction. Ill never fly again, he vowed. Meet Hugh Thompson, The Hero Who Stopped The M Lai Massacre And Was Branded A Traitor For It. Hugh said, Im going to take him on the right, which meant he was my target. I want you to come down here and shuttle these people out of here. And thats what happened, but at that he had to make two trips. Hannah's Testimony. Upon returning from the mission, Thompson reported what he had seen and experienced to his. He had to make sure his mother, brother and sister, killed in the ditch, were buried properly. So, how did you guys feel when you got the Soldiers Medals in 1998? HUGH THOMPSON: I'm Hugh Thompson. He tried to explain that these people appeared to be civilians, that we hadnt taken any fire and there was no evidence of combatants in that area. So I was not a good guy.. That aspect of it made me feel real good.. It was fresh enough that things hadnt changed much. I hope to take as many speaking engagements as I can. Dont salute me or call me sir, he said, Just Mr. Thompson. He didnt believe in that no fraternization stuff, he was really one of the fellows, he knew both sides. Im a garden-variety human being and thats all there is to it. The conclusion Hugh and I came to was they were trying to keep us quiet by giving us a phony award. When I finally got in to see the guy, he was a major, he wouldnt make eye contact as I read my list. It all crystallized in that moment. U.S. ArmyWilliam Calley, the officer who ordered the slaughter at M Lai. I think Task Force Barkers intent was to create panic and drive the enemy forces out of the area. Hugh Thompson, a pilot of the 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Americal Division, flew an observational helicopter supporting Task Force Barker on March 16, 1968. The story of My Lai is well known: On the morning of March 16, 1968, a company of U.S. soldiers killed as many as 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians in My Lai, a village in South Vietnam. PDF Prepared Testimony and No Id never seen nor heard of anything like that before, except in World War II. Prepared Testimony and Statement for the Record of Hugh Thompson Chief Technology Officer Hearing on "Bolstering the Government's Cybersecurity: Lessons Learned from WannaCry" Before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Oversight and Subcommittee on Research and Technology