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. She enticed me to move to east Oregon, near a ski area. He just said I was a prime candidate for PTSD. Hugh Thompson was a volunteer officer in the Vietnam War who turned his squad's weapons on American soldiers to stop them raping and murdering more women and . Did the boy have a recollection of March 16, 1968? It went on like that for another year and half until finally they agreed to award medals to all of us. 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. I said, Thank you, sir, and went back to work. Youve got to love this guy. "I'd received death threats over the phone," he told the CBS News program "60 Minutes" in 2004. TIE LOST SOLDIER Hugh Thompson's Strange Life Will Fill a Book As we flew around more, we started seeing small groups of people dead or dying in other parts of the village. When you see your lieutenant or captain initiate these things, some enlisted men on the ground are more likely to do the same thing. He tried to persuade him to stop the attack but with no success. View Hugh Thompson's professional profile on LinkedIn. Were you glad you got it? Now, if I had known then what I know now about some of the activity going on there, the rapes and barbarism. Interview: Larry Colburn | American Experience | PBS Every time Ive been back there, the survivors ask me, Why dont the men who committed the atrocities come back and ask for forgiveness so that we might forgive them. Theyre Buddhists you know, they can forgive, put it behind them and carry on. They didnt want to. Commentary: Opponents need to stop equating abortion with eugenics, Editorial: Polluters keep trying to block gas bans. Amid a flurry of corporate earnings releases and somewhat lackluster market activity last week, an important milestone went largely unnoticed. Hugh Thompson Jr., The Army Major Who Stopped The My Lai Massacre Hugh Thompson Jr. graduated from Stone Mountain High School on June 5, 1961. That was the only enemy combatant we saw that day. The pilots were briefed, if the crew was briefed it was by the pilot in the aircraft on the way to the area. We were told by the prosecuting attorneys to keep our mouths shut, and I didnt advertise the fact I was at My Lai. 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. 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. Thompson left the Army in 1983 and became a private helicopter pilot in the South. Glenn and I were staring them down and watching to see how it would unfold. 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. I now know why he wanted me to come with him to events. When he arrived, American soldiers had already killed 504 Vietnamese civilians (thats the Vietnamese count; the U.S. Army said 347). 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? And I was just devastated. Hugh and I went in 1998 with 60 Minutes, just after we were given the Soldiers Medal. It can be disturbing. Mercy Thompson, Testimony, Church of Christ in Missouri v. Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 70 F. 179 (8th Cir. So, he decided to do something. Letters to the Editor: Hey, leave linoleum out of the DeSantis-Disney fight. Thats what they want to do. While the massacre took place, helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and his crew flew over the jungle, offering air support. "They said I was screaming quite loud," he told U.S. News & World Report in 2004. No. 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. Instead, the Army hid the slaughter of hundreds of innocent people, including 182 women and 173 children. Hugh Thompson, an Army helicopter pilot who rescued Vietnamese civilians during the My Lai massacre, reported the killings to his superior officers in a rage over what he had seen, testified at the inquiries and received a commendation from the Army three decades later, died yesterday in Alexandria, La. I think Task Force Barkers intent was to create panic and drive the enemy forces out of the area. He left the aircraft in flight idle, as rotor blades can be somewhat intimidating. 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. Ever reflect about how you are part of an event of such historical significance? It had to be. Ill have no part of this, Ill tear these wings off and never fly again!. Hugh and I were skeptical in 01, so we asked him a lot of questions and he told us things only he could have known. To do something like that in the whirlwind of war was downright insane, and thats exactly what he did. But still, who do you shoot? When the orders came down, the CO called me into his office and demanded to know what they were for. I lost faith in the whole military organization and wanted to put it all behind me. By this time, Lt. William Calleys Charlie Company was reaching My Lai? From his helicopter, Hugh Thompson could not communicate with Charlie Company on the ground. Oh, no, Mr. Thompson, let me see what we can do, he said. So you were encouraged at that point? But many in the Army and the public supported Calley over Thompson. How could I ever be prepared for something like that? So, what do you make of Calleys apology last year? 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. Are you guys with me?. How many of them went on to draw military pay and benefits? We want to recognize people in the military and all walks of life who really make difficult decisions the way Hugh did. What would I have done if I were a man on the ground? They were not running, but just slowly moving out of the village. Hugh Thompson | US news | The Guardian ' Thompson recalled. He ranked higher than a warrant officer. I think I may have been in shock to some extent. Innocent people didnt die that day They didnt just fly off the handle and engage a target that was borderline. the testimony he gave to the House Committees and the courts-martial of the . That morning, Hugh said, This is supposed to be a VC stronghold, but you know G2. Usually, when intelligence said an area was hot, it wasnt, and visa versa. All content is protected by copyright and may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written permission. Except for the boy, it appeared the rest were already dead. Harry claimed a 'secret agreement' stopped him bringing hacking claims earlier Hugh Thompson returned to M Lai in 1998 and met some of the people he saved. We were the closest and should have been able to communicate, but thats the way it was structured. I flew from Ft. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. He didnt have much support for decades. Upon coming home, he got death threats and the like. They also reported the massacre to higher officers, who ordered the troops on the ground to stop. At first, they only wanted to give it to Hugh at a private ceremony. I knew General Peers had gotten in touch with Hugh and took him back over to the scene of the crime. He looked up and saw us and then took off for the tree line. We took him out of the area to a hospital and gave him to a nun. HUGH THOMPSON'S TESTIMONY: I'm Hugh Thompson. It has turned me into a cynic philosopher. I figured, I was in the Army, so I should experience it where the action was. 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. But one of things the most infuriating is being called a whistleblower, as if we went and ratted someone out. Did you expect something would be done as a result? Hugh said, Im going to take him on the right, which meant he was my target. . Thompson kept testifying against the butchers of My Lai in hopes of securing justice for the civilians killed that day. We couldnt come up with an explanation until Hugh marked a woman we saw who had a chest wound and decided to just move back in a hover when we saw a squad coming near. I think it is deception, and that remains constant today. Hugh Thompson was determined to stop the massacre. And we did, the best we could. I met Thompson in 2000 and interviewed him for my radio program on KPFK in Los Angeles. Acadiana People: Angers writes new chapter in Hugh Thompson story When I first joined the company, the commander took the volunteers to the flight line and showed us bullet holes in the aircraft and asked us if we knew what they were. Id never seen nor heard of anything like that before, except in World War II. If people have some confusion about that, thats their problem. 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. endstream endobj startxref Did you consider bringing gunships to ferry out others from the ditch? Interestingly, there are those toying with the idea of inviting him to make the trip back to My Lai to ask for the people there for forgiveness. Im not going to let this happen, weve got to do something. I have accompanied Hugh when he has spoken at West Point, the Naval and Air Force Academies, to the Red Cross, in Norway, Australia and elsewhere. How did you get to the 123rd Aviation Battalion? Our main job was to fly close to the deck, entice fire to get the enemy to give up their position, mark it, suppress fire and get out of the gunships way. When did you make your report of what happened? 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. Probably not. Testimony to the Truth: Smyth, Reverend Hugh P.: 9781163377390: Amazon Were you talking about this at the time? When I finally got in to see the guy, he was a major, he wouldnt make eye contact as I read my list. Landed the aircraft in between the Americans and the Vietnamese, told my crew chief and gunner to cover me, got out of the aircraft, went over to the American side.. Im going to go over to the bunker myself and get these people out. In the Peers inquiry testimony, I believe there were 14 rapes that were reported. But it was mostly done with a machine gun. When you testified in Washington for the Army investigation led by General William Peers, did you feel they were after the real story? Did the word about what happened at My Lai get around? Particularly because of the Peers and the IG investigations, I thought there were people sincere about upholding the Uniform Code of Military Justice. How do you intend to spread the word about the foundation? But in the end,. Charlie Company arrived in M Lai with orders to destroy the village. As he told The Associated Press in 2004: "Don't do the right thing looking for a reward, because it might not come. As children ran for safety, soldiers gunned them down. And they recommended charging 28 officers for the massacre and coverup. The low gun probably did because they had visual and were communicating with Hugh, and Hugh had been telling them what wed been seeing, hoping they were relating that up to the command craft that was flying above at altitude. When it was all happening, the feeling I had was, if this is how Im going to die, Im OK with it. Hell, I didnt want to believe it, either, but I had no choice because I saw it. I told him everything and he didnt know how to respond, he had no idea how to deal with it. Hell, I didnt want to believe it, either, but I had no choice because I saw it.. Hood were returnees, but no one really zeroed in on what was happening. Before the story broke, did you or Hugh consider going public with the story? In 1966, Thompson enlisted in the United States Army and completed the Warrant Officer Flight Program training at Fort Wolters, Texas, and Fort Rucker, Alabama. One morning as I was prepping an aircraft for a mission, he came down and introduced himself. He was very helpful to General Peers and it seemed like he wasnt just going through the motions, it was like he really wanted to know what happened. A sergeant stood by the ditch. People should realize that when atrocities are committed like this and covered up, it degrades us all. Hugh Thompson Profiles | Facebook Nicholas Goldberg: Is God on the side of blasphemy laws? If its not sincere, it doesnt mean anything. But I really didnt know what was going to happen or how to react. Wed 11 Jan 2006 08.06 EST. Michael Bernhardt, who was at M Lai. I guess thats the $64,000 question isnt it? ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Opinion: Why my Taiwanese American identity has become more complicated. Glenn Andreotta was killed just a few weeks after My Lai? As the wounded tried to crawl out, they were fired on by someone who had been left there to do just that. Harry's phone-hacking testimony contained 'troubling factual Thompson ran over and said, These are civilians, we got to help them out.. Trent Angers, Thompsons biographer and friend, analyzed the list and found about 50 there who were 3 years old or younger. Im sorry. Hugh Thompson was a United States Army Major and a former warrant officer in the 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Division who helped end the My Lai Massacre of the South Vietnamese village known as Sn M on March 16, 1968. Dead animals on your porch, mutilated animals on your porch some mornings when you get up. I walked in and told Henderson we saw unnecessary killing of many civilians. When they started convicting people, I thought, now this is how it should unfold. Hugh told her he probably didnt have any family left. But remember, at My Lai only about a third of the men participated in the massacre, but no one else tried to stop it. Well, I took the prescriptions, ripped them up into little pieces and walked out. Thank you both for being of upstanding and outstanding moral character and having the backbone to stand up for what you know is right! They were finally recognized for the heroic act they did. I didn't want to be a part of that. We surveyed around the bunker and saw that squad approaching. Hugh Thompson and the My Lai Massacre - Truth or Fiction? Since Hughs death, I have become the recipient of some of the hate mail he used to get. He teaches the U.S. history survey since 1877 and specialized courses on Vietnam, 1960s America, and U.S. foreign relations. We didnt know what was happening. To this day I cant remember exactly about that day reporting to Henderson. That morning was clear and as we came over a hilltop we saw a suspect in uniform with a pack, carrying a carbine in the middle of a rice paddy.
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