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"They said I was screaming quite loud," he told U.S. News & World Report in 2004. But one of things the most infuriating is being called a whistleblower, as if we went and ratted someone out. On the morning of March 16, 1968, the people of M Lai were making breakfast when soldiers stormed in. Hugh Thompson & Helicopter Crew Honored for Helping End My - YouTube 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. Hugh said, Im going to take him on the right, which meant he was my target. Michael Bernhardt, who was at M Lai. Thompson ran over and said, These are civilians, we got to help them out.. Did you consider bringing gunships to ferry out others from the ditch? Jan. 6 defendant Dustin Thompson, who blamed Trump for storming Capitol They didnt want to. Having redeemed himself for other peoples mistakes, his heroic act was written in US Military history. Im giving interviews and working with students. So you were encouraged at that point? Everybodys heard of the My Lai massacre March 16, 1968, 50 years ago today but not many know about the man who stopped it: Hugh Thompson, an Army helicopter pilot. And we did, the best we could. They awarded him the Soldiers Medal for heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy., On the 30th anniversary of the massacre, Thompson went back to My Lai and met some of the people whose lives he had saved. They were shooting women and children just like anybody else.. Calley pointed his weapon at him and threatened him with a court-martial. Meet the Participants | American Experience | Official Site | PBS The second time, he touched down near a bunker in which a group of about 10 civilians were being menaced by American troops. 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?. To this day I cant remember exactly about that day reporting to Henderson. They landed their helicopter between the American forces and the civilians, and they trained their guns on the advancing Americans. The outcome of the trails was disgraceful, and Hugh and I saw that it was a sham. She enticed me to move to east Oregon, near a ski area. As Hugh jumped out, he told us to take our weapons down off the bungee cords and take some belted ammo and backup weapons and set up a little perimeter around the aircraft. Now we saw them again, but they were all lying on the road, dead or dying. We would have died for them. Im not judge, jury and executioner. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? %%EOF Hugh Thompson and My Lai - CounterPunch.org But remember, at My Lai only about a third of the men participated in the massacre, but no one else tried to stop it. The dead were women, old men and children. They were old women, old men, children, kids, babies., Then Thompson and his crew chief, Glenn Andreotta, and his gunner, Lawrence Colburn, saw some civilians hiding in a bunker, cowering, looking out the door. When he arrived, American soldiers had already killed 504 Vietnamese civilians (thats the Vietnamese count; the U.S. Army said 347). Back at their base he filed a complaint about the killing of civilians that he had witnessed. While the massacre took place, helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and his crew flew over the jungle, offering air support. My Lai And Hugh Thompson: A Man of Uncommon Courage How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! I wish I was, but I wont lie to anybody. What led you to enlist in the Army? Ill have no part of this, Ill tear these wings off and never fly again! Fortunately, people calmed him down before he reported to Colonel Henderson. When you testified in Washington for the Army investigation led by General William Peers, did you feel they were after the real story? That is what other people say. 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. An American Hero - CBS News He threw his weapon down and said he wasnt going to do it. Did the boy have a recollection of March 16, 1968? So he called our low gunship, piloted by a friend of his, Dan Millans, and said: Danny, I need a favor. Typically, when we post testimonies here on truthsaves, we're detailing conversion experiences. 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. Hugh Thompson - Collierville, Tennessee, United States - LinkedIn Ill always know that we did was morally right, we did what we could to help people who could not defend themselves. I think that is probably what has helped me get through it all. They got some people to listen, and then there were others in the Pentagon trying to put it at the bottom of the stack. Instead, the Army hid the slaughter of hundreds of innocent people, including 182 women and 173 children. No. This fella stood up and said: Fuck you. I thought Hugh would pull it off, when I saw some pull their rucksacks off and leave it to the lieutenant to have it out with Hugh. When did you start talking to investigators? endstream endobj 172 0 obj <. Indeed, for a time, Thompson himself feared court-martial. Hugh Thompson Jr. graduated from Stone Mountain High School on June 5, 1961. It was women, children and elders we saw. That was a point of no return for Thompson? 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. 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. 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. Hugh Thompson, a helicopter pilot, had threatened to fire on the American troops in order to rescue Vietnamese women and children from the slaughter. The M Lai massacre started when the U.S. Army declared everyone in a broad region of Vietnam either part of the Viet Cong or sympathizers. There was a sergeant standing by the ditch by himself. How do you think your story, of an event now long in the past, can make a difference? It was like he dropped out of the sky. As we did, we heard automatic weapon fire. In harsh times, heroes are ordinary men doing extraordinary things. You found later that that wasnt true? I met Thompson in 2000 and interviewed him for my radio program on KPFK in Los Angeles. At first, I just felt shock. How did you and Hugh reconcile what you knew happened with the outpouring of public support for Calley and his men? Nicholas Goldberg: Is God on the side of blasphemy laws? At that point, no one had a clue beside you and Hugh? Ive had PTSD issues for 42 years. We came across a ditch, with probably 150 or more people in it and the wounded trying to crawl out. I imagine he wants to get right with God; hes not a young guy anymore. I got there and Ill never forget my mother taking me into the kitchen and telling me if I didnt want to tell these people anything, I didnt have to. I went back in 2008 for the 40th anniversary. %PDF-1.6 % Did you experience retaliation for what you did that day, or for talking to Henderson? Anyone can read what you share. I dont know who did what. If people have some confusion about that, thats their problem. Justice Thompson was re-elected for additional six-year terms in 2000, 2006, and 2012. Ive mulled this over for years. Letters to the Editor: Hey, leave linoleum out of the DeSantis-Disney fight. He educatedhis children to act with discipline and integrity. 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. He made some notes on a legal pad and excused me and I left. When I got to Vietnam I was attached to a headquarters company. We started thinking what might have happened, but you didnt want to accept that thought, Thompson said in a 2000 interview, because if you accepted it, that means your own fellow Americans, people you were there to protect, were doing something very evil.. Out of the blue, our unit was called out onto the tarmac for an awards and decoration ceremony. When the American people responded as they did in defense of Calley, it was really hard, especially for Hugh. The high gun stayed in the air and circled. At the time, I figured he was 3 or 4 years old, he was tiny. made a statement in Congress honoring Thompson, stating that the United States has lost a true hero, and the State of Louisiana has lost a devoted leader and dear friend. Hugh told me to keep my mouth shut and I did. Thompson left the Army in 1983 and became a private helicopter pilot in the South. That was the only enemy combatant we saw 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. Id received death threats over the phone, Thompson said in 2004. Hugh and I went in 1998 with 60 Minutes, just after we were given the Soldiers Medal. Medina and maybe higher. So, he decided to do something. Thompson was later promoted to Major, but Thompson was a Warrant Officer in his heroic acts. He remembered Glenn picking him up, seeing me in the ditch. Thompsons father played a central role in his childrens education. Then He Assassinated a US President. 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. And yes, they did know that. PDF The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story Were you prepared to fire on the squad? Thompson was buried in Lafayette, Louisiana, with full military honors, including a three-volley salute and a helicopter flyover. When Hugh realized it was our people doing this killing, he knew he had to take drastic measures. I did hear that the men on the ground were told to pretend like it never happened. If they fire on these people, or fire on me while Im doing that, shoot em!. To see people herded up like so many animals, marched into a ditch and machine-gunned? Colburn said. No. I just wish our crew that day could have helped more people than we did.". We didnt know what was happening. In addition to scholarly publications with top presses, she has written for Atlas Obscura and Ranker. When Mr. Thompson returned home, it seemed to him that he was viewed as the guilty party. If we would have had direct contact, we could have told them that these people are unarmed, no threat. California cities shouldnt be deterred. Kyle Hockenberry: For Those I love I will sacrifice, Adam Brown: The life and legacy of fearless Navy SEAL, Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart: The real heroes of the Battle of Mogadishu, Ivica Jerak: The Croat who died as American hero. US military helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson helped stop one of the most infamous massacres of the Vietnam War. Whenever I felt discouraged about things, Hugh would remind me that if we get through to just one person, its worth it. When did you make your report of what happened? Nick Turse investigated violence in Vietnam against noncombatants for his book Kill Anything that Moves. He concluded after a decade of research in Pentagon archives and more than 100 interviews with American veterans and Vietnamese survivors that Americans killing civilians in Vietnam was pervasive and systematic. One soldier told him there had been a My Lai a month.. People need to know who Hugh Thompson was, what he did and why he did it. We went back to the ditch because we knew there were a lot of people there who could have been saved. Heroes of My Lai - University of Missouri-Kansas City Anyway, they remembered our story about My Lai, and instead of just lighting up a target, they took the time to analyze and study the situation. Youve been back a few times? Wed talk a lot and if I was stressing I could always pick up the phone and Hugh could always talk me down. It was so blatantly wrong what they were doing, we had no choice, we had to do what we did. I just figured it was time to do something, to not let these people get killed. Yes. We had no direct radio contact with the men on the ground. And Hugh said, What about my crew? They said they didnt have any intention for awards of the crew. That Is little Hugh!" It was "Little Hugh" sure enough. Glenn Andreotta was killed just a few weeks after My Lai? We started noticing these large numbers of bodies everywhere, he told me, people on the road dead, wounded. Any hesitation? Testimony in the case against Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis is scheduled for Tuesday, with follow-ups expected in May. Testimony of Dr. Hugh Thompson, HTA Engineering (Expert Witness) (Exhibit Allegra-10) Exhibit Allegra-10 includes Survey Notes and 12 photographs taken by HTA Engineering on January 12, 2010. Upon returning from the mission, Thompson reported what he had seen and experienced to his. Hugh told her he probably didnt have any family left. Glenn and I were staring them down and watching to see how it would unfold. I may have clipped him but he made it to the trees. Calley was paroled just three years later, in 1974, after Richard Nixon commuted his sentence. But that was not to be the case. This is not what Im here for. Hugh told me that was what was going through his mind, he was thinking of Nazi Germany, people digging trenches, forced to march into those trenches, mass graves.. 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. Larry Colburn was a door gunner with crew chief Glenn Andreotta and Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson as pilot of a small scout . endstream endobj startxref I didnt write Hugh up for anything and he said he didnt write me up. Mr. Thompson remained in combat, then returned to the United States to train helicopter pilots. The citation, bestowed in a ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, said the three crewmen landed "in the line of fire between American ground troops and fleeing Vietnamese civilians to prevent their murder.". And it turned out, after we dropped him off with the nun at the hospital, he didnt stay 24 hours. After Hugh died, I was invited to Annapolis to speak one more time. What about those who didnt stand up to evil in their midst? There was some chatter since most of the people at Ft. I was 17 when I enlisted in 1966 with some friends. From Testimony to Tragedy: My Lai in Personal Perspective No. I read the citation and thought what? 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. For hours, they raped, mutilated, and slaughtered innocent civilians until a helicopter pilot named Hugh Thompson Jr. put his own life on the line to stop the massacre. Hugh Thompson - Tom Joad Do you think most people realize there was more than just the killing that was going on? 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 . We kept flying back and forth, Thompson recalled, and it didnt take very long until we started noticing the large number of bodies everywhere. Was this part of the cover up? "I cannot explain why it happened. by Vietnam magazine 2/7/2011. It was in their hands. Inside Brianna Maitland's Chilling Disappearance And The Bizarre Clues Left Behind, How Ken Miles Helped Ford Beat Ferrari Before Dying Tragically Behind The Wheel, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Just then Glenn spotted some people in an earthen bunker, saw faces peering out of the entry. Hugh said, No, lets do it at the Wall. They said no, the weather might be bad or something. An Account of the My Lai Courts-Martial - University of Missouri I was always comfortable as the sidekick and enjoyed the time with Hugh. You had no radio contact with the men on the ground? Did you have any knowledge of who was being inserted into My Lai that morning? Hannah's Testimony. Hugh Thompson Jr. - Wikipedia Document points to Nixon in My Lai cover-up attempt - CBS News I thought someone else was getting recognition for something. Thompson kept testifying against the butchers of My Lai in hopes of securing justice for the civilians killed that day. When did you meet Hugh Thompson? 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. If its not sincere, it doesnt mean anything. By then I was a civilian and was trying to attend college on the GI Bill, but I kept getting subpoenas. He started accusing me of being with CID. Well, it wasnt really an apology, was it? Thompson spent the rest of his life wondering if he could have saved more lives. They also led as many surviving civilians as they could to shelter. Yes, and we were checking the perimeter as they were coming in and starting the combat assault. It was absurd, but you have to be willing to pay the price. I give credit to my sister Mary, who saw my condition when I came home. Afterwards Thompson testified at the trial of Lt. William Calley, the commanding officer during the massacre. Glenn said, If we are going to do something, we better do it right now! So Hugh lands right between the approaching squad and the bunker. The sergeant waited until Thompson left and then fired on the helpless civilians. Thompson was vilified by many Americans for his testimony against United States Army personnel. Are you guys with me?. I believe Glenn got a Bronze Star too. Some peoplepublicly stated that they felt Thompson was the only soldier at My Lai who should be punished (for turning his weapons on fellow American troops) and wanted to see him court-martialed for his actions at My Lai. 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. Does it worry you that it was, and remains, in our capacity to excuse or rationalize an atrocity like My Lai committed by Americans? Testimony to the Truth: Smyth, Reverend Hugh P.: 9781163377390: Amazon How did you get to the 123rd Aviation Battalion? No, because the commander was on a different frequency. Hugh Thompson - Ballotpedia In the middle of a firefight I was an E4, what was I to do? LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Hugh Thompson discover inside connections to recommended job . I know its great copy, but Ive tried to correct the record many times: No one pointed any weapons at anybody. The monsters involved in this Massacre are surely going to hell no matter if theyve led a squeaky-clean life since then. 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. Just because you tell the truth, it doesnt mean everything always come up roses. It was denial on the part of the public. the testimony he gave to the House Committees and the courts-martial of the . As he told The Associated Press in 2004: "Don't do the right thing looking for a reward, because it might not come. The Army covered it up, but the facts eventually came to light and the responsible officer, Capt. Hugh Thompson returned to M Lai in 1998 and met some of the people he saved. Would I have? And then she finished her sentence: she said, So we could forgive them.'. People should realize that when atrocities are committed like this and covered up, it degrades us all. Among those numbers were 17 pregnant women and 56 infants. 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. Ultimately, it was a pubic relations move, they had to give the medal. A forgotten hero stopped the My Lai massacre 50 years ago today - Los To do something like that in the whirlwind of war was downright insane, and thats exactly what he did. He was 62. The troops also burned the village and Sn Ms surrounding hamlets to the ground and slaughtered the livestock. I was a helicopter pilot that day, and I guess I was invited here to tell you about a day of my life. Innocent people didnt die that day They didnt just fly off the handle and engage a target that was borderline. I guess thats the $64,000 question isnt it? You must have had some post-traumatic stress after your experience in Vietnam. Our purpose for being there was to protect them. I now know why he wanted me to come with him to events. Testimony to the Truth [Smyth, Reverend Hugh P.] on Amazon.com. Instead, the Army hid the slaughter of hundreds of innocent people, including 182 women and 173 children. Thompson continued to fly and was hit eight times, in four of which incidents the aircraft was lost. Thats what they want to do. I wish we could have done more to thank him. But, after going through the process and seeing the ultimate outcome, I wasnt really surprised, but I was disillusioned. Interview - Larry Colburn: Why My Lai, Hugh Thompson Matter. Hugh Thompson, 62, Who Saved Civilians at My Lai, Dies They interviewed Hugh Thompson and his crew. Likewise, what Hugh did has been ignored or glossed over in history texts, much the same way the incident has been. He ranked higher than a warrant officer. When I arrived at My Lai in 2008, no one knew where he was. He looked up and saw us and then took off for the tree line. One of the instructors told me a story that he wished Hugh could hear. There was a guy at the ditch with Calley, shooting people not yet dead. DOC HUGH THOMPSON'S TESTIMONY: - Social Studies with Miss Daniel Nobody would be held responsible. I was back at Ft. 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. Im a garden-variety human being and thats all there is to it. And then she finished her sentence: she said, So we could forgive them. Im not man enough to do that. The lieutenant told him to mind his own business and get out of the way. And the Army company only stopped because Thompson literally put himself between the soldiers and the civilians and threatened to shoot them if they didnt end the killings. In an interview first broadcast in 2004, Hardtalk's Tim Sebastian spoke to Mr. Now that the dynamics have changed with Hugh passing, I understand now how difficult it was for him, carrying it around in his gut, alone. Mr. Thompson told of what he had seen when he returned to his base. What happened next was one of the most remarkable events of the entire war, and perhaps unique: Thompson told the American troops that, if they opened fire on the Vietnamese civilians in the bunker, he and his crew would open fire on them.
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