hugh thompson testimony

30 years after the massacre, Thompson and the two other members of his crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, were awarded the Soldier's Medal (Andreott. Hugh Clowers Thompson, Jr. (April 15, 1943 - January 6, 2006) was a United States Army helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. You and Hugh had the opportunity to tell your stories to young military officers. He said youre a plant arent you. Thank you both for being of upstanding and outstanding moral character and having the backbone to stand up for what you know is right! 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. hb```,(qaB3W[ 4 `Tfc" QB\%xv{ When he had a heart attack he said he would slow down, but he didnt. None. Letters to the Editor: Hey, leave linoleum out of the DeSantis-Disney fight. I was hoping there would be justice, but what did it achieve? Thompson and his crew managed to evacuate the civilians and stop the massacre. They were shooting women and children just like anybody else.. 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 vilified by many Americans for his testimony against United States Army personnel. My Lai And Hugh Thompson: A Man of Uncommon Courage I think he broke his flight helmet, he threw it down so hard. It was Hugh and he told me that I would be getting orders to report to Washington. We are developing the concept of a Hugh Thompson Medallion to do that. I imagine he wants to get right with God; hes not a young guy anymore. 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. I have a few lined up at some universities this year. And the people guilty of committing war crimes should have been dealt with. Charles Guiteau told a local newspaper that he shot James A. Garfield without malice or murderous intent.. They were not listening, so he did the unbelievable, he drew his own sidearm and pointed it at them. I was a helicopter pilot that day, and I guess I was invited here to tell you about a day of my life. When the officers take part in it, it just escalates things. When Hugh gave his order, I distinctly remember pointing my weapon directly down at the ground, so there was no question. This ended his combat career in Vietnam. When Hugh asked me to come with him and report what had happened, he said: Just tell the truth. As we did, we heard automatic weapon fire. Commentary: Opponents need to stop equating abortion with eugenics, Editorial: Polluters keep trying to block gas bans. Calley was paroled just three years later, in 1974, after Richard Nixon commuted his sentence. Testimony to the Truth: Smyth, Reverend Hugh P.: 9781163377390: Amazon Among those numbers were 17 pregnant women and 56 infants. Upon seeing that, Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter, approached Calley, and talked to him. The Army covered it up, but the facts eventually came to light and the responsible officer, Capt. 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. Whats going on? And we started thinking what might have happened, but you didnt want to accept that thought because if you accepted it, that means your own fellow Americans, people you were there to protect, were doing something very evil.. The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story - Goodreads 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. The . On March 16, 1998, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Colburn attended a service at My Lai marking the 30th anniversary of the massacre. And yes, they did know that. When the orders came down, the CO called me into his office and demanded to know what they were for. It was a dime short and day late for Hugh, 30 years after the factafter causing him griefthen theyre going to call him a hero? Hugh Thompson returned to M Lai in 1998 and met some of the people he saved. It was denial on the part of the public. We also did a lot of recon missions and flying into free-fire zones to find enemy positions. 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. We went back to the ditch because we knew there were a lot of people there who could have been saved. 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. When did you make your report of what happened? Calley was the only person found guilty out of the 14 charged. Hell, I didnt want to believe it, either, but I had no choice because I saw it.. I wanted to survive and get home. I was encouraged in that there was an investigation going on and they were going after some people in a big way. I flew in the 23 as a gunner through that summer, then I asked about throwing my hat into ring for a gunship where there was a little more armor and security. by Vietnam magazine 2/7/2011. As we flew around more, we started seeing small groups of people dead or dying in other parts of the village. Interview: Larry Colburn | American Experience | PBS You saw him again in 2008? I was raised with a sense of duty. Ernest Medina and Lt. William Calley were court-martialed. 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. When you see something like that happen, with no negative repercussions, you begin to think perhaps this is the method of operation. Hugh Clowers Thompson Sr. was an electrician who served in the United States Navy during World War II. Thompson kept testifying against the butchers of My Lai in hopes of securing justice for the civilians killed that day. If we would have had direct contact, we could have told them that these people are unarmed, no threat. endstream endobj 172 0 obj <. Hood and my CO called me in, said I had a phone call. 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. In 1999, Thompson and Colburn received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award. I was always comfortable as the sidekick and enjoyed the time with Hugh. Heroes of My Lai - University of Missouri-Kansas City I remember wearing the same fatigues and they were pretty much covered with blood stains from carrying the boy and being in that ditch. Yes. Thompson was more experienced than Lt. Calley, more ethical, more talented, and brighter, and probably recognized Calley didnt know what he was doing. Did you fly with him much before My Lai? Ive had PTSD issues for 42 years. I thought someone else was getting recognition for something. Wed talk a lot and if I was stressing I could always pick up the phone and Hugh could always talk me down. . In harsh times, heroes are ordinary men doing extraordinary things. This is not how this military organization supposed to conduct operations. But he didnt even draw a sidearm as he walked up to the bunker and motioned to the people to come out. . At 8 years old, he made his way about 10 miles through the jungle by himself to the village. He studied mortuary science and became a licensed funeral director. Thompson continued to fly and was hit eight times, in four of which incidents the aircraft was lost. 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. When I moved to the East Coast, I stopped at a VA hospital and had a list of things I thought I should get out. Hugh Thompson Jr. - Wikiwand The My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968, stands as one of the darkest moments in U.S. military history. 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. The high gun stayed in the air and circled. Having redeemed himself for other peoples mistakes, his heroic act was written in US Military history. Our purpose for being there was to protect them. 199 0 obj <>stream Hugh Thompson was determined to stop the massacre. . But still, who do you shoot? He walked about 50 meters and encountered the lieutenant who was leading the squad. No one wants a president to die in office. Hugh Thompson, the hero who stopped a massacre committed by US - Reddit %PDF-1.6 % A list of his survivors was not immediately available. Except for the boy, it appeared the rest were already dead. 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 . Im not going to let this happen, weve got to do something. I said, Thank you, sir, and went back to work. Jan Swango Emerson and Hugh Feiss, eds., Imagining Heaven in the Middle Ages (New York: Garland, 2000); . One of the instructors told me a story that he wished Hugh could hear. Now Trent Angers, who chronicled Hugh Thompson's heroism during the My Lai massacre of Vietnamese civilians in 1968, believes he has uncovered information about an unseen adversary Thompson fought . On March 16, 1968, a company of U.S. soldiers stormed into the Vietnamese village of Sn M and began shooting. Thompson spent the rest of his life wondering if he could have saved more lives. Hugh Thompson Jr (1943-2006) - EA Forum Hugh Thompson - Tom Joad And Hugh said, What about my crew? They said they didnt have any intention for awards of the crew. They also led as many surviving civilians as they could to shelter. Hugh Thompson reported the massacre to his commanding officer. Unfortunately, Lt. Calley and the rest of Company C never paid the price for the atrocities they committed. I didn't want to be a part of that. So you were encouraged at that point? How do you think your story, of an event now long in the past, can make a difference? The villagers offered no resistance as U.S. soldiers shoved them into a ditch and opened fire with machine guns. Document points to Nixon in My Lai cover-up attempt - CBS News 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. He told me not to say anything to anybody, and just tell the truth when I got there. Those on station knew something about it but not many saw it up close and personal except for the men on the ground and a couple of helicopter crews. I dont know, at the time I thought about creating a diversion, discharging my weapon in another direction. 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. It was about six months ago that the S&P 500 dipped . 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. It was an enemy tactic to blur the lines between combatants and noncombatants. I was 17 when I enlisted in 1966 with some friends. You found later that that wasnt true? He threw his weapon down and said he wasnt going to do it. I think Task Force Barkers intent was to create panic and drive the enemy forces out of the area. They tried to make arrangements to get him there, but couldnt find him. "I cannot explain why it happened. 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. No. I now know why he wanted me to come with him to events. "Something terrible happened here 30 years ago today," Mr. Thompson was quoted as saying by CNN. We came to think we were indirectly killing these people ourselves by marking them with smoke. .d,H2F To see people herded up like so many animals, marched into a ditch and machine-gunned? Colburn said. Thompsons father played a central role in his childrens education. Since Hughs death, I have become the recipient of some of the hate mail he used to get. We came in from altitude down to low level. I wish we could have done more to thank him. And then she finished her sentence: she said, So we could forgive them.'. I think I may have been in shock to some extent. Hugh was being jovial. Digital History But remember, at My Lai only about a third of the men participated in the massacre, but no one else tried to stop it. PDF The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story 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. Did the gunship crews know what was happening on the ground before this? We didnt talk about it. We were the closest and should have been able to communicate, but thats the way it was structured. There was a sergeant standing by the ditch by himself. He is an amazing person made me cry just reading the research about him. Hugh Thompson and My Lai - CounterPunch.org How did you get to the 123rd Aviation Battalion? Innocent people didnt die that day They didnt just fly off the handle and engage a target that was borderline. He just said I was a prime candidate for PTSD. Hugh Thompsonsdefiance and courage with that of his crew had given a new lease of life to others that they saved and will be remembered by all in the face of Humanity and History. Were you glad you got it? Well, I took the prescriptions, ripped them up into little pieces and walked out. 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.". But it was mostly done with a machine gun. They got some people to listen, and then there were others in the Pentagon trying to put it at the bottom of the stack. But to see people herded up like so many animals, marched into a ditch and machine-gunned? Likewise, what Hugh did has been ignored or glossed over in history texts, much the same way the incident has been. Dead animals on your porch, mutilated animals on your porch some mornings when you get up. Ronald L. Haeberle/U.S. We hope to link up with other organizations and grow some legs. My father landed on Normandy Beach and as a kid I watched the television series Victory at Sea and went to bed praying never to have to face the fire like those men on Normandy. Exactly what you saw. Since we were sitting shoulder to shoulder, we saw virtually the very same things. Hugh was running scenarios through his head to figure it out. To this day I cant remember exactly about that day reporting to Henderson. He received a life sentence in 1971 for premeditated murder which was later reduced to 10 years. A defendant charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, who testified that he believed he was "following presidential orders" from President Donald Trump when he stormed the building. Larry Colburn was a door gunner with crew chief Glenn Andreotta and Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson as pilot of a small scout helicopter during a combat assault at the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. hbbd``b`:$WXWkZ ["|Ab b:H2@#H@ ( Just because you tell the truth, it doesnt mean everything always come up roses. It was a case of bloodlust. 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. Then, in 1998, the Army awarded him the Soldiers Medal for heroism. Does it worry you that it was, and remains, in our capacity to excuse or rationalize an atrocity like My Lai committed by Americans? After Hugh died, I was invited to Annapolis to speak one more time. Im not judge, jury and executioner. View the profiles of people named Hugh Thompson. They were face to face, screaming at each other. 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. Anyone can read what you share. 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. I enjoyed that. By this time, Lt. William Calleys Charlie Company was reaching My Lai? 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. But in the end,. Hugh Thompson Jr. graduated from Stone Mountain High School on June 5, 1961. Everywhere wed look, wed see bodies. There was also testimony of absolute insanity. He educatedhis children to act with discipline and integrity. Did you experience retaliation for what you did that day, or for talking to Henderson? When he arrived, American soldiers had already killed 504 Vietnamese civilians (thats the Vietnamese count; the U.S. Army said 347). This meant that military prosecutors would be prohibited from calling those persons as witnesses . 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. When did you start talking to investigators? There could be a reason for doing it, or there could have simply been a complete breakdown in leadership. Ill have no part of this, Ill tear these wings off and never fly again!. Then again, it was a Saturday morning and they were possibly going to market. I flew from Ft. I did hear that the men on the ground were told to pretend like it never happened. He recounted in a CBS 60 Minutes television program in 2004, "I'd received death threats over the phone.Dead animals on your porch, mutilated animals on your porch some mornings when you get up." [14] [7] 1895), in United States testimony 1892, typescript, 247, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. Then came the backlash. Thompson risked his life and career and had Lt. Calley shoot him. Justice Thompson was re-elected for additional six-year terms in 2000, 2006, and 2012. Hugh M. Thompson IV on LinkedIn: Weekly market wrap Glenn took a .51-caliber in the head, he was dead before he hit the ground. Hugh Thompson on his way to testify against William Calley on November 23, 1970. Whats that make you, my buddy? So, just because guys served in the same theater doesnt necessarily mean we are all that close. It was fresh enough that things hadnt changed much. Im Irish so Im to suffer. Hugh Thompson Profiles | Facebook PFC. I figured, I was in the Army, so I should experience it where the action was. I have mine put away somewhere, but I think Hugh threw his away one night. endstream endobj startxref Im giving interviews and working with students. They waited until the sun went down and they crawled out of that ditch. 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 Did the boy have a recollection of March 16, 1968? Hugh said: These people are going to die. 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. NYPD officers face departmental trial over shooting death of mentally 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. 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.
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