Hugh Thompson - Collierville, Tennessee, United States - LinkedIn He was 62. William Calley, the officer who ordered the slaughter at M Lai. As children ran for safety, soldiers gunned them down. He said: They are coming this way. 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.. Did you get help? Thompson testified about the massacre in the U.S. government's military trials, but according to author Trent Angers, two Congressmen who were working in concert with Nixon, managed to seal that. Letters to the Editor: Hey, leave linoleum out of the DeSantis-Disney fight. I have a few lined up at some universities this year. Particularly because of the Peers and the IG investigations, I thought there were people sincere about upholding the Uniform Code of Military Justice. There was a sergeant standing by the ditch by himself. Justice, if it could ever be achieved in this case, would have been to line each and every one of them up in front of a firing squad and start shooting from the knees up. 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. hb```,(qaB3W[ 4 `Tfc" QB\%xv{ That was the only enemy combatant we saw that day. I thank God to this day that everybody did stay cool and nobody opened up. It was in their hands. He was saying: Ill never fly again. 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. Could you have just reported this and left, knowing youd at least made an effort? Thompson acted more instinctively, given his morals, character, and military training. Saw some advancing Americans coming that way. Hugh Thompson, the hero who stopped a massacre committed by US troops in the Vietnamese village of My Lai by landing his helicopter in the line of fire, 1968. Testimony to the Truth Everywhere wed look, wed see bodies. And then she finished her sentence: she said, So we could forgive them. Im not man enough to do that. We took him out of the area to a hospital and gave him to a nun. 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. So we continued our recon. We came across a ditch, with probably 150 or more people in it and the wounded trying to crawl out. He retired as a VA counselor in Louisiana. I was 17 when I enlisted in 1966 with some friends. When we first saw him in 2001, he said all he wanted was to get out of Ho Chi Minh City where he worked in a factory at low wages, and get back to village and find a wife. Many fellow GIs still dont think you did the right thing? An army helicopter piloted by Chief Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson arrived in the My Lai vicinity about 9 a.m. Thompson noticed dead and dying civilians all over the village. U.S. ArmyHugh Thompson in his Army uniform, c. 1966. Thats when he crashed about five helicopters in five months. PDF Prepared Testimony and 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 had been writing to the Pentagon for years about Hugh, totally unbeknownst to Hugh. Andreotta died in action a few weeks later, but Thompson and Colburn were key witnesses in the investigations and trials to follow. 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. He wanted to give us some idea of what were getting into. But Ive had my episodes. 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. A forgotten hero stopped the My Lai massacre 50 years ago today - Los He didnt want to appear to be frantic; he wanted to be taken seriously by Henderson. No Id never seen nor heard of anything like that before, except in World War II. But I really didnt know what was going to happen or how to react. Weve been accused of many things, of being traitors. 199 0 obj <>stream Ive tried to put myself in their position, tried to empathize. How did you and Hugh reconcile what you knew happened with the outpouring of public support for Calley and his men? Jan Swango Emerson and Hugh Feiss, eds., Imagining Heaven in the Middle Ages (New York: Garland, 2000); . And when Hugh Thompson testified against William Calley, the officer who ordered the massacre, Thompson received death threats. Among those numbers were 17 pregnant women and 56 infants. When I finally got in to see the guy, he was a major, he wouldnt make eye contact as I read my list. I wanted to survive and get home. They were shooting women and children just like anybody else.. At some point they finally did call for a cease-fire, but by then it was too late. And yes, they did know that. There were probably 10 in the squad. Thompson risked his life and career and had Lt. Calley shoot him. I hope to take as many speaking engagements as I can. Today is the 50th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre, when US soldiers raped and murdered 500 Vietnamese civilians and burned their homes. Before the story broke, did you or Hugh consider going public with the story? California cities shouldnt be deterred. If they fire on these people, or fire on me while Im doing that, shoot em!. TIE LOST SOLDIER Hugh Thompson's Strange Life Will Fill a Book 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. Then came the backlash. Ive had PTSD issues for 42 years. But I still dont think the topic really gets the exposure it really needs. Hugh Thompson Jr. was a twenty-five-year-old helicopter pilot and Army warrants officer. Mr. Thompson, you and Mr. Colburn are indeed the heroes in this sordid story and I am ashamed at how they were treated. There were real good highs, he told me, and very low lows. Document points to Nixon in My Lai cover-up attempt - CBS News Hugh Thompson was a helicopter pilot in 1968, on a day American soldiers gunned down more than 500 unarmed civilians in a village called My Lai. But it turns out he was 8. But when he returned to his Stateside home in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Thompson received death threats and insults, while Calley was pardoned by President Nixon. When he arrived,. Genevieve Carlton earned a Ph.D in history from Northwestern University with a focus on early modern Europe and the history of science and medicine before becoming a history professor at the University of Louisville. Were you talking about this at the time? How many of them went on to draw military pay and benefits? Trent Angers, Thompsons biographer and friend, analyzed the list and found about 50 there who were 3 years old or younger. Calley was convicted, and Medina was acquitted. By the end of what has become known as the M Lai massacre, the Vietnamese government estimates that American soldiers killed at least 504 people, mainly women and children. As he approached the soldiers, he told them to stop. Return to My Lai - CBS News But eventually the journalist Seymour Hersh found out about the massacre, and his report made it worldwide news and a turning point in the war. Mercy Thompson, Testimony, Church of Christ in Missouri v. Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 70 F. 179 (8th Cir. Hugh Thompson Jr. graduated from Stone Mountain High School on June 5, 1961. Hugh Clowers Thompson Sr. was an electrician who served in the United States Navy during World War II. Im not going to let this happen, weve got to do something. Were you prepared to fire on the squad? Thompson told his crew, Im going to go over to the bunker myself and get these people out. Hugh said: These people are going to die. No one wants a president to die in office. Central to the case prosecuted by the Civilian Complaint. If they fire on these people, or fire on me while Im doing that, shoot em! Now Hugh really had no idea who or what was in that bunker, could have been an AK47 waiting for him there. Innocent people didnt die that day They didnt just fly off the handle and engage a target that was borderline. Any hesitation? Digital History We also want to carry on Hughs passionate advocacy for all veterans, not just Vietnam vets. The dead were women, old men and children. Hugh Thompson Jr (1943-2006) - EA Forum Ernest Medina and Lt. William Calley were court-martialed. We knew something seemed wrong. He showed no reaction at all. That same day, the cover up started. Hugh Thompson, who has died aged 62, was the helicopter pilot who tried to halt the My Lai massacre of more than 500 villagers by American troops during the Vietnam war . I think Task Force Barkers intent was to create panic and drive the enemy forces out of the area. He remembered how Glenn would put him down and pick him back up as he checked on other victims in the ditch. They approached but because the aircraft was at flight idle they tended to stay back a little. William Calley, the officer in charge of Charlie Company, ordered American soldiers to round up the villagers and open fire. In an interview first broadcast in 2004, Hardtalk's Tim Sebastian spoke to Mr. I would be there from December 67 to December 68. 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.. Possibly we could have stopped things earlier. You must have had some post-traumatic stress after your experience in Vietnam. 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. It was denial on the part of the public. DOC HUGH THOMPSON'S TESTIMONY: - Social Studies with Miss Daniel And you want to instill the spirit of Thompson in others. Cassava Kalamay Recipe, Tad's Steaks Philadelphia, Remington 32 Rimfire Octagon Barrel, Articles H
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