dotofficial:Happy birthday, Hugh Thompson, Jr.! (April 15, 1943)A Major in the United States Army du
dotofficial:Happy birthday, Hugh Thompson, Jr.! (April 15, 1943)A Major in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, Hugh Thompson, Jr. is best known for his role in ending the My Lai Massacre, an atrocity in which American forces engaged in the wholesale slaughter of an entire village of Vietnamese civilians. Initially unsure of the cause of death for all the bodies he and his team discovered in the area, the nature of the operation became clear to them when a Vietnamese woman was murdered right in front of them by its commanding officer. Thompson reported the incident and, deciding to involve himself further, saved what survivors he could and landed his helicopter between the remaining civilians and the advancing Americans, directly threatening them with his helicopter’s machine guns if they continued in their slaughter. Thompson made a formal report on the incident, which was covered up, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. However, the citation for the award so disgusted him with its fabricated version of events, designed to absolve the Army of responsibility, that he threw it away. After the massacre became public knowledge, Thompson testified before Congress, and was vilified by many Americans for his actions, receiving constant harassment and threats. Thompson would later return to the village of Son My, where he apologized to the villagers for not being able to do even more. He died of cancer in 2006. I understand this post is about Hugh Thompson Jr’s birthday but one thing to understand about the incident is that he wasn’t the only man in the helicopter. I think there was a three-man crew and all three men decided right then and there what they were going to do. It was a spontaneous act of defiance by three men, not one acting alone. -- source link