Hugh Thompson's Crewmember Remembers Helping to End the My Lai Massacre

We turn now to another American figure of the Vietnam War - Hugh Thompson. As a helicopter pilot, he helped rescue Vietnamese civilians from fellow U.S. troops during the infamous My Lai massacre. Hugh Thompson died last week of cancer. He was 62 years old.

On March 16, 1968, Thompson and two other crewmembers landed their helicopter in front of U.S. troops firing on Vietnamese civilians in the village of My Lai. They pointed their guns at their fellow service members to prevent more killings, and helped evacuate the villagers. In a few minutes, we are going to be joined by one of Thompson’s crewmembers. First, we take a look at what happened on March 16th, 1968 by playing an edited excerpt from a documentary produced by Mike Boehm titled "The Sound of the Violin in My Lai."

Thompson and Lawrence Colburn later testified at the court martial hearings for the massacre of over 300 civilians at My Lai. Only one U.S. soldier, platoon commander Lieutenant William Calley, was convicted. He was court-martialed and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the massacre. Many around the country viewed Calley as a scapegoat. "Rallies for Calley" were held all over the country and Jimmy Carter, then governor of Georgia, urged citizens to leave car headlights on to show support for Calley. President Richard Nixon later commuted Calley’s sentence to three years of house arrest.

Thompson, on the other hand, was shunned for years by fellow soldiers. He received death threats and was once told by a congressman that he was the only American who should be punished over My Lai. Although the My Lai massacre became one of the most infamous atrocities of the Vietnam War, little was known about Hugh Thompson’s actions for decades.

In 1998, Thompson and his two crewmembers, Lawrence Colburn and Glenn Andreotta, were awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the highest US military award for bravery not involving conflict with an enemy. Andreotta’s award was posthumous. He was killed in Vietnam less than a month after My Lai.

Thompson passed away last week after a prolonged battle with cancer. Lawrence Colburn was at his bedside when he died.

* Lawrence Colburn, he was a helicopter gunner serving with Hugh Thompson in the Vietnam War. On March 16, 1968 he helped rescue residents of the Vietnamese village of My Lai as American troops gunned down hundreds of civilians.

Related Links:
# My Lai Peace Project
http://mylaipeacepark.org/
# Sisters Meeting Sisters
http://sistersmeetingsisters.org/

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/18/1442240