thedrifter
01-11-06, 07:13 PM
My Lai massacre hero buried
AFP
Hugh Thompson, the US army helicopter pilot who rescued Vietnamese civilians from American troops during the My Lai massacre, was buried with full military honors.
Thompson, who died of cancer at a veteran's hospital in nearby Alexandria, Louisiana, on January 6 at the age of 62, was eulogized as a peacemaker during his funeral service in a packed Lafayette chapel.
Larry Colburn, a crewmember aboard the helicopter then-Chief Warrant Officer Thompson flew at My Lai, was among those attending the funeral, which included a 21-gun salute and a helicopter flyover.
Looking at Thompson's flag-draped coffin, Colburn said: "Hugh was a problem solver. My Lai was a problem. War is a problem. Hugh solved the problem of My Lai without firing a shot."
On March 16, 1968, Thompson led the rescue of more than a dozen Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, an incident one American general described as "one of the most shameful chapters in the army's history."
"It was probably one of the saddest days of my life," Thompson told a 1994 conference on the massacre at Tulane University in New Orleans.
Up to 504 Vietnamese civilians were killed by US troops at My Lai including as many as 210 children aged 12 or younger, according to historians.
Thompson recalled that he and fellow crewmembers Colburn and Glenn Andreotta began that day flying a reconnaissance mission over My Lai. Initial intelligence reports suggested heavy activity by Vietcong guerrillas.
Thompson's objective was to draw enemy fire so other helicopter gunships could identify enemy positions.
But as his helicopter hovered overhead, Thompson recalled, he noted a large number of bodies lying in the village below.
"Everywhere we'd look we'd see bodies," Thompson said. Most of the villagers had been shot and left for dead.
Thompson and his crew landed and set colored smoke grenades by the wounded for medical evacuation. As they returned to their chopper, however, a soldier appeared and shot to death an elderly woman Thompson had marked for rescue.
The trio then flew to another part of the village where Thompson encountered a lieutenant preparing to blow up a bunker filled with wounded Vietnamese.
Although outranked, Thompson ordered the lieutenant and his men to stand down.
"Thompson put his guns on the Americans and said he would shoot them if they shot another Vietnamese," said William Eckhardt, the chief prosecutor at the My Lai courtmartial.
A furious Thompson reported the massacre in progress to army superiors who ordered a ceasefire. Thompson also ordered two other helicopters to evacuate about a dozen wounded villagers to hospital for treatment.
Thompson subsequently testified at criminal trials of the army officers, an act which initially left him ostracized by others in the military.
Thompson was one of the chief witnesses against Lieutenant William Calley, the only person convicted of a crime in connection with My Lai.
Calley was sentenced to life in prison but president Richard Nixon reduced his sentence to several years of house arrest.
As a combat pilot Thompson was shot down four times in Vietnam. He suffered a broken back in his last crash and received a Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
Thompson retired from the army in 1983 as a first lieutenant after 20 years of service. As a civilian, he worked as a commercial helicopter pilot and as a counselor for veterans in Louisiana.
In 1998, Thompson, Colburn and, posthumously, Andreotta, were awarded the Soldier's Medal, the army's highest award for battlefield action without encountering the enemy. Andreotta died in a helicopter crash shortly after My Lai.
In his last years, Thompson was a guest lecturer at military training academies for the army, navy and marines.
In a 2003 address to the US Naval Academy Center for the Study of Professional Military Ethics, he told navy midshipmen: "If you tell someone to do something you had better be right."
Ellie
AFP
Hugh Thompson, the US army helicopter pilot who rescued Vietnamese civilians from American troops during the My Lai massacre, was buried with full military honors.
Thompson, who died of cancer at a veteran's hospital in nearby Alexandria, Louisiana, on January 6 at the age of 62, was eulogized as a peacemaker during his funeral service in a packed Lafayette chapel.
Larry Colburn, a crewmember aboard the helicopter then-Chief Warrant Officer Thompson flew at My Lai, was among those attending the funeral, which included a 21-gun salute and a helicopter flyover.
Looking at Thompson's flag-draped coffin, Colburn said: "Hugh was a problem solver. My Lai was a problem. War is a problem. Hugh solved the problem of My Lai without firing a shot."
On March 16, 1968, Thompson led the rescue of more than a dozen Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, an incident one American general described as "one of the most shameful chapters in the army's history."
"It was probably one of the saddest days of my life," Thompson told a 1994 conference on the massacre at Tulane University in New Orleans.
Up to 504 Vietnamese civilians were killed by US troops at My Lai including as many as 210 children aged 12 or younger, according to historians.
Thompson recalled that he and fellow crewmembers Colburn and Glenn Andreotta began that day flying a reconnaissance mission over My Lai. Initial intelligence reports suggested heavy activity by Vietcong guerrillas.
Thompson's objective was to draw enemy fire so other helicopter gunships could identify enemy positions.
But as his helicopter hovered overhead, Thompson recalled, he noted a large number of bodies lying in the village below.
"Everywhere we'd look we'd see bodies," Thompson said. Most of the villagers had been shot and left for dead.
Thompson and his crew landed and set colored smoke grenades by the wounded for medical evacuation. As they returned to their chopper, however, a soldier appeared and shot to death an elderly woman Thompson had marked for rescue.
The trio then flew to another part of the village where Thompson encountered a lieutenant preparing to blow up a bunker filled with wounded Vietnamese.
Although outranked, Thompson ordered the lieutenant and his men to stand down.
"Thompson put his guns on the Americans and said he would shoot them if they shot another Vietnamese," said William Eckhardt, the chief prosecutor at the My Lai courtmartial.
A furious Thompson reported the massacre in progress to army superiors who ordered a ceasefire. Thompson also ordered two other helicopters to evacuate about a dozen wounded villagers to hospital for treatment.
Thompson subsequently testified at criminal trials of the army officers, an act which initially left him ostracized by others in the military.
Thompson was one of the chief witnesses against Lieutenant William Calley, the only person convicted of a crime in connection with My Lai.
Calley was sentenced to life in prison but president Richard Nixon reduced his sentence to several years of house arrest.
As a combat pilot Thompson was shot down four times in Vietnam. He suffered a broken back in his last crash and received a Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
Thompson retired from the army in 1983 as a first lieutenant after 20 years of service. As a civilian, he worked as a commercial helicopter pilot and as a counselor for veterans in Louisiana.
In 1998, Thompson, Colburn and, posthumously, Andreotta, were awarded the Soldier's Medal, the army's highest award for battlefield action without encountering the enemy. Andreotta died in a helicopter crash shortly after My Lai.
In his last years, Thompson was a guest lecturer at military training academies for the army, navy and marines.
In a 2003 address to the US Naval Academy Center for the Study of Professional Military Ethics, he told navy midshipmen: "If you tell someone to do something you had better be right."
Ellie