It was supposed to be a routine reconnaissance mission in support of an American assault on a Viet Cong stronghold. But the “stronghold” was My Lai and what the helicopter crew saw was not a battle, but a massacre. The captain of the OH-23 Raven helicopter was Hugh Thompson, Jr. and he was born on April 15, 1943 in Atlanta. He grew up in a working class family and was taught discipline and integrity. His paternal grandfather was a full Cherokee and this might partly explain his family’s empathy for minorities in their community. He entered the Navy and after honorable discharge reenlisted in the Army to serve in Vietnam. At age 25, in 1966, he was deployed to South Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. On March 16, 1968 he was overflying the village of My Lai when he spotted a wounded female and hovered above her while arranging medical evacuation. He and his crew of Glenn Andreotti (crew chief) and Larry Colburn (gunner) were shocked to see Capt. Medina approach the woman and finish her off. This is when they knew something had gone horribly wrong. Thompson landed the chopper near a ditch filled with dead bodies. He confronted Lt. William Calley who told him what was happening was none of his business. Determined that it was his business as a human being, Thompson and his crew interposed the helicopter between Americans advancing on a group of civilians. Colburn trained his machine gun on the grunts as Thompson and Andreotti loaded about ten women, kids, and one old man onto the helicopter. Soon after, Andreotti rescued a five year-old boy who lay under a dead body. Thompson returned to headquarters where he angrily reported the atrocity. The killings were immediately called off, but not before over 300 villagers had been killed. The Army declared the “battle” a victory and covered up the incident. Thompson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross to keep him quiet. The citation mentioned his bravery in rescuing the child who had been wounded in “an intense crossfire”! He threw away the citation. Thompson continued to fly and his chopper was hit by ground fire eight times, four of them resulting in crashes. The last crash resulted in a broken back and an end to his service. Upon returning to the States, he testified before a congressional committee in 1969. There he was treated as a villain who had trained his weapon on American soldiers. One Congressman urged his court martial. However, he was vindicated in 1970 when the court martial of Calley and others brought the true story to the American public. In 1998, he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the highest award for bravery not in the face of the enemy. This made him the first and only American soldier cited for bravery in the face of fellow American soldiers.
https://www.military.com/history/hugh-c-thompson-jr.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Thompson_Jr.
Thompson testifies to Congress
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