My Lai Massacre Hero Dies - Rest In Peace Hugh Thompson

It was early morning of March 16, 1968 and the infamous massacre in the little village of My Lai, Viet Nam was well underway. It was then that Hugh Thompson did the inconceivable which led to the cease-fire order at My Lai. In order to save even more Vietnamese from being massacred by his fellow U.S. troops, Hugh Thompson, door-gunner Lawrence Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta landed their helicopter in the line of fire between American troops and fleeing Vietnamese civilians and pointed their own guns at the US soldiers to prevent more killings. Then while Colburn and Andreotta (who was killed in a battle three weeks later), provided cover for Thompson he went to confront the leader of the US forces. Thompson later coaxed civilians out of a bunker so they could be evacuated, and then landed his helicopter again to pick up a wounded child they transported to a hospital. IOL reports that 30 years later, in an interview with his biographer and family friend Trent Angers, Thompson humbly stated "These people were looking at me for help and there was no way I could turn my back on them." And much like today's atmosphere regarding Iraq, because of his actions he was chastised by many. Not only was his patriotism questioned, but a U.S. Congressman even went so far as to state that that Thompson himself was the only serviceman who should be punished because of My Lai. Despite what the Congressman (must have been a Republican) and others had to say, the U.S. Army honoured him and his fellow helicopter troops with the Soldier’s Medal, the highest award for bravery not involving conflict with an enemy. At the medal ceremony, Army Maj. Gen. Michael Ackerman said "It was the ability to do the right thing even at the risk of their personal safety that guided these soldiers to do what they did, [they] set the standard for all soldiers to follow”. Hugh Thompson passed away at the age of 62 in the VA Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. Col. Tom Kolditz, head of the Army academy’s behavioural sciences and leadership department said of Thompson, "There are so many people today walking around alive because of him, not only in Vietnam, but people who kept their units under control under other circumstances because they had heard his story. We may never know just how many lives he saved.” Rest in peace Hugh Thompson, knowing that your actions may influence the young men and women of the armed forces currently serving around the world. We can only hope that they can be the hero you were.