Today in History

March 16 , 1968

Hugh Thompson, Jr. - An American Hero

Captain Hugh Thompson, Jr. was a United States Army helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. On the morning of March 16th, 1968, he flew his helicopter over a small village in Vietnam the soldiers referred to as "Pinkville" but the locals knew as My Lai. On the ground below him, he witnessed American soldiers killing old men, women, and children being held in a ditch. Landing his craft, Thompson approched the ground commander, Lt. William Calley who indicated he was following orders. Thompson took off again, but landed near one of the ditches full of civilians. Turning to his men, he ordered them to cover his back and to fire on the American troops if they fired at him or if they refused to quit killing the civilians. Ignoring the protests of the soldiers on the ground, Thompson and two others gathered 12 women and children and placed them on the helicopters and began the return trip to a field hospital. On the way, he reported the massacre to his superiors. Lt. Colonel Frank Barker ordered a cease fire.

During the official investigation, Chairman Mendel Rivers (D-SC), lobbied to have Thompson court-martialed.

Thirty years later, in 1998, Thompson and two other solders who acted with him to stop the massacre at My Lai were awarded the United States Army's highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy, the Soldier's Medal. "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," Major General Michael Ackerman said of the three soldiers so honored. Thompson died of complications of cancer in 2006.