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PDF The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story For more information about the Hugh Thompson Foundation, visit www.designaire.com/HughThompson, Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Did the boy have a recollection of March 16, 1968? Among those numbers were 17 pregnant women and 56 infants. Court-martial me, and he left his weapon and walked away. Document points to Nixon in My Lai cover-up attempt - CBS News No. Thompson had a famous emotional outburst upon returning to base? And Hugh said, What about my crew? They said they didnt have any intention for awards of the crew. As we watched from about 15 feet off the ground, back maybe 20 meters, we saw this captain approach the woman, look down at her, kick her, step back and then blow her away. Thompson risked his life and career and had Lt. Calley shoot him. California cities shouldnt be deterred. He showed no reaction at all. Thompson and his crew managed to evacuate the civilians and stop the massacre. When I arrived at My Lai in 2008, no one knew where he was. It was an enemy tactic to blur the lines between combatants and noncombatants. Like most 18-year-old males I was nave, had no idea what risks were. 30 years after the massacre, Thompson and the two other members of his crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, were awarded the Soldier's Medal (Andreott. He also wanted to be able to get out quickly if need be. Were you vilified or the target of death threats the way Hugh Thompson was? Interestingly, there are those toying with the idea of inviting him to make the trip back to My Lai to ask for the people there for forgiveness. As the wounded tried to crawl out, they were fired on by someone who had been left there to do just that. You can imagine the emotions that surfaced. That was a point of no return for Thompson? Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? If its not sincere, it doesnt mean anything. I now know why he wanted me to come with him to events. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Opinion: California wants more psychiatric detentions. Billy Waugh, Famed Special Forces Warrior and CIA Legend, Dies At 93. So you were encouraged at that point? Hell, I didnt want to believe it, either, but I had no choice because I saw it. We thought that was good, that they would be out of the way. The troops also burned the village and Sn Ms surrounding hamlets to the ground and slaughtered the livestock. Hannah's Testimony. before the subcommittee, and then refused to release the transcripts of the testimony. Nearby, a squad of soldiers approached with weapons drawn. Somehow they trusted him and they came out. Where else in history has a massacre of civilians been stopped in the middle of the massacre? By the end of what has become known as the M Lai massacre, the Vietnamese government estimates that American soldiers killed at least 504 people, mainly women and children.