On March 16, 1968, he was flying a mission in Vietnam and came across a large number of dead civilian bodies; and in pursuing surveillance, he discovered that those civilians had been killed, and the survivors were still under fire, by American forces. Michael Bernhardt, who was at M Lai. Hood were returnees, but no one really zeroed in on what was happening. These were infants, two-, three-, four-, five-year-olds, women, very old men, no draft-age people whatsoever.. Hugh Thompson was a helicopter pilot in 1968, on a day American soldiers gunned down more than 500 unarmed civilians in a village called My Lai. This fella stood up and said: Fuck you. This is not how this military organization supposed to conduct operations. There were probably 10 in the squad. U.S. ArmyWilliam Calley, the officer who ordered the slaughter at M Lai. I did hear that the men on the ground were told to pretend like it never happened. Calley pointed his weapon at him and threatened him with a court-martial. They had been writing to the Pentagon for years about Hugh, totally unbeknownst to Hugh. Thompsons father played a central role in his childrens education. It was fresh enough that things hadnt changed much. They were not listening, so he did the unbelievable, he drew his own sidearm and pointed it at them. He was presumably mindful of the ostracism he had faced and the long wait for that medal ceremony in Washington. And the people guilty of committing war crimes should have been dealt with. As we did, we heard automatic weapon fire. Did you have a sense that what you had seen at My Lai was and isolated incident or did you suspect similar atrocities were happening elsewhere? PFC. Nicholas Goldberg: Is God on the side of blasphemy laws? Thompson acted more instinctively, given his morals, character, and military training. Hugh said: These people are going to die. I felt that my testimony validated Hughs, and that was why it was important. At the time, I figured he was 3 or 4 years old, he was tiny. . How do you think your story, of an event now long in the past, can make a difference? 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. You started out on an OH-23 scout helicopter? Having redeemed himself for other peoples mistakes, his heroic act was written in US Military history. That is what other people say. Weve been accused of many things, of being traitors. Hugh Thompson, a pilot of the 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Americal Division, flew an observational helicopter supporting Task Force Barker on March 16, 1968. Did the word about what happened at My Lai get around? I waited in the hospital waiting room for about four hours to see a psychologist. Hugh Thompson reported the massacre to his commanding officer. That was the only enemy combatant we saw that day. They also led as many surviving civilians as they could to shelter. "Dead animals on your porch, mutilated animals on your porch some mornings when you get up. But in the end,. We would have died for them. We came to think we were indirectly killing these people ourselves by marking them with smoke. Thompson was more experienced than Lt. Calley, more ethical, more talented, and brighter, and probably recognized Calley didnt know what he was doing. As murderous bloodlust unfolded on the ground below, Thompson and crew confronted fellow GIs to save numerous civilians from the fate of some 500 others that morning. Interview - Larry Colburn: Why My Lai, Hugh Thompson Matter. But he didnt even draw a sidearm as he walked up to the bunker and motioned to the people to come out. The My Lai Massacre was and still is a huge, shameful event that will be hard for several generations to get past. Were you talking about this at the time? They got some people to listen, and then there were others in the Pentagon trying to put it at the bottom of the stack. Dont salute me or call me sir, he said, Just Mr. Thompson. He didnt believe in that no fraternization stuff, he was really one of the fellows, he knew both sides. Still, Thompson had saved civilians who would have been killed if he had not intervened. No one wants a president to die in office. He said youre a plant arent you. Did they know that somebody tried to help? Through the years, he continued to speak out, having been invited to West Point and other military installations to tell of the moral and legal obligations of soldiers in wartime. Anyone can read what you share. Thank you both for being of upstanding and outstanding moral character and having the backbone to stand up for what you know is right! We surveyed around the bunker and saw that squad approaching. There was a guy at the ditch with Calley, shooting people not yet dead. If Hugh knew that, it would have made everything he went through worthwhile for him. So, what do you make of Calleys apology last year? I think Task Force Barkers intent was to create panic and drive the enemy forces out of the area. He was 62. But remember, at My Lai only about a third of the men participated in the massacre, but no one else tried to stop it. People should realize that when atrocities are committed like this and covered up, it degrades us all. To see people herded up like so many animals, marched into a ditch and machine-gunned? Colburn said. Afterwards Thompson testified at the trial of Lt. William Calley, the commanding officer during the massacre. When it was all over, hundreds of unarmed civilians had been murdered by American forces. He left the aircraft in flight idle, as rotor blades can be somewhat intimidating. Then came the backlash. Some were sent out into the field for 60-75 days straight, and they started getting the feeling somebody was trying to get rid of them. Youve got to love this guy. As we flew around more, we started seeing small groups of people dead or dying in other parts of the village. How did you get to the 123rd Aviation Battalion? Months later you were surprised with a medal for action at My Lai? Indeed, for a time, Thompson himself feared court-martial. So we continued our recon. They awarded him the Soldiers Medal for heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy., On the 30th anniversary of the massacre, Thompson went back to My Lai and met some of the people whose lives he had saved. Thompson landed his helicopter next to a ditch that contained 150 people many dead, but many others wounded and trying to escape. Mr. Thompson, you and Mr. Colburn are indeed the heroes in this sordid story and I am ashamed at how they were treated. On March 6, 1998, the Army presented the Soldier's Medal, for heroism not involving conflict with an enemy, to Mr. Thompson; to his gunner, Lawrence Colburn; and, posthumously, to Mr. Andreotta, who was killed in a helicopter crash three weeks after the My Lai massacre. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Hugh Thompson discover inside connections to recommended job . He told me not to say anything to anybody, and just tell the truth when I got there. I dont know, at the time I thought about creating a diversion, discharging my weapon in another direction. These people are going to die, Thompson said to his crew. We are inundated with information but we are not very well informed. I flew in the 23 as a gunner through that summer, then I asked about throwing my hat into ring for a gunship where there was a little more armor and security. I know its great copy, but Ive tried to correct the record many times: No one pointed any weapons at anybody. Trent Angers, Thompsons biographer and friend, analyzed the list and found about 50 there who were 3 years old or younger. And just sitting there saying, God, howd this happen? Oh, no, Mr. Thompson, let me see what we can do, he said. I was 17 when I enlisted in 1966 with some friends. When did you see those particular villagers again? If they fire on these people, or fire on me while Im doing that, shoot em!. That one person will go on to tell 10 other people. Did you have any knowledge of who was being inserted into My Lai that morning? Hood to give testimony in the basement war room of the Pentagon. For hours, they raped, mutilated, and slaughtered innocent civilians until a helicopter pilot named Hugh Thompson Jr. put his own life on the line to stop the massacre. HUGH THOMPSON'S TESTIMONY: I'm Hugh Thompson. I lost faith in the whole military organization and wanted to put it all behind me. But to see people herded up like so many animals, marched into a ditch and machine-gunned? Ernest Medina and Lt. William Calley were court-martialed. You felt pretty vulnerable in that little helicopter. Well, it wasnt really an apology, was it? I was back in Mount Vernon, outside Washington, and I got a call from my mother saying there were some people at the house who wanted to talk to me. Every time Ive been back there, the survivors ask me, Why dont the men who committed the atrocities come back and ask for forgiveness so that we might forgive them. Theyre Buddhists you know, they can forgive, put it behind them and carry on. Remember, this was later in the morning approaching noon, most of the killing had already been done. And the Army company only stopped because Thompson literally put himself between the soldiers and the civilians and threatened to shoot them if they didnt end the killings. Thompson left the Army in 1983 and became a private helicopter pilot in the South. But despite Thompsons heroic actions, the Army tried to cover up the massacre. Hugh was being jovial. Im a garden-variety human being and thats all there is to it. No, but Hugh was sent on missions in his OH-23 with his back up another OH-23no gunshipsinto Dragon Valley, where there was rocket activity. The squad leader ordered Thompson and his men to get out of the way. The M Lai massacre started when the U.S. Army declared everyone in a broad region of Vietnam either part of the Viet Cong or sympathizers. A sergeant stood by the ditch. Hugh and I went in 1998 with 60 Minutes, just after we were given the Soldiers Medal. Bettmann/Getty ImagesHugh Thompson on his way to testify against William Calley on November 23, 1970. Im going to go over to the bunker myself and get these people out. We had no direct radio contact with the men on the ground. Nick Turse investigated violence in Vietnam against noncombatants for his book Kill Anything that Moves. He concluded after a decade of research in Pentagon archives and more than 100 interviews with American veterans and Vietnamese survivors that Americans killing civilians in Vietnam was pervasive and systematic. One soldier told him there had been a My Lai a month..