USA Today editorial: A Hero Scorned

[Cocoa]

I agree with this editorial, Thompson's death got nowhere near enough attention. This story should be Hugh11111

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-01-12-thompson-edit_x.htm

In 1968, helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson flew into the thick of what he thought was a fierce battle in South Vietnam and discovered, instead, that a massacre was going on — of women, children and elderly men at the hands of U.S. soldiers. Horrified, he landed his helicopter between the soldiers and the civilians, ordered his crew to fire on any American who continued shooting, called for back-up and rescued victims, digging through corpses to scoop up one child.

An instant hero? It would be nice to think so. A year later, the public found out about the killings — infamous as the My Lai massacre, exposed by journalist Seymour Hersh. But Thompson, who died of cancer last week at age 62, received no honors then. He was made a pariah.

For years, when he walked into officers' clubs, they emptied out. He got threatening phone messages. Dead animals were left on his porch. When he was called to give closed congressional testimony, a senior lawmaker said that if anyone deserved to be court-martialed, it was him. As it was, only one officer, Army Lt. William Calley, was convicted, spending just three years under house arrest before President Nixon pardoned him.

<snip>

Nobody likes a snitch. But when courageous people instinctively supply the moral compass missing higher up in their command — as Thompson did at My Lai, as a young soldier did at Abu Ghraib and as whistle-blower Sherron Watkins did at Enron — they deserve recognition.

[teach1st]

1. The last paragraph...

...so true.

Thanks for posting the editorial.

[Cocoa]

4. very few mainstream news stories about Thompson...

very few have related it to the current situation. Which is incredible to me; the Hugh Thompson story seems so obviously and totally relevant to today.

[TomInTib]

8. Which is exactly why this story was tamped down. nt

[1620rock]

2. Honor deserting mass murders, and scorn true American heros...

...only in America, :puke:

[1620rock]

5. snip > bartcop.com

snip> "The Swift Boat Liars said there were no atrocities in Vietnam.
John Kerry let them get away with it - so Bush's murder spree continued.
Too bad Kerry didn't have Hugh Thompson's courage in 2004.

A stand-up shot of Chinaco to a real American hero - Hugh Thompson."

Wednesday Jan 11, 2006 Volume 1687 bartcop.com
:toast:

[aquart]

3. Rest in Peace, Hero.

[pretzel4gore]

6. usa today? pass the salt....

for murdering kids, including babes in mom's arms and grannies etc, no soldier, no officer no one i can imagine would feel any brotherlove towards such assholes, no matter the circumstances. usa today maybe like to say that thompson suffered for exposing the crime at mylai, but that's very hard to believe...unless another source backs this up, it will be one of those 'they spit on returning viet vets' urban fictions that have been exposed repeatedly as made up media lies...thompson was not alone by any stretch of imagination; even the mafia will not tolerate child murderers; besides, only calley got nailed, and all he got was a slap on the wrist

[TomInTib]

9. In this case is was the military spitting on their own. nt

[pretzel4gore]

11. ironically, it's thompson who redeems the military

that's the amazing part! (again, if usa today isn't juicing up a few anecdotal incidence by frank burn types...)

[liberalhistorian]

7. I read this on Friday, and was

very happy to see it. It always angered me to hear how he'd been treated, especially considering Calley got off with a tiny slap on the wrist.

[chat_noir]

10. Mai Lai: remember Colin Powell's cover up of the massacre

of over 400 men, women, and children

[mark11727]

12. Funny you should say that --- I just found this on Wikipedia...

Six months later, a young soldier of the 11th Light Infantry (The Butcher's Brigade) named Tom Glen wrote a letter accusing the Americal Division (and other entire units of the U.S. military, not just individuals) of routine brutality against Vietnamese civilians; the letter was detailed, its allegations horrifying, and its contents echoed complaints received from other soldiers. Colin Powell, then a young US Army Major, was charged with investigating the letter, which did not specifically reference My Lai (Glen had no knowledge of the events there). Powell wrote: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Later, Powell's refutation would be called an act of "white-washing" the news of My Lai, and questions would continue to remain undisclosed to the public. On May 4, 2004, Powell, then United States Secretary of State, said to Larry King, "I mean, I was in a unit that was responsible for My Lai. I got there after My Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored."