Jan
06
2006

Hugh Thompson dies

Hugh ThompsonHugh Thompson, the American hero who stepped in during the Mai Lai massacre, has died. 

Mr Thompson and his crew came upon US troops killing civilians at the village of My Lai on 16 March 1968.  He put his helicopter down between the soldiers and villagers, ordering his men to shoot their fellow Americans if they attacked the civilians. A platoon commander, Lt William Calley, was later court-martialed and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killings. President Richard Nixon commuted his sentence to three years’ house arrest.

Fortunately, nothing like that would ever happen these days.

Written by Owen in: Current affairs, Economics, Politics
RSS Feed for Comments

2 Comments so far »

  • Owen B2 on January 7, 2006 at 5:15 am

    Thanks for posting that sad information.  A real hero.

  • Brian B. on January 8, 2006 at 4:23 pm

    I take it that your last sentence is ironical, Owen.  What an indictment that hardly less terrible things are being done even now in Iraq and Afghanistan!  And where are the Hugh Thompsons stepping in to stop them?Brian http://www.barder.com/ephems/ 

Please join the discussion

Proud to use WordPress | Some rights reserved © Owen Barder