Over four years ago, I dedicated a Top Comments diary to Hugh Thompson, the leader of an Army helicopter trio who helped stop the My Lai massacre. For his efforts, they were ostracized, received hate mail … until their heroism was (justly) honored years later, as his crew-mate Lawrence Colburn has said.
“Mr. Thompson was just beside himself,” Mr. Colburn recalled in an interview in 2010 for the PBS program The American Experience. “He got on the radio and just said, ‘This isn’t right, these are civilians, there’s people killing civilians down here.’ And that’s when he decided to intervene. He said, ‘We’ve got to do something about this, are you with me?’ And we said, ‘Yes.’ ”
Mr. Thompson confronted the officer in command of the rampaging platoon, Lt. William L. Calley, but was rebuffed. He then positioned the helicopter between the troops and the surviving villagers and faced off against another lieutenant. Mr. Thompson ordered Mr. Colburn to fire his M-60 machine gun at any soldiers who tried to inflict further harm.
“Y’all cover me!” Mr. Thompson was quoted as saying. “If these bastards open up on me or these people, you open up on them. Promise me!”
“You got it boss,” Mr. Colburn replied. “Consider it done.”
The other crew member (Glenn Andreotta) died in combat three weeks after My Lai, and Hugh Thompson died in 2006. Hugh Thompson, in particular, was vilified, as Colburn told Amy Goodman on Democracy Now ten years ago:
It had a toll on Hugh. He was tormented by not only My Lai, but the way he was treated when he just told the truth and did what was morally right. People came after him and tried to discredit him. He was ostracized in the military, but he never turned his back on them. He stayed in the military. His message would be how important it is to maintain integrity and honor and honesty within the ranks of the military.
And now Lawrence Colburn, the last of the trio, has died at age 67.
His obituary is at this link— and my original diary of what these three men accomplished is at this link— may Larry Colburn rest in peace.
Hugh Thompson & Larry Colburn