RE: Was the "terrorist" who atacked 101st Airborne a U.S. soldier ?

["Craven, Jim" <jcraven@xxxxxxxxx>]

Army awards veterans who stopped My Lai massacre
by Michael Norris


WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 11, 1998) -- Three soldiers were
recognized Friday for heroism in saving Vietnamese civilians from attack by
U.S. troops in the village of My Lai in 1968.

The pilot and the door gunner of an Army helicopter supporting an infantry
operation in Quang Ngai Province received the Soldiers Medal. The Soldiers
Medal will be awarded the family of a third crewman who was later killed in
action during the war.

Hugh C. Thompson Jr. and Lawrence Colburn stood side by side at the outdoor
ceremony near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as citations for the medal were
read. Maj. Gen. Michael W. Ackerman, commander of the U.S. Army Signal
Center and Fort Gordon, Ga., presented Thompson and Colburn with the awards.
The citations said the two saved 11 Vietnamese villagers from being killed
by American soldiers.

Ackerman, who commanded a gunship platoon in the Americal Division two years
after the events for which Thompson and Colburn were being honored, praised
them as embodying the best of Army values and for "setting the standard" on
a day that was "one of the most shameful chapters in the Army's history."

After My Lai was exposed, Ackerman said, Army leadership took action to make
sure such an event would never happen again. "And it has not happened
again," he said.

The awarded medals replace the Distinguished Flying Cross that Thompson
earlier received and the Bronze Star medals awarded to Colburn and the
deceased crew chief, Spc. Glenn Andreotta. Those awards were premised on the
crew having saving villagers during combat with the enemy, rather than from
American troops.

Citations read at the ceremony described how on March 16, 1968, helicopter
pilot Thompson, door gunner Colburn and helicopter crew chief Andreotta
saved 10 civilians "during the unlawful massacre of noncombatants by
American forces" by placing themselves between the American soldiers and the
fleeing villagers.

The helicopter gunship was present to draw fire from the Viet Cong, but did
not receive any fire. They observed U.S. soldiers apparently firing on
Vietnamese noncombatants, women and children. Thompson landed and spoke to a
lieutenant to find out what was going on and then argued with him about what
was occurring, according to a published account by Michael Bilton and Kevin
Sim, "Four Hours in My Lai."

The helicopter took off, but then landed again. According to Thompson's
citation, he placed his helicopter between a group of soldiers and civilians
they were pursuing "to prevent their murder." He then personally confronted
the leader of the American ground troops and was prepared to open fire on
those American troops should they fire upon the civilians." Colburn and
Andreotta aimed their weapons on the American troops as Thompson confronted
the soldiers. Thompson then went forward of the U.S. lines to coax the
frightened villagers out of a bunker where they had sought refuge and the
crew helped facilitate their evacuation.

Leaving the area, the three observed movement in a pile of shot civilians.
Landing again, Andreotta rescued a child from the pile, who was evacuated to
a nearby hospital.

Thompson's radio reports of the massacre and a subsequent report to his
section leader and commander finally brought about a cease fire order "and
the end to the killing of innocent civilians."

Thompson and Colburn later testified at the court-martial of Lt. William L.
Calley Jr., a platoon leader what became known as the "My Lai Massacre."
Calley was convicted and other officers were censured and demoted for their
part in the a cover-up which followed the incident. Army Chief of Staff Gen.
William S. Westmoreland ordered an investigation that was completed by Lt.
Gen. W.R. Peers in 1969.

Ackerman quoted the Peers report's assessment of Thompson: "If there was a
hero at My Lai, he was it." Colburn at that point looked to Thompson and
beamed an expression of love. "This is really his day," Colburn said to some
in the long line of well-wishers who congratulated the two after the medal
presentation.

Army Chief of Chaplains Maj. Gen. Donald W. Shea led off the ceremony,
praising the actions of the recognized individuals. "We're here to recognize
three soldiers for their solemn heroism ... on hallowed ground. Their
heroism symbolizes all that we hold good and true," he said.

Ackerman said it was appropriate that the ceremony be held adjacent the
Vietnam Memorial, the Wall, which he called a "place of healing."

"The soldiers here today ... stood tall during a time of great introspection
for our country," he continued. "The Army's enduring values -- loyalty,
duty, respect, honor, integrity and personal courage -- ... inspire a sense
of purpose necessary to sustain soldiers in difficult times."

Ackerman credited the values with giving Thompson and Colburn "the ability
to do the right thing, even at the risk of their personal safety." He added,
"They clearly captured the essence of Army values -- courage and the highest
standards of moral, personal and ethical conduct. This award is a symbolic
affirmation of these long-held Army ideals and is a tribute to these great
soldiers."

Ackerman closed by quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill:
"'God, grant me that my principal men be men of principle."

Thompson thanked the Army for the award and praised Colburn and Andreotta.
He also thanked his family and David Egan, a Clemson University professor
and former Army officer who initiated a nine-year, letter-writing campaign
that sought to award Thompson the medal.

"I proudly and humbly accept [the award], not only for myself, but for all
the men who served their country with honor on the battlefield of Southeast
Asia," Thompson said. "And I see many of those great men in the audience
today. Welcome home!"

Colburn followed and also thanked fellow crew members and family "It is my
solemn wish that we all never forget the tragedy and brutality of war,"
Colburn said before quoting Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "'The soldier, be he
friend or foe, is charged with the protection of the weak and the unarmed.
It's his very existence for being.'"

The afternoon event took place under blue skies during unseasonably warm
weather. The audience included U.S. Senators Max Cleland (D-Ga.) and Strom
Thurmond (R-S.C.), Army leaders, veterans, family members and friends of the
medal winners, and also tourists who stumbled onto the event while strolling
the mall.

Doug Reese, a Vietnam veteran and U.S. Post Office employee who started a
Vietnam-centered tourist agency, was one of the spectators at the ceremony.
He said the ceremony helped effect a sense of closure for events that
happened some 30 years ago.

Thompson will travel to Vietnam for the anniversary of the incident Monday,
where he will be reunited with a child whose life he saved.

(Editor's note: Norris is a writer with the Military District of
Washington's Pentagram Newspaper.)






-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Friedman [mailto:mikedf@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2003 6:16 PM
To: marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Liu: Was the "terrorist" who atacked 101st Airborne a U.S. soldier?


Point of information: this is factually incorrect. Volunteers cannot resign
in wartime. Were soldiers "wrong" in fragging officers in Vietnam? How
about protesting, since this endangers fellow troops, destroys morale, etc?
You seem to forget that the military is a class-based institution, at the
service of a class and reproducing class inequality within. The military
doesn't "stand above, morally, politically or socially, the social order it
serves. Finally, maybe they are naive, but many of my students (both high
school and college) joined the military because of the promise of jobs and
education, not because they anticipated murdering children for big oil.
Recruiters downplayed the risk and played up the perks. Last week, one
student, a reservist who disagreed with the war against Iraq, was 'visited'
by MPs precisely because she wanted to "resign." It's very easy for you to
make the armchair comment that you "even sympathize with those willing to
face court martial" for refusing combat duties. Refusal of combat duties
can logically be construed as a "violation of military code" in wartime.
"Even"! How gracious of you! Imagine you're 23 years old, female, alone, in
the stockade, being threatened with court martial, a long sentence, perhaps
death. What is this pious, vacuous and un-Marxist bullshit?

Mike

At 07:25 PM 3/23/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>Subject: Re: Was the "terrorist" who atacked 101st Airborne a U.S.
>soldier?
>
>The US has a volunteer army. Those who join has committed themselves to
>behave as soldiers.  One can resign from the military if one disagrees
>with the war.  I even sympathize with those willing to face court




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