Hugh Thompson, Hero of Vietnam War, Dead at 62

[danarhea]

The army helicopter pilot, whose sole intervention led to the conviction of Lt. William Calley for the Mai Lai massacre, has died.

The heroic act that Thompson committed was to, under threat of death from Calley and his men, take the few villagers who were still alive into his helicopter and fly them to a nearby hospital for medial treatment. He then reported Calley's actions to his superiors, and then finally went public when he saw no results.

The actions Thompson took ended his military career, but the world would never have known, and Calley would have massacred many more women and children of other villages, if not for Thompson's actions. Instead, Calley and others went to prison for their heinous crimes, and Calley's name became synonymous with the depths of depravity.

Hugh Thompson was a true soldier, and he will be missed.

Article is here.

 

[vergiss]

Wow, what a hero. May he rest in peace.

 

[Navy Pride]

Calley was tried for war crimes.Why wasn't Kerry? He admitted under oath he committed them........

 

[danarhea]

Calley was tried for war crimes.Why wasn't Kerry? He admitted under oath he committed them........

I posted this thread to honor a man who received the Soldier's Medal for his actions, and who has died. Please, dont be disrespectful to a dead war hero, and please take your hijacking tactics to another thread.

 

[Navy Pride]

I posted this thread to honor a man who received the Soldier's Medal for his actions, and who has died. Please, dont be disrespectful to a dead war hero, and please take your hijacking tactics to another thread.

Well whether you intended to or not it brings up the Nam atrocities again and if Calley was prosecuted why was not you boy Kerry and admiited perpetrator......

 

[danarhea]

Well whether you intended to or not it brings up the Nam atrocities again and if Calley was prosecuted why was not you boy Kerry and admiited perpetrator......

See my sig? That's who I voted for in 2004. Now once again, I ask you please to honor Thompson in the manner befitting him, and not to try and derail a thread dedicated to him.

 

[Navy Pride]

See my sig? That's who I voted for in 2004. Now once again, I ask you please to honor Thompson in the manner befitting him, and not to try and derail a thread dedicated to him.

[
See my sig? That's who I voted for in 2004./QUOTE]

If you say so...........

 

[Engimo]

Calley was tried for war crimes.Why wasn't Kerry? He admitted under oath he committed them........

Oh, Jesus. Why must you turn every thread into something ridiculous and political? Can't you just leave this one alone, we're trying to honor a war hero, not debate an election that happened 2 years ago.

This is a shame, it is, I admire the man's conviction.

 

[TimmyBoy]

Calley was not the only one who committed such war crimes, he was just one of the few who were put on trial and convicted to appease political pressure. The fact of the matter is, alot of decent, honorable guys were driven to such massacres not just in Vietnam but in any war. The villagers that Calley was massacreing were known to give shelter to the VC and to aid the VC and this massacre did not happen until Calley's men started taking un-necessary casualities and this is what provoked the massacre. Thompson was no saint himself either nor was he perfect and neither should we judge too harshly the men who were put in a no win compromising situation. Their is nobody in this world that is innocent. The villagers were not innocent that were being massacred. The children were not innocent, for they were the very ones putting broken glass in coke cans and giving them to GIs knowing and fully understanding what that broken glass would do to the GIs when they drank that Coca Cola that was mixed with it. And Thompson himself is not innocent either though he was made out to be a war hero. Nobody in this world is innocent.

 

[TimmyBoy]

4 year old kids with explosives strapped to them come up to say hi to American soldiers and then the VC would blow them up, killing a few American soldiers. Kids mixing broken glass with Coca Cola in coke cans then giving them to GIs to drink. Villagers providing the VC with food, money and places to hide from GIs or even providing recruits to fight American soldiers. Explain to me how the villagers or the children were innocent. They were not. Not that it justifies much of anything on either side. But lets be fair and tell the whole story and tell it right. Anybody is capable of anything especially when put in a no win compromising situation like the soldiers in Vietnam were.

 

[danarhea]

4 year old kids with explosives strapped to them come up to say hi to American soldiers and then the VC would blow them up, killing a few American soldiers. Kids mixing broken glass with Coca Cola in coke cans then giving them to GIs to drink. Villagers providing the VC with food, money and places to hide from GIs or even providing recruits to fight American soldiers. Explain to me how the villagers or the children were innocent. They were not. Not that it justifies much of anything on either side. But lets be fair and tell the whole story and tell it right. Anybody is capable of anything especially when put in a no win compromising situation like the soldiers in Vietnam were.

We all know about those stories in which soldiers were being set up by some. As much as incidents like that were publicized, they were not the norm, and certainly no excuse to try and kill every woman, child, and yes, baby, in a sweep and clear operation? No it isnt. What Calley did was reprehensible. Some of Calley's own men refused to follow his orders, under threat of Court Martial, and testified at his trial. Calley was a disgrace to the service, and nothing more than an animal.

As for Thompson, say what you will about him, but he deserved his Soldier's Medal for what he did that day.

 

[TimmyBoy]

We all know about those stories in which soldiers were being set up by some. As much as incidents like that were publicized, they were not the norm, and certainly no excuse to try and kill every woman, child, and yes, baby, in a sweep and clear operation? No it isnt. What Calley did was reprehensible. Some of Calley's own men refused to follow his orders, under threat of Court Martial, and testified at his trial. Calley was a disgrace to the service, and nothing more than an animal.

As for Thompson, say what you will about him, but he deserved his Soldier's Medal for what he did that day.

How do you know this wasn't the norm? Were you an infantryman in Vietnam? According to some GIs that served as combat troops in Vietnam, this actually happenned quite often. Again, their is nobody in this world that is innocent.

 

[TimmyBoy]

Calley was a disgrace to the service, and nothing more than an animal.

Ahh yes, the common practice of demonizing and dehumanizing a criminal. This is what enables people to do the very evil things you abhore. Are you really much different than Calley?

 

[danarhea]

Ahh yes, the common practice of demonizing and dehumanizing a criminal. This is what enables people to do the very evil things you abhore. Are you really much different than Calley?

I didnt, and would never, order the murder of women and children. No, I am quite different than Calley. Demonizing Calley? Calley was convicted for his actions, and demonized himself by his own actions. What he did is well documented. Nothing was made up. Since the military court convicted and sentenced Calley for his crimes, you couldnt be somehow suggesting that our military dehumanized Calley, could you? And how would a stiff prison sentence enable people to do the very things we abhore? I would think that it would be a deterrent to other potential Calleys.

 

[TimmyBoy]

I didnt, and would never, order the murder of women and children. No, I am quite different than Calley. Demonizing Calley? Calley was convicted for his actions, and demonized himself by his own actions. What he did is well documented. Nothing was made up. Since the military court convicted and sentenced Calley for his crimes, you couldnt be somehow suggesting that our military dehumanized Calley, could you? And how would a stiff prison sentence enable people to do the very things we abhore? I would think that it would be a deterrent to other potential Calleys.

Ahh yes, somebody does something bad because of being involved in a compromising no win situation and automatically he is a demon, he is no longer human, he is the a beast. He is somebody to kill. You become the criminal because you do not acknowledge his humanity nor bother to understand the situation he was under.

So you deny you are incapable of murder or even the murder of women and children? I don't think you quite understand human nature. Anybody is capable of anything. We all have the potential and capability for evil and it exists in you, me and everybody else here. You do not understand the complexities and the emotions that were involved surrounding the massacre.

 

[danarhea]

Ahh yes, somebody does something bad because of being involved in a compromising no win situation and automatically he is a demon, he is no longer human, he is the a beast. He is somebody to kill. You become the criminal because you do not acknowledge his humanity nor bother to understand the situation he was under.

So you deny you are incapable of murder or even the murder of women and children? I don't think you quite understand human nature. Anybody is capable of anything. We all have the potential and capability for evil and it exists in you, me and everybody else here. You do not understand the complexities and the emotions that were involved surrounding the massacre.

The difference is that, as men, we are above animals. And no, there is no way that I would order the murders of women and children. I am not alone on this either. There were plenty of men under Calley who, at risk of being court martialed, refused to obey Calley's orders, which is allowed by the UCMJ. What made them different than Calley? What made Thompson different than Calley? Morals. Calley had none.

Also your analogy about complexities and emotions is entirely flawed, because, if you follow your logic behind the argument, it excuses drugs addicts when they murder little old ladies for their Social Security checks.

 

[TimmyBoy]

The difference is that, as men, we are above animals. And no, there is no way that I would order the murders of women and children. I am not alone on this either. There were plenty of men under Calley who, at risk of being court martialed, refused to obey Calley's orders, which is allowed by the UCMJ. What made them different than Calley? What made Thompson different than Calley? Morals. Calley had none.

Also your analogy about complexities and emotions is entirely flawed, because, if you follow your logic behind the argument, it excuses drugs addicts when they murder little old ladies for their Social Security checks.

I believe in God myself and I think their is some wisdom in this quote:

"Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you. "--Matthew 7:1-2

Here is the quote that I remember when faced with evil, death, lies and deception everywhere. It gives me the strength to do the right thing in the face of the impossible and overwhelming evil:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in the right paths for His names sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff--they comfort me."--Psalm 23:1-4

 

[danarhea]

I believe in God myself and I think their is some wisdom in this quote:

"Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you. "--Matthew 7:1-2

Here is the quote that I remember when faced with evil, death, lies and deception everywhere. It gives me the strength to do the right thing in the face of the impossible and overwhelming evil:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in the right paths for His names sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff--they comfort me."--Psalm 23:1-4

In regard to Matthew 7:1-2... do you believe then that the measure Calley dealt out to those women and children will be dealt back out to him?

The 23rd Psalm is also a good passage - So are the 10 Commandments, and I dont know how someone could be reciting the 23rd Psalm while breaking them, especially while committing mass murder. However, if he truly repented after doing the deed, that is a different story, but I highly doubt that the Lord would bless Calley at the time he was committing his butchery.