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The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story

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It is impossible not to be moved by this great story. Any serviceman will know that not obeying orders and even worse - to turn your weapons on your own and make a cristal clear threat - usually means severe trouble; either being shot at the spot or to be court-martialled and cicked out of the military. This is the unique story of a man and his crew who did just that. - To save some total strangers; some civilians they did't know and had no responsibility for. They could easily have turned their heads away, and gotten away from it. But they acted, and took charge. Humanity needs heroes and ideals that we can look up to and to lead us in difficult moments. The two surviving crew members have been my true heroes through more than ten of my military years. Their My Lai story of courage and ideals and high morale has been tought to Norwegian, Swedish and Danish soldiers and officers as military ethics, code of conduct and law of war for many years already. The British TV film on My Lai, shown also in all the Scandinavian countries should be seen by servicemen and particularly in all military academies all over the world. This book is an impressive and important milestone. My compliments and highest recommendation. Terje Lund. Major, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Attorney at law, Special adviser on international humanitarian law, Norwegian Red Cross. "The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference." (Elie Wiesel)

Since the US Army finally got around to acknowledging the real heros of the My Lai massacre in March 1998 this book has been awaited by thousands of Americans who knew there was a great deal more than had been reported in the media and from official sources. Trent Angers' compelling story fills in all the details.Many of us who had served our country in the Vietnam period and previous conflicts knew that there had to be Americans who would not standby and permit killing of innocent non combatants by our own troops or by enemy forces for that matter. Something was dead wrong on that fateful day in March 1968 with the leadership of the military forces involved in an operation gone awry in the village of My Lai in central Vietnam.Now thanks to the clear reporting of CWO Hugh Thompson's story we know the full story of the undaunted courage and bravery of Thompson and his crew when they discovered the shocking truth that US troops were out of control and had committed unspeakable horror against unarmed women,children and elderly villagers in executing unlawful orders in a fundamently flawed search and destroy operation.

Author Angers brings to light events leading up to and following My Lai in vivid detail and the development of the ethical foundations of Thompson and his crew that did't allow them to look the other way on that fateful day.It is quite clear now that the Thompson crew stopped what could have been an even more egregious stain on the over two hundred year distinguished history of the US military.

As Angers tells us, the Thompson story did not come to light until a patriotic citizen soldier, Prof.David Egan of Clemson University saw a British documentary in 1989 and began a ten year crusade to see that this forgotten hero was justly recognized for restoring honor and integrety to the US Army he himself had served.

Angers telling of the Hugh Thompson story restores the faith faith of countless citizens that most of our soldiers in Vietnam served honorably and some like Hugh Thompson,Larry Colburn and their crewmate Glen Andriotta, honored on the Memorial Wall in Washington DC,were the real heros of that difficult period in our Nations history.This story of ordinary men taking an extraordinary action is destined to become a classic in the literature of the Vietnam period.As the author of the US Army's lengthy investigative report on the massacre tells us,"...If there was a hero at My

Lai,it was helicopter pilot CWO Thompson"

There is absolutely no doubt that Hugh Thompson, Glenn Andreotta, and Larry Colburn did an unbelieveably heroic thing on March 16, 1968. Let there also be no doubt that Trent Angers should be commended for his research and efforts to bring yet another angle to this horror known as the My Lai Massacre. I have just one criticism, and unfortunately it is decisive: It is a poorly written book.

I am not suggesting that one not read the book, because it does perform as a vehicle to bring to light the events surrounding the massacre, its aftermath and Colburn's and Thompson's return to My Lai 28 years later. However, it takes form more as a children's book than it does as an examination of an important historical event, or even as a third-person narrative intended for adult reading.

Don't expect an abundance of three or more syllable words, inspired imagery, or thought-provoking passages. For instance, page 77, "He seemed to take a particular liking to the older woman." Seemed to who? Could you tell the reader how this was apparent? No indication whatsoever is offered in the text. Or, page 102, describing an American casualty as being "blown to bits." Is that what was written on the After Action Report? If so, there's another book in there somewhere. Or, page 103, "The cows were mooing to be milked." For a minute there I thought I had opened "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by accident.

There is never a mention of exactly what kind of helicopter Hugh was flying...a Kiowa? Cayuse? Defender? Souix? Loach? The first indication of this simplistic approach to the subject matter is right on the dust jacket, as it is a simplistic, amateurish illustration of Thompson in an exaggerated heroic pose (arms outstretched, shirt unbuttoned, no flight helmet, no flak jacket, dog tags swinging in the wind, in front of a small huddled mass of Vietnamese). It looks much like the artwork that adorned the Harcourt Brace Jovanovich children's books published in the late '70s.

One more note: if you're going to write a book wherein the principle character is a helicopter pilot, at least have the courtesy to refrain from calling helicopters "choppers," as most pilots despise the term. Unless, of course, you're writing for children, who find it analogous - for obvious reasons.

Anyway, you get the picture. Still, I say God bless Hugh, Larry, Glenn and Trent.

But Trent, at the very least, get a new copy editor.

I read the book in two nights, reading and re-reading pages of unbelievable courage and heroism. I was amazed that a young man of 24 had such courage and compassion in a situation that easily could have meant his death. For thirty years leading politicians--yes, even the President--the top military and the Pentagon have buried this unbelievable act of heroism. But now the true story is available in this book. I strongly urge every parent to present this book to their sons and daughters for them to use Hugh Thompson's example of valor, compassion, love of mankind as a role model to always do the right thing no matter what the cost. Frank Robles

I am so glad for this book. It's undoubtedly a story about a true hero who inspires me as I'm sure it does others. I was saddened to hear he passed. On Friday Jan 6 he moved on. Many of us, can't, and will never forget what your memory means to us. God Speed Hugh, you have many friends here still on the earth very proud of you.

Col. Tom Kolditz, head of the U.S. Military Academy's behavioral sciences, said, in honor of Hugh, "There are so many people today walking around alive because of him, not only in Vietnam, but people who kept their units under control under other circumstances because they had heard his story. We may never know just how many lives he saved."

Read the book, it's inspirational, and we need not ever forget. Our values we hold dear as human beings are all we have, and when we leave, it's all we leave behind. Never compromise them. Never.

Honor, Respect, Dignity.

I can only hope this story is told even more widely so we have less chance this memory of such a great man ever fades.

GOD Speed Hugh, light a candle up there, we'll be there soon!

Thompson and his crew stand tall, a moral beacon in a world that still does not know much of them. When people mention My Lai, almost no one knows that our guys (American soldiers in the persons of Thompson, Colburn, and Andreotta) stopped it, and then stood up to corrupt politicians and threats to testify. A very important and powerful book indeed. Highly recommended, and timely today even after all these years.

If you liked the movie "Saving Private Ryan", you will love this book. The only important difference is this one is a true story! It will restore your faith in the courage of three ordinary soldiers who risked their lives to save innocent women, childern, and elderly civilians during a barbarous killing rampage at My Lai in 1968. Hugh Thompson, the helicopter pilot, who directed the ad hoc rescue operation, also endured nearly 30 years of criticism and indifference from many of his peers in the armed forces. At long last, the heroic actions of Mr. Thompson, Larry Colburn, and Glenn Andreotta have finally been recognized and appreciated by the government of the United States. This book proves that it is never too late to correct a wrong and that true American heroes live among us. Every parent concerned about the dangerous effects of peer pressure should buy this book as a gift to their childern.

If all of us followed the example of Hugh Thompson at My Lai in Vietnam this would truly be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

"The Forgotten Hero of My Lai" tells an inspiring story of a piece of our history. While many people still remember the horror of the massacre at My Lai, few know about the true heros who risked everything to end it. Though their stand came too late to help most of the villagers of My Lai, it eventually ended the policy that targeted the civillian populations of other villages. We'll never know how many lives they saved.

Although I found it awkwardly written, the power of the story far outweighs any considerations about style. I highly recommend this shining example of what one person can do to protect the values that make life meaningful.

From what I have seen written on the pages exhibited, I am asking our librarian here in Sandwich, NH to purchase this book. Hugh Thompson has always been a hero to me, and represents the helicopter pilots who were in Vietnam quite well. We were all brash, and ballsey, and would stand up to a lot of things we didn't think too swift. His deed outshines us all. I flew UH-1D's in the Delta, and have written about my experiences there in OUTLAWS IN VIETNAM.
Being a helicopter pilot in this war was the best job one could wish for--it was the best year of all of our lives! Hopefully, more of these excellent aviators will be profiled in the future.
My librarian finally purchased the book after these initial notes, and I have been reading it nonstop. This should really shed some light on the horror of the Americal Division higher-ups who authorized this bloodletting by Lt. Calley and others of Charlie Company that day. They had been ordered to commit the atrocities we all know about today, and as I continue the book, it is interesting to me to experience the angst that Hugh Thompson and his crew felt that terrible day at My Lai. He is most human, and painfully so. The author discloses all this helicopter crew went through then and since; well done!!

The writing style leaves something to be desired, and I wish they would have designed a different dust jacket for the book. However, author, Trent Angers gives the reader a powerfully moving story in "The Forgotten Hero of My Lai";(The Hugh Thompson Story).

Angers uses a great deal of literay freedom in weaving some of the story line of Mr. Thompson's personal life including conversations between Thompson and his wife some 35-40 years ago. None the less, the author also gives the reader a REAL AMERICAN HERO!

I could not in all honesty read this book without having to put it down at times so that I could break away from the emotions that it invoked within me. Reading about this massacre, and indiscriminate butchery was ...too horrible to comprehend. I can not see how anyone who was even vaguely involved in this could ever be normal again.

This event was perhaps, our greatest sin in the Viet Nam war. It was a throw-back to the deeds of Attila the Hun, and the exploits of Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes. More specifically, it was a "despicable microcosm" of the Japanese atrocities conducted in Nanking. The only difference: these were not Huns, Mongol hordes, or Imperial Japanese troops... these perpetrators were .... American soldiers!

As a VietNam veteran, I found this act, a "very...very, bitter pill to swallow!"

A letter by a Mr. Ron Ridenhour submitted to President Nixon and others at the time is quoted on page 154 of this book. In that letter, Mr. Ridenhour tells how he feels about the incident and ... quotes Winston Churchill:
" A country without a conscience is a country without a soul, and a country without a soul is a country that cannot survive."

Apparently, Hugh Thompson knew this as well when he intervened to save what innocent civilians he could. I know not how long our country will survive, but as long as there are still soldiers like Hugh Thompson, I know...it will survive a little longer.