remember his name

 

A name popped up this morning on Facebook that I was not familiar with, but he just became more relevant due to the recent release of a movie about WWII, and the release of a video on Tuesday of last week.

 First of all, his name is Hugh Thompson, Jr, and this is his story:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Thompson_Jr.

 Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. (April 15, 1943 – January 6, 2006) was a United States Army officer, serving as a warrant officer in the 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Division. He is credited with ending the My Lai massacre of the South Vietnamese village known as Sơn Mỹ on March 16, 1968, alongside Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn.

During the massacre, Thompson and his Hiller OH-23 Raven crew, Andreotta and Colburn, stopped many killings by threatening and blocking American officers and enlisted soldiers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division. Additionally, Thompson and his crew saved a number of Vietnamese civilians by personally escorting them away from advancing United States Army ground units and assuring their evacuation by air. Thompson reported the atrocities by radio several times while at Sơn Mỹ. Although these reports reached Task Force Barker operational headquarters, nothing was done to stop the massacre. After evacuating a child to a Quảng Ngãi hospital, Thompson angrily reported to his superiors at Task Force Barker headquarters that a massacre was occurring at Sơn Mỹ. Immediately following Thompson's report, Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Barker ordered all ground units in Sơn Mỹ to cease search and destroy operations in the village.

In 1970, Thompson testified against those responsible for the Mỹ Lai massacre. Twenty-six officers and enlisted soldiers, including William Calley and Ernest Medina, were charged with criminal offenses; many were either acquitted or pardoned, notably excepting Calley, who was convicted and served a commuted sentence of three-and-a-half years under house arrest. Thompson was condemned and ostracized by many individuals in the United States military and government, as well as the public, for his role in the investigations and trials concerning the Mỹ Lai massacre. As a result of what he experienced, Thompson experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, divorce, and severe nightmare disorder. Despite the adversity he faced, he remained in the Army until November 1, 1983, then continued to make a living as a helicopter pilot in the Southeastern United States.

In 1998, 30 years after the massacre, Thompson and the two other members of his crew, Andreotta and Colburn, were awarded the Soldier's Medal (Andreotta posthumously), the United States Army's highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy. Thompson and Colburn returned to Sơn Mỹ to meet with survivors of the massacre at the Sơn Mỹ Memorial in 1998. In 1999, Thompson and Colburn received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw "Nuremberg", which was an outstanding movie. The defense that the Nazis used was that they were simply following orders, but  that argument did not let them escape the punishment that they deserved.

On Tuesday of last week, 6 Democratic lawmakers (Mellissa Slotkin of Michigan, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chrissy Houlahand of Pennsylvania, and Jason Crow of Colorado release a video reminding people in the military that they did not have to follow illegal orders.

Predictably, Trump went nuts.

He accused them of seditious behavior, and said that they should be tried for treason and hung.

The two people who SHOULD be tried are Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller, the people most responsible for the murders near Venezuela.

Lt. Calley's actions might be considered proper in view of the fact that it started only 2 months after the Tet Offensive started, which was a major conflict in the Vietnam War. Although the United States won the battle, the battle turned public opinion against our involvement in the war. As a result, President Johnson announced on March 31, 1968, that he was not seeking re-election.

Pete Hegseth gathered military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on September 30, 2025. The meeting included hundreds of flag and general officers from around the world who were summoned for an address by Hegseth and President Trump. 

• Location: The event was held at Marine Corps Base Quantico, a Marine Corps base in Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C..
• Who was gathered: The meeting included a rare gathering of nearly the entire senior officer corps, or a significant portion of it.
• Reason for the meeting: Hegseth used the meeting to announce new directives and discuss his vision for the U.S. military. 

Since Pete Hegseth is one of the worst Department of Defense leaders we have ever had, it did not take long for the Pentagon to decide to investigate Senator Mark Kelly.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2025/11/24/mark-kelly-sedition-investigation-donald-trump/87449880007/?utm_source=azcentral-newsalert-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_term=hero&utm_content=pphx-phoenix-nletter17

You can read Hegseth’s entire speech at the link below, but it is utter nonsense, so do not waste your time.

https://www.war.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4318689/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-addresses-general-and-flag-officers-at-quantico-v/

Hegseth's recent gathering of military leaders from around the globe at Marine Corps Base Quantico. was an absolutely stupid thing to do - and a reminder why we need more people like Hugh Thompson in the military.