“You have to do the right thing in life, but don’t look for any rewards.” Major Hugh Thompson Jr., United States Army (retired) You should know about Hugh Thompson. Every American should. He was a true hero, who paid a very high price. Sơn Mỹ, Vietnam.
I was a soon-to-graduate high school senior when this occurred. Needless to say, my belief in our country’s values were shaken.
I followed what news I could find and vowed I would never be a part of such inhumane behavior. This was one of the things that led me a few years later to join the Peace Corps to try to help people overseas and to try to learn about other cultures.
Thank you for remembering this and attempting to be the conscience of our country (not just this day, but every day that you write about what we were, and what we could be).
Thank you Steve, that was a sobering way to start my day, not that I needed sobering up. I fought in VN in 1970 and can state unequivocally that I never took part in anything that could be construed as a war crime, not because I was a saint because I wasn’t, probably the morality of my education acted as a guide, not that I knew it at the time. The passions of warfare can cloud moral vision, but something’s are fundamentally wrong and clouded vision doesn’t obscure that reality. Just as there is no excuse for what the Russians have been doing to the Ukrainians, so too there was no excuse for what took place in My Lai, none. I was in special forces training when this happened and I never heard it mentioned, my instructors were warriors, some of the finest our country has ever produced, among them were men that had earned the Medal of Honor, they were men who valued honor and like me would walk into hell, and did so to protect a brother in arms. What happened in My Lai is a stain on the Army and anyone that abetted it, it was a crucible that sadly proved that our institutions were lacking in moral clarity. Lack of clarity is what has produced the political class we are burdened with today, which is truly frightening.
Major Hugh Thompson Jr: “You have to do the right thing in life, but don’t look for any rewards.”
Deep Gratitude to Hugh Thompson for doing the right thing in Life. He gives me hope for humanity.
Steve Schmidt, the tender photos of you with these survivors and the Grace you're experiencing is a profoundly meaningful lesson in Life. Thank You, too, for doing the right thing. Let us pray.
I cried reading this. I remember My Lai well. I didn’t remember that most of the American public and government supported the murderers. At the time, I was horrified and deeply ashamed. What happened at My Lai was a lesson I taught my son: you are the one who makes decisions to do what is moral. Don’t blindly follow anyone else’s orders. He would ask: even the President? I would answer yes.
I was stationed at Ft Benning in the summer of 1971 and on the Permanent Overseas Replacement station to process jump school graduates for assignemnt. At the time, Calley was under house arrest on post. You're right when you say he had much sympathy at the time. A few years latter I had a conversation with one of the JAG prosecuters of Calley on TDY (temporary duty) attached to my National Guard unit. He told me that Calley had such sever mental health issues and was diagnosed as a psychopath, he should never have been inducted in the Army let alone be an officer. At that time, they had an Officer Training Program called "shake and bake" where they took pretty much anyone into the program and was commissioned with as little as 6 weeks of training. The need for any "warm bodies) for that meat grinder as at its peak. While Nixon was bragging about having the lowest troop movement from here to Vietnam since 1965, in preparation for re-election, we were sending troops on 30 day TDY to Germany and then they were backed doored to Vietnam. We were under direct orders not to interpret their orders and tell them their ultimate destination. One of the PORS members did tell one of the guys the truth and he was leveed and on his way to Vietnam as punishment within 3 days. We were lied to a lot back then about the war which lead to the "bad guys" honored and the "good guys" vilified. Thanks for this recounting of that dark day!
I can't stop the tears after reading your story and listening to Hugh Thompson's interview. What a good, good man. There are not enough of them. And his words, solicited after the horrors in Iraq, bring to mind the horrors that are going on in Ukraine on the part of the Russian army and mercenaries. Maybe, as he said, the soldiers who commit these acts are not true soldiers, but hoodlums and terrorists - but it is the training to kill, and war, that brings out the worst.
This is such a well-written, poignant and extremely clear depiction of what happened that day in Vietnam. It was so well covered up that it wasn't known until years later what exactly happened that day.
This soon to be 65 year old man, who was in 4th grade elementary school at the time this occurred, appreciates the fact that you haven't forgotten that day and, hopefully, won't let us forget that day either.
One of the most shameful things Trump did while President (out of a very long list) was to pardon convicted war criminal Eddie Gallagher, whose behavior towards Iraqi civilians was so egregious that his own troops reported him. Trump invited him to Mar-A-Lago and posed for pictures with him.
I am convinced that Donald Trump has no idea what honorable soldiering is.
This is gut-wrenching and horrific to read, but it is also vital for us to know the truth and understand our history. I was 9 years old when this massacre occurred and unaware of it at the time. I don't recall learning about it in the public school I attended in NJ. which could be my memory failing me or perhaps it was not discussed. I appreciate you bringing it to light and telling us about Hugh Thompson, who truly is a hero we should all know about.
Your story and LTC Thompson’s interview brought me to tears. I’ve also been to My Lai escorting vets and it’s a powerful experience in understanding forgiveness.
What a moving post! Like many of the commentators before me, I was alive when this horror happened but I don’t recall the support for Calley. My parents were liberal and their opinions well-known to me, and the news reports of the massacre as well as other events of the Vietnam War are part of the background of my teen years. How could most Americans support the commander of this massacre? How could Jimmy Carter, of all people, have ordered flags flown at half mast for a brutal killer? How could a convicted murderer have been sentenced to a minimal punishment?We have buried this dreadful incident in our collective memories. Thank you for reminding us that Americans committed war crimes in Vietnam; it’s past time for us to acknowledge our role and formally apologize.
It is another lesson in the life of a human being that these atrocities are so prevalent, not so unusual and that have been happening all over the world for ever.
Look at Ukraine, look at the civil war, ww1, WW2 hatred of another for someone else's vision or desire for power and control. All of this is disgusting and horrifying but it is "Human" unfortunately.
This very moment there are people right now thinking about tearing this country apart for their own self interest. A national "Divorce?" No they are contemplating a "Toned down civil war"!
Hate in all of its socially acceptable forms is the beginning of brutality towards the targets of such emotions.
I can feel the results coming. We must all stop for just a few minutes and think about what may be coming and try to calm down and think less pationately or true calamity will engulf us.
Thank you Steve for shocking us again but try to calm us once in a while if you can please.
I was a soon-to-graduate high school senior when this occurred. Needless to say, my belief in our country’s values were shaken.
I followed what news I could find and vowed I would never be a part of such inhumane behavior. This was one of the things that led me a few years later to join the Peace Corps to try to help people overseas and to try to learn about other cultures.
Thank you for remembering this and attempting to be the conscience of our country (not just this day, but every day that you write about what we were, and what we could be).
Thank you Steve, that was a sobering way to start my day, not that I needed sobering up. I fought in VN in 1970 and can state unequivocally that I never took part in anything that could be construed as a war crime, not because I was a saint because I wasn’t, probably the morality of my education acted as a guide, not that I knew it at the time. The passions of warfare can cloud moral vision, but something’s are fundamentally wrong and clouded vision doesn’t obscure that reality. Just as there is no excuse for what the Russians have been doing to the Ukrainians, so too there was no excuse for what took place in My Lai, none. I was in special forces training when this happened and I never heard it mentioned, my instructors were warriors, some of the finest our country has ever produced, among them were men that had earned the Medal of Honor, they were men who valued honor and like me would walk into hell, and did so to protect a brother in arms. What happened in My Lai is a stain on the Army and anyone that abetted it, it was a crucible that sadly proved that our institutions were lacking in moral clarity. Lack of clarity is what has produced the political class we are burdened with today, which is truly frightening.
I was alive when the Mỹ Lai massacre was executed. I will never forget. Most children living in Florida will never know.
Major Hugh Thompson Jr: “You have to do the right thing in life, but don’t look for any rewards.”
Deep Gratitude to Hugh Thompson for doing the right thing in Life. He gives me hope for humanity.
Steve Schmidt, the tender photos of you with these survivors and the Grace you're experiencing is a profoundly meaningful lesson in Life. Thank You, too, for doing the right thing. Let us pray.
I cried reading this. I remember My Lai well. I didn’t remember that most of the American public and government supported the murderers. At the time, I was horrified and deeply ashamed. What happened at My Lai was a lesson I taught my son: you are the one who makes decisions to do what is moral. Don’t blindly follow anyone else’s orders. He would ask: even the President? I would answer yes.
I was stationed at Ft Benning in the summer of 1971 and on the Permanent Overseas Replacement station to process jump school graduates for assignemnt. At the time, Calley was under house arrest on post. You're right when you say he had much sympathy at the time. A few years latter I had a conversation with one of the JAG prosecuters of Calley on TDY (temporary duty) attached to my National Guard unit. He told me that Calley had such sever mental health issues and was diagnosed as a psychopath, he should never have been inducted in the Army let alone be an officer. At that time, they had an Officer Training Program called "shake and bake" where they took pretty much anyone into the program and was commissioned with as little as 6 weeks of training. The need for any "warm bodies) for that meat grinder as at its peak. While Nixon was bragging about having the lowest troop movement from here to Vietnam since 1965, in preparation for re-election, we were sending troops on 30 day TDY to Germany and then they were backed doored to Vietnam. We were under direct orders not to interpret their orders and tell them their ultimate destination. One of the PORS members did tell one of the guys the truth and he was leveed and on his way to Vietnam as punishment within 3 days. We were lied to a lot back then about the war which lead to the "bad guys" honored and the "good guys" vilified. Thanks for this recounting of that dark day!
I can't stop the tears after reading your story and listening to Hugh Thompson's interview. What a good, good man. There are not enough of them. And his words, solicited after the horrors in Iraq, bring to mind the horrors that are going on in Ukraine on the part of the Russian army and mercenaries. Maybe, as he said, the soldiers who commit these acts are not true soldiers, but hoodlums and terrorists - but it is the training to kill, and war, that brings out the worst.
Sombering, gut-wrenchigj, devastating.
We need to hold this memory.
Thank you
Thanks again Steve!
This is such a well-written, poignant and extremely clear depiction of what happened that day in Vietnam. It was so well covered up that it wasn't known until years later what exactly happened that day.
This soon to be 65 year old man, who was in 4th grade elementary school at the time this occurred, appreciates the fact that you haven't forgotten that day and, hopefully, won't let us forget that day either.
I share in your prayer for the dead!!
One of the most shameful things Trump did while President (out of a very long list) was to pardon convicted war criminal Eddie Gallagher, whose behavior towards Iraqi civilians was so egregious that his own troops reported him. Trump invited him to Mar-A-Lago and posed for pictures with him.
I am convinced that Donald Trump has no idea what honorable soldiering is.
Remember this all too well. Our country til this day has never done right by this atrocity.
I'm sure this is one of the history lessons that teachers will be forbidden to teach if DeSantis and others of his ilk get their way.
We must not forget what we are capable of, both in the depths of our cruelty and the soaring heights of our courage and grace.
This is gut-wrenching and horrific to read, but it is also vital for us to know the truth and understand our history. I was 9 years old when this massacre occurred and unaware of it at the time. I don't recall learning about it in the public school I attended in NJ. which could be my memory failing me or perhaps it was not discussed. I appreciate you bringing it to light and telling us about Hugh Thompson, who truly is a hero we should all know about.
Your story and LTC Thompson’s interview brought me to tears. I’ve also been to My Lai escorting vets and it’s a powerful experience in understanding forgiveness.
What a moving post! Like many of the commentators before me, I was alive when this horror happened but I don’t recall the support for Calley. My parents were liberal and their opinions well-known to me, and the news reports of the massacre as well as other events of the Vietnam War are part of the background of my teen years. How could most Americans support the commander of this massacre? How could Jimmy Carter, of all people, have ordered flags flown at half mast for a brutal killer? How could a convicted murderer have been sentenced to a minimal punishment?We have buried this dreadful incident in our collective memories. Thank you for reminding us that Americans committed war crimes in Vietnam; it’s past time for us to acknowledge our role and formally apologize.
It is another lesson in the life of a human being that these atrocities are so prevalent, not so unusual and that have been happening all over the world for ever.
Look at Ukraine, look at the civil war, ww1, WW2 hatred of another for someone else's vision or desire for power and control. All of this is disgusting and horrifying but it is "Human" unfortunately.
This very moment there are people right now thinking about tearing this country apart for their own self interest. A national "Divorce?" No they are contemplating a "Toned down civil war"!
Hate in all of its socially acceptable forms is the beginning of brutality towards the targets of such emotions.
I can feel the results coming. We must all stop for just a few minutes and think about what may be coming and try to calm down and think less pationately or true calamity will engulf us.
Thank you Steve for shocking us again but try to calm us once in a while if you can please.