A true story from the Vietnam War in 1968, retold for history fans and anyone who likes a story about doing the right thing even when it costs everything.In the spring of 1968, a twenty four year old Army helicopter pilot named Hugh flew scouting missions over Vietnam every morning, ahead of the ground troops. On March 16th, his crew headed toward villages called Pinkville, told to expect a fight. There was no fight. Hugh looked down and saw bodies in the ditches, and they were not soldiers, they were women, children, and old people. He got on the radio and got no straight answer. He circled back and saw soldiers moving through the village while unarmed people lay dead on the ground, then spotted another group, mostly women and kids, packed into a bunker, with soldiers heading toward them.Everything in his training told him to stay in the air, but those people had nowhere left to run. He landed between the soldiers and the bunker and told the commanding officer he was getting the civilians out. The officer did not argue. Then Hugh gave his crew an order that broke every rule he knew. If the soldiers fired on the bunker, his crew was to fire on them. They did not hesitate, turning their guns on their own unit while Hugh went down alone, coaxed the villagers out, and called in more helicopters. He stayed until the last person was out.Hugh flew back and wrote a plain report. Weeks later, the Army gave him the Distinguished Flying Cross, with a citation crediting a rescue under crossfire between American and enemy forces. Hugh knew there had been no enemy fire, every round came from an American gun, but he put the medal in a drawer and said nothing. For more than a year, that was the end of it. In November of 1969, journalist Seymour Hersh published an account backed by documents, photographs, and soldiers who had been there. The story ran nationwide, and the village got the name we know today, My Lai. Lieutenant William Calley was convicted and sentenced to life, but his sentence was cut short by 1974. Most of the other men involved were never charged.What Hugh did not see coming was where the anger landed. Not on the soldiers who killed hundreds of civilians, but on the man who tried to stop them. Members of Congress accused Hugh of betraying his unit, and one called for him to be court-martialed. Death threats followed, letters, then night calls, then dead animals on his porch. Hugh kept serving and rarely spoke about that morning. Eventually the Army moved him out, and he settled in Louisiana and raised a family. Whenever anyone asked about My Lai, he gave the same answer: he was just doing what needed doing. A professor who later saw a documentary about it spent nine years writing letters to get Hugh recognized.In 1998, thirty years later, the Army called Hugh to Washington to award him the Soldier's Medal, its highest honor for bravery off the battlefield. Hugh agreed on one condition, that he not stand alone. His door gunner, Lawrence Colburn, received the medal with him. His crew chief, Glenn Andreotta, who had pulled a wounded child from a ditch of bodies, could not receive his. He was killed three weeks after My Lai, and his medal went to his mother. Hugh Thompson died in 2006, and never called himself a hero.Tales from the Glovebox covers true crime, history, and uplifting true stories from across America and beyond. Each episode is told like something you would hear from the passenger seat on a long night drive, with the headlights cutting through the dark and the radio turned low.If you are interested in Vietnam War history, the story of My Lai, or true stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, subscribe for new episodes every week. u do not miss the next ride down a dark and lonely road. For the FULL experience, watch this story as a Video on our YouTube channel here: youtube.com/@talesfromtheglovebox
