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NEW YORK - On a March morning in 1968, American troops swept into a village on South Vietnam's central coast in search of communist guerrillas. Instead, they found unarmed civilians — and gunned them down, leaving bodies huddled in ditches. Nearly four decades later, the notorious name of that hamlet — My Lai — has been summoned from memory again, as the U.S. military investigates allegations of mass civilian killings by a group of Marines in the western Iraqi town of Haditha. While the numbers differ — upward of 300 at My Lai, compared to 24 at Haditha — some...

NEW ORLEANS A former Army helicopter pilot who saved Vietnamese civilians from American G-I's during the My Lai (mee ly) massacre, has died. Hugh Thompson, whose role in the 1968 massacre wasn't known until decades later, was 62. A friend and biographer says Thompson died of cancer. Thompson landed a helicopter among U-S troops who were killing Vietnamese civilians. He and others pointed their own guns at their fellow troops to prevent other deaths. He told The Associated Press in a 1998 interview that the people in My Lai "were looking at me for help and there was no way...

My Lai Massacre Hero Thompson Dead Friday, January 06, 2006 NEW ORLEANS — Hugh Thompson Jr., a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot honored for rescuing Vietnamese civilians from his fellow GIs during the My Lai massacre, died early Friday. He was 62. Thompson, whose role in the 1968 massacre did not become widely known until decades later, died at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Alexandria, hospital spokesman Jay DeWorth said. Trent Angers, Thompson's biographer and family friend, said Thompson died of cancer. "These people were looking at me for help and there was no way I could turn my...

Just heard Hugh Thompson passed away. While many people don't know Hugh by name, most remember "the helicopter pilot," generally credited with putting a stop to the My Lai massacre. Hugh lived close by, and up until I quit drinking a few years back, Hugh and I spent more than a few hours together in the bars. After retiring from the Army, Hugh went to work with the Louisiana Department of Veteran Affairs. We disagreed on some politics, but agreed on many things in life in general. God bless you Hugh. Rest in Peace buddy.