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' » ' 11 nrr i Ilf*allegations wore coming from South Vietnamese officials and detailed time, place and U.S. units involved.No Conclusions Drawn Hebert's subcommittee drew no conclusions on what actually happened at My Lai and made no reference to criminal charges against 12 GIs. including Medina and plaUion leader Lt. William L. Calley Jr. The charges range from officer responsibility for the deaths to murder, rape and maiming.The initial field inquiry was as much concerned with reports of a “machine gun confrontation’* between helicopter pilot Thompson and an unnamed platoon leader, one officer testified, as with Thompson's report of civilian killings.Denies Gun Order Thompson denied ordering guns trained on the GIs or believing he was threatened by them, the report said, even though he said the platoon leader had told him the only way to get civilians out of a bunker to rescue them was with a hand grenade.The report quoted one of Thompson’s gunners. Lawrence Colburn, as saying the pilot told the gunners to shoot any GIs m-i\ i * • i ■ i'ii i r-'i nr nctempt but didn't mean it The committee said the “cover up” of the My Lai allegations cannot be solely blamed on Hosier's America! Division. The staff of the sena r U.S. provuice adviser. James May. and senior advisers to the South Vietnamese division alo wen* receiving rejHirts that should have gone to Saigon, the .subcommittee said.Troops Not At Fault May told the subcommittee he never heard the allegations, while Koster testified he did not report to headquarters in Saigon because he believed the field investigation showed “his troop6 were not at fault.'*That was the finding of a five-page report, found in a sergeant’s desk drawer, by Col. Oran K. Henderson. 11th Brigade commander, the subcommittee said.It said there is not a shred of evidence other than the state -ments of Koster and Henderson, that Lt. Col. Frank Barker, the task force commander who was later killed, conducted a subsequent investigation into allegations that more than 20 Vietnamese civilians had been killed.
Newspaper Details
Escanaba Daily Press
Escanaba, Michigan, US
Wed, Jul 15, 1970
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Full Page
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Badgerlink
WI, USA 27 Jan 2017
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