"It was the ability to do the right thing even at the
risk of their personal safety that guided these soldiers to do what
they did. [They] set the standard for all soldiers to
follow."
Source: Army Maj. Gen. Michael Ackerman, in a
1998 ceremony honoring US Army pilot Hugh Thompson, Jr., Lawrence
Colburn and Glenn Andreotta with the Soldier's Medal, the highest
award for bravery not involving conflict with an enemy. The men
were awarded the honor for their heroic efforts to stop the 1968 My
Lai Massacre. Thompson -- who passed away last week --
landed their helicopter between attacking US soldiers and
Vietnamese civilians, as Colburn and Andreotta trained their door
guns on the troops to prevent further attack.