It’s not the best sourcing, but if this post is valid, Hugh Thompson has died.

My Lai means different things to the different people. I still remember the Life magazine cover with Lt. Calley on it. To the left, it was big news, because it was emblematic of the war, and validated their belief that US soldiers were wanton baby killers, and that they’d finally gotten caught in the act. To others, it was big news because it was so anomalous and out of character for American troops. The actions of Hugh, and others, who put an end to it when they discovered what was going on (and the fact that Calley was court martialed) would seem to me to be much stronger evidence for the latter thesis than the former.

But the myths of My Lai continue to permeate thought and discussion of the war that we’re in now, almost four decades later, and were a backdrop to John Kerry’s despicable 1972 Senate testimony that was in itself part of the context of last year’s campaign, even if many wanted to brush it under the carpet.

[Update at 2:50 PM EST]

Here’s the story. RIP