Samuel W. Koster: Difference between revisions
m Robot - Moving category American World War II veterans to American military personnel of World War II per CFD at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2007 February 2. |
m Robot - Moving category Vietnam War veterans to Military personnel of the Vietnam War per CFD at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2007 February 2. |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
[[Category:American military personnel of World War II|Koster, Samuel]] |
[[Category:American military personnel of World War II|Koster, Samuel]] |
||
[[Category:Military personnel of the Korean War|Koster, Samuel]] |
[[Category:Military personnel of the Korean War|Koster, Samuel]] |
||
[[Category:Vietnam War |
[[Category:Military personnel of the Vietnam War|Koster, Samuel]] |
||
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit|Koster, Samuel]] |
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit|Koster, Samuel]] |
||
[[Category:United States Army generals|Koster, Samuel]] |
[[Category:United States Army generals|Koster, Samuel]] |
||
Revision as of 03:57, 17 February 2007
Samuel W. Koster (29 December 1919—23 January 2006 was a United States Army officer and the highest-ranking officer charged and punished for his role in the My Lai massacre.
Born in West Liberty, Iowa, Koster graduated from West Point in 1942. He was a regimental executive officer in Europe in World War II and directed the Eighth Army's guerrilla warfare operations in the Korean War. Koster became a major general in command of the Americal Division in 1967. Some of the unit's soldiers killed hundreds of defenseless men, women and children at My Lai on March 16, 1968.
Early in 1970, General Koster and 13 other officers were charged with trying to cover up the massacre. Charges were dropped after the Army determined he "did not show any intentional abrogation of responsibilities," but he was censured, stripped of a Distinguished Service Medal and demoted one rank, to brigadier general for failing to conduct an adequate investigation.
His decorations included the Silver Star, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.
See also
References
Stout, David (February 11, 2006). Gen. S.W. Koster, 86, Who Was Demoted After My Lai, Dies. New York Times