Ernest Medina

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Ernest Lou Medina (born August 27, 1936 in Springer , New Mexico - † May 8, 2018 ) was an American officer . He was a captain in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and company commander of C Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, 11th Brigade, 23rd (Americal) Division , the unit responsible for the My Lai massacre in 1968. Soldiers from this US Army unit murdered 504 civilians in the My Lai massacre.

Life

Ernest Medina was born into a Mexican-American family.

According to research by General William R. Peers in 1970:

  • Medina informed his men that anyone in the village of Son My could be a Viet Cong or a sympathizer.
  • planned, commanded and supervised the conduct of an illegal operation by his company against inhabited settlements in Son My, including destroying houses by burning, killing cattle, destroying food and closing wells; implicitly killing all people found
  • he possibly killed up to three civilians
  • he actively suppressed information about the killing of civilians.

Captain Medina faced a court martial in 1971 for deliberately allowing his men to murder civilians in My Lai. Medina's defense, led by Francis Lee Bailey , claimed that Medina did not realize that his men were out of control until it was too late.

Medina was acquitted , but his military career was over.

Lieutenant William Calley , the platoon leader who served in Medina's C Company during the massacre and who said he obeyed Medina's orders, has been convicted of several crimes. Calley spent three and a half years under house arrest , was pardoned by Richard Nixon in 1974 , and then released by a federal judge.

After retiring from the Army, Medina worked for the Enstrom Helicopter Manufacturing Company in Menominee , Michigan , owned by former defense attorney Francis Lee Bailey. In 2004 he was the assistant governor of Rotary International in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary , accessed May 12, 2018
  2. ↑ Peers Report: Captain Ernest Medina ( Memento of the original dated May 8, 1999 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.law.umkc.edu
  3. ↑ Judge Howard's summary of the evidence surrounding the crucial question of knowledge in United States v. Captain Ernest L. Medina ( Memento of the original from June 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.law.umkc.edu
  4. ↑ Biography of Ernest L. Medina ( Memento of the original from November 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.law.umkc.edu
  5. ^ Rotary International Newsletter, District 6220 ( Memento February 29, 2008 on the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Medina, Ernest
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Medina, Ernest Lou (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer in the Vietnam War
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Springer , New Mexico
DATE OF DEATH May 8, 2018