Glenn Andreotta

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Glenn Urban Andreotta (born October 30, 1947 in Newton , New Jersey , † April 8, 1968 in Quang Ngai City ) was a member of a helicopter crew during the Vietnam War . He intervened in the My Lai massacre by US soldiers of Vietnamese civilians , in which more than 500 people were murdered.

Early years

Glenn Andreotta had ancestors from Italy . He was born in Newton , New Jersey and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He dropped out of high school to join the army. In Vietnam he was initially employed as a radio technician. On November 12, 1967, he was transferred to the 161st Assault Helicopter Company . He reached the rank of Specialist Four and served as crew chief on a Hiller OH-23 Raven for aerial reconnaissance; its pilot was Warrant Officer One Hugh Thompson, Jr. and its gunner was Specialist Four Lawrence Colburn .

The massacre

In the early morning of March 16, 1968, Andreotta saw no hostile fire around My Lai.

His helicopter flew two prisoners into a detention center and returned to My Lai when the crew found wounded civilians there who appeared to need help and had previously been marked with green smoke cartridges. Andreotta wanted to provide them medically. They noticed that the wounded were all dead and the markings removed. From the helicopter they could see that Captain Ernest Medina kicked and then shot a civilian lying on the ground.

The helicopter flew over an irrigation ditch with bodies in it, whereupon the crew informed the superiors via radio.

The helicopter landed and Thompson spoke to Second Lieutenant William Calley :

Thompson: "What's going on here, Lieutenant?" (What's going on, Lieutenant?)
Calley: "This is my business." ( This is my business )
Thompson: “What is this? Who are these people? " (What is that? Who are these people?)
Calley: “Just following orders.” (I'm just following orders .)
Thompson: “Orders? Whose orders? " (Orders? Whose orders?)
Calley: "Just Following ..." (Follow merely ...)
Thompson: "But, these are human beings, unarmed civilians, sir!" (But these are human beings, unarmed civilians , sir)
Calley: "Look Thompson, this is my show. I'm in charge here. It ain't your concern. " (Pay attention to Thompson, this is my business here. I'm in charge here. It's none of your business.)
Thompson: "Yeah, great job!" (Yes, great work)
Calley: "You better get back in that chopper and mind your own business." (You'd better get back in your helicopter and take care of your own business)
Thompson: "You ain't heard the last of this!" (The last word has not yet been spoken!)

Thompson picked up and Andreotta reported that Soldier Mitchell continued to execute people. Thompson noticed a group of civilians fleeing in a panic and hiding in a bunker. They were followed by American soldiers. Thompson ended up between the chasers and the hunted, telling Colburn and Andreotta to open fire on US soldiers if they tried to murder civilians. Thompson got out and spoke to train conductor Stephen Brooks. He told him that he wanted to get the civilians out of the bunker. Brooks suggested that he throw a hand grenade in the bunker. Thompson, who was lower in rank than Brooks, tried to argue with him. With the help of two Bell UH-1 gunships, he managed to evacuate a total of eleven Vietnamese. While flying on, Thompson discovered a living child in an irrigation ditch, which Andreotta brought out. Thompson later expressed his respect for Andreotta for having managed to save the child from among the bodies. Although there were still seriously wounded people begging for help there, the crew had to leave them behind.

Thompson flew the injured to the hospital in Quảng Ngãi and then reported the massacre to Lieutenant Colonel Frank Barker.

death

Andreotta fell three weeks later. He was involved in a combat mission near Quang Ngai City . There his helicopter was shot at from the ground and he was shot in the head. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for saving the Vietnamese. The Soldier's Medal followed later (1998) . Major General Michael Ackerman said at the ceremony: "Andreotta and his comrades have set a standard that all other soldiers should follow."

His name is on the Vietnam Wall , the memorial to the US fallen.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Trent Angers: The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story. Acadian House, Lafayette 1999, p. 117.
  2. ↑ Trent Angers: The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story. Acadian House, Lafayette 1999, pp. 119f.
  3. ^ A b Trent Angers: The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story. Acadian House, Lafayette 1999, p. 124.
  4. ↑ Moral Courage In Combat: The My Lai Story . (PDF) In: USNA Lecture . August.
  5. ↑ Additional Statements (PDF) In: The Congressional Record (Senate) . 1998. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ Microchip Names (A) . NASA - Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology. Last updated July 16, 2001, accessed February 24, 2011
  7. ↑ http://www.virtualwall.org/da/AndreottaGU01a.htm
personal data
SURNAME Andreotta, Glenn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Andreotta, Glenn Urban (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American military helicopter pilot
DATE OF BIRTH October 30, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Newton , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH April 8, 1968
Place of death at Quang Ngai City