Hugh Thompson Jr was born on April 15th, 1943 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He attended Troy State University for a short time but soon dropped out to volunteer in the US Navy in the Seabee construction unit. After a three years in the Navy, he returned home to work in the civilian world for a few years. In 1966, Thompson joined the US Army as a helicopter pilot. He was deployed to Vietnam shortly after enlisting and was assigned to Bravo Company and often conducted support missions for Charlie Company as well.
In the My Lai mission, Thompson's job was to draw fire from the Vietcong soldiers and report back with the enemy's locations. However, he would soon realize that the soldiers they expected to ambush were across the Quang Ngai province and the people being attacked were innocent civilians. Once Thompson came to this realization, he and his helicopter crew attempted to confront Medina, Calley, and the rest of Charlie Company. Despite his efforts, Charlie Company did not halt their mission. Thompson took matters into his own hands and attempted to rescue whatever civilians he could, though he was only able to save 12 to 15 civilians.
Once the mission was called to an end, Thompson and his crew returned to base and immediately reported the incident to his superior officers. He later realized that his superiors were trying to silence the reports, even if that meant getting rid of Thompson. Throughout the investigation process and even shortly after, Thompson was ostracized for seeking justice in the matter. Despite the oppression, Thompson traveled advocating for soldiers to speak up against immoral acts in the military. He was finally recognized for his efforts in 1998, 30 years after the incident, when he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for his courage and valor. In an interview with AP in 2004, Thompson reflected on the event saying: "Don't do the right thing looking for a reward, because it might not come." He died on January 6, 2006.