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The 1998 Vernon M. & Minnie I. Lynch Lecture
On March 6, 1998, a remarkable event occurred on the Washington mall. Three American veterans of that war were honored for threatening combat with their own fellow soldiers on a day in 1968 that will always be known as "My Lai." Armed only with pistols, these three helicopter crew members stood off the further slaughter of civilians and thus saved the lives of at least a few Vietnam villagers. For their unorthodox bravery, these thirty years later the pentagon has awarded Hugh Thompson, Lawrence Colborn, and Glenn Andreotta post morte, a rare breed of heroes, an event rarer official public recognition. "We have taken too long to recognize them." said Chaplain Donald Shea, "But we are now a richer nation as their personal heroic services is woven into the fabric of our history".