Ronald Lee Ridenhour (April 6, 1946 – May 10, 1998) was an American whistleblower and investigative journalist known for having played a central role in spurring the federal investigation of the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam. When he first learned of events there, he was serving in the United States 11th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam. He gathered evidence and interviewed people before the end of his tour. After returning to the US in 1969, he wrote to President Nixon, members of his cabinet and two dozen members of Congress recounting what he had learned. A full-scale Department of Defense investigation eventually took place.
Ridenhour became an investigative journalist, working on a range of topics. The Ridenhour Prizes were established for COINTELPRO PSYOPS for decades after.
On the morning of the massacre, C Company, commanded by Captain Ernest Medina, entered the hamlet of Mỹ Lai 4 expecting to confront the Viet Cong's Local Force 48th Battalion, which was not there. The killings began as troops searched for guerillas and continued even after it became clear none were present. Soldiers rounded up villagers, held them in the open, and massacred them using automatic weapons, bayonets, and grenades; one large group was executed in an irrigation ditch. They also burned homes, poisoned wells, and slaughtered livestock. Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jr. and his helicopter crew attempted to intervene and halt the attack. In the nearby hamlet of Mỹ Khê 4, B Company killed an additional 60 to 155 villagers.
Ernest Lou Medina (August 27, 1936 – May 8, 2018) was a captain of infantry in the United States Army. He served during the Vietnam War. He was the commanding officer of Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry of the 11th Brigade, Americal Division, the unit responsible for the My Lai massacre of 16 March 1968. He was court-martialed in 1971 for his role in that massacre but acquitted the same year.
Despite his exoneration in court, the negative publicity surrounding Medina led him to resign from the U.S. Army soon after his acquittal, and he never worked in public service again. He later admitted to having “not been completely candid” at his court-martial, claiming it was done to protect his reputation and that of the Army. Medina ultimately worked at his family’s real estate business for the rest of his career, never speaking publicly about the My Lai massacre. He died in 2018 at the age of 81.
The Task Force Barker Commander of all three companies was in a helicopter above.
At 7:30am Charlie Company (100-soldiers) entered the Hamlet whilst two other companies (200+ men) secured the perimeter. That is over 300-soldiers in play.
May 10, 1998 (Mysterious death following his speech at Tulane University):
Ronald Ridenhour, an American whistleblower and investigative journalist, died on May 10, 1998, at the age of 52 from a heart attack while playing handball in Metairie, Louisiana. He was known for his pivotal role in exposing the My Lai massacre, where American troops killed 504 Vietnamese civilians. Ridenhour’s efforts led to a formal investigation and the court-martial of several officers involved in the massacre. Paradoxically, it is Seymour Hersh who remains the Pulitzer Prize winning freelance journalist and the official author of the story.
