US general charged in My Lai massacre dies

WASHINGTON – Samuel Koster, the highest-ranking US military officer to be charged in the notorious My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, has died at the age of 86, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

Koster died of renal failure on January 23 at his home in Annapolis, Maryland, the newspaper said. On March 16 1968, the US general flew over the village of My Lai before and after troops in his division killed up to 504 Vietnamese civilians, including as many as 210 children, without cause.Lower-ranking officers later testified that Koster had broken into a radio conversation and overruled an order to count the dead in My Lai.He never forwarded internal reports on the incident to his superiors.No shots were fired at US forces and no US soldiers were wounded in the atrocity that galvanised domestic opposition to the war in the United States.Koster said afterward that he believed only 20 civilians had died and he was told about “wild shooting” as well as a confrontation between ground troops and a helicopter pilot, Hugh Thompson, who tried to stop the killing of civilians.Thompson, remembered now as a hero for his intervention, died last month at the age of 62.He was buried with full military honours.Koster, who commanded the largest division in Vietnam, left in June 1968 to become superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point.When a discharged soldier wrote to the Pentagon about the My Lai massacre, a secret investigation was launched.In March 1970, Koster and 13 other officers were charged with dereliction of duty and failure to follow orders.Koster resigned from West Point, but all charges against him were eventually dropped.A public outcry led the military to demote Koster a rank to brigadier general, strip him of his Distinguished Service Medal and place a letter of censure in his file.The only soldier convicted for the My Lai massacre was Lieutenant William Calley, who was sentenced to life in prison.President Richard Nixon reduced his sentence to several years of house arrest.Born in West Liberty, Iowa, in 1919, Koster fought in the infantry in Europe during World War II and helped liberate a Nazi death camp.- Nampa-AFPOn March 16 1968, the US general flew over the village of My Lai before and after troops in his division killed up to 504 Vietnamese civilians, including as many as 210 children, without cause.Lower-ranking officers later testified that Koster had broken into a radio conversation and overruled an order to count the dead in My Lai.He never forwarded internal reports on the incident to his superiors.No shots were fired at US forces and no US soldiers were wounded in the atrocity that galvanised domestic opposition to the war in the United States.Koster said afterward that he believed only 20 civilians had died and he was told about “wild shooting” as well as a confrontation between ground troops and a helicopter pilot, Hugh Thompson, who tried to stop the killing of civilians.Thompson, remembered now as a hero for his intervention, died last month at the age of 62.He was buried with full military honours.Koster, who commanded the largest division in Vietnam, left in June 1968 to become superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point.When a discharged soldier wrote to the Pentagon about the My Lai massacre, a secret investigation was launched.In March 1970, Koster and 13 other officers were charged with dereliction of duty and failure to follow orders.Koster resigned from West Point, but all charges against him were eventually dropped.A public outcry led the military to demote Koster a rank to brigadier general, strip him of his Distinguished Service Medal and place a letter of censure in his file.The only soldier convicted for the My Lai massacre was Lieutenant William Calley, who was sentenced to life in prison.President Richard Nixon reduced his sentence to several years of house arrest.Born in West Liberty, Iowa, in 1919, Koster fought in the infantry in Europe during World War II and helped liberate a Nazi death camp.- Nampa-AFP