Ernest Medina
Encyclopedia
Ernest Lou Medina is a former captain of infantry in the United States Army
. He served during the Vietnam War
and was acquitted in a court-martial
of war crime
s charges in 1971. 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.
Recent discoveries and actual declarations of survivors and soldiers of his platoon acknowledge his culpability in the My Lai massacre.
at Fort Benning
, Georgia
.
, Medina:
Captain Medina was court-martial
ed in 1971 for willingly allowing his men to murder My Lai noncombatants. Medina denied all the charges, and claimed that he never gave any orders to kill Vietnamese noncombatants. Medina's defense team, led by F. Lee Bailey, alleged that his men killed Vietnamese noncombatants under their own volition and not under Medina's orders. Medina also testified that he did not become aware that his troops were out of control at My Lai until it was too late.
Medina also strongly denied killing any Vietnamese noncombatant at My Lai, with the exception of a young woman whom two soldiers testified that they found hiding in a ditch and when she emerged with her hands held up, Medina shot her. Medina claimed that he thought that the unarmed woman had a grenade in which Bailey and his lawyers brought up many incidents during the Vietnam War of Viet Cong suspects and sympathizers faking surrending in order to get close to American military personnel to try to harm or kill them with hidden pistols or grenades.
In August 1971, Medina was ultimately found not guilty of all charges relating to the deaths of more than 500 South Vietnamese civilians in the massacre. His trial deliberations lasted approximately 60 minutes. Nevertheless, his military career was finished and Medina resigned from the U.S. Army shortly thereafter.
Lieutenant
William Calley
, a platoon leader serving in Medina's company during the massacre and who claimed he was following orders from Medina, was found guilty of various crimes. Calley ultimately served 3½ years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning, Georgia and was released in 1974 by a federal judge.
. He lives in Marinette, Wisconsin
.
Vietnam protest song "Last Train to Nuremberg" (1970).
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He served during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and was acquitted in a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s charges in 1971. He was the commanding officer of Company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry of the 11th Brigade, Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...
, the unit responsible for the My Lai Massacre
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
of 16 March 1968.
Recent discoveries and actual declarations of survivors and soldiers of his platoon acknowledge his culpability in the My Lai massacre.
Background
Ernest Medina was born into a Mexican-American family in Springer, New Mexico. He was known as a "tough, able soldier" who had excelled as a non-commissioned officer, and graduated fourth in his class of two hundred at Officer Candidate SchoolOfficer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School or Officer Cadet School are institutions which train civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country....
at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Court-martial
According to the 1970 investigation by General William R. PeersWilliam R. Peers
William R. Peers was a United States Army General, who is most notable for presiding over the Peers Commission investigation into the My Lai massacre and other similar war crimes during the Vietnam War.-Biography:...
, Medina:
- Informed his men that any of the residents in Son My Village might be Viet Cong or sympathizers. This caused many of the men in his company to believe they would find only armed enemy in the hamlets and directly contributed to the killing of unarmed noncombatants which followed.
- Planned, ordered and supervised the execution by his company of an unlawful operation against inhabited hamlets in Son My Village, which included the destruction of houses by burning, killing of livestock, and the destruction of crops and other foodstuffs, and the closing of wells; and implicitly directed the killing of any persons found there.
- Possibly personally killed as many as three noncombatants in My Lai.
- Actively suppressed information concerning the killing of noncombatants in Son My Village.
Captain Medina was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed in 1971 for willingly allowing his men to murder My Lai noncombatants. Medina denied all the charges, and claimed that he never gave any orders to kill Vietnamese noncombatants. Medina's defense team, led by F. Lee Bailey, alleged that his men killed Vietnamese noncombatants under their own volition and not under Medina's orders. Medina also testified that he did not become aware that his troops were out of control at My Lai until it was too late.
Medina also strongly denied killing any Vietnamese noncombatant at My Lai, with the exception of a young woman whom two soldiers testified that they found hiding in a ditch and when she emerged with her hands held up, Medina shot her. Medina claimed that he thought that the unarmed woman had a grenade in which Bailey and his lawyers brought up many incidents during the Vietnam War of Viet Cong suspects and sympathizers faking surrending in order to get close to American military personnel to try to harm or kill them with hidden pistols or grenades.
In August 1971, Medina was ultimately found not guilty of all charges relating to the deaths of more than 500 South Vietnamese civilians in the massacre. His trial deliberations lasted approximately 60 minutes. Nevertheless, his military career was finished and Medina resigned from the U.S. Army shortly thereafter.
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
William Calley
William Calley
William Laws Calley is a convicted American war criminal and a former U.S. Army officer found guilty of murder for his role in the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War.-Early life:...
, a platoon leader serving in Medina's company during the massacre and who claimed he was following orders from Medina, was found guilty of various crimes. Calley ultimately served 3½ years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning, Georgia and was released in 1974 by a federal judge.
Post-military
After resigning from the army, Medina went to work at an Enstrom Helicopter Corporation plant owned by F. Lee Bailey in Menominee, MichiganMenominee, Michigan
Menominee is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,131. It is the county seat of Menominee County. Menominee is the fourth-largest city in the Upper Peninsula, behind Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Escanaba...
. He lives in Marinette, Wisconsin
Marinette, Wisconsin
Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,749 at the 2000 census.Marinette is the principal city of the Marinette, WI–MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marinette County, Wisconsin and Menominee...
.
Cultural references
Medina is mentioned by name in the first stanza of Pete Seeger'sPete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
Vietnam protest song "Last Train to Nuremberg" (1970).
- "Do I see Lieutenant Calley? Do I see Captain Medina? Do I see Gen'ral Koster and all his crew?"
External links
- Hugh Thompson Foundation web site: (501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Lawrence Colburn in honor of Hugh Thompson): http://www.hughthompson.org
- Biography of Ernest Medina
- Court Martial Documents
- Trial Transcript
- INTO THE DARK: THE My Lai Massacre
- Ernest Medina Trial Watch
- Famous American Trials - My Lai Courts Martial 1970
- Word of Honor, Nelson DeMille 1985.