Oran Henderson

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Oran Henderson
23rd Infantry Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
AwardsSilver Star (5)
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star (5)
Purple Heart (4)[1][2]

Oran Kenneth Henderson

dereliction of duty for failing to carry out an adequate investigation and lying to Army investigators. He was the highest-ranking Army officer to be tried in connection with the killings. Prior to the Vietnam War, Henderson had served as an infantry officer in World War II and the Korean War.[1]

Early life and education

Henderson was born on August 25, 1920, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He enlisted in the Army on April 12, 1939, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on January 7, 1943.

My Lai and trial

On 16 March 1968, Henderson took over as commander for the 11th Infantry Brigade. He would oversee a battalion-sized operation to clear

Hugh Thompson, Jr., a helicopter pilot who had intervened in the massacre and issued an official report describing what he saw.[5] Despite the report, Henderson issued a commendation for Captain Ernest Medina, the commander of one of the companies involved in the killings and even after interviewing several soldiers involved in the operation, issued a report stating only twenty civilians had been inadvertently killed by artillery fire.[6][7][8] In his report, Henderson called widespread reports that hundreds of civilians had been killed "propaganda" to discredit U.S. and ARVN forces.[9]

In 1970, three charges were brought against Henderson including failing to carry out a thorough investigation of the killings, failing to report possible atrocities to his division commander Brigadier General Samuel W. Koster, and lying to a Pentagon inquiry. In the case, Henderson's defense counsel argued that he had conducted an honest investigation but was misled by his subordinates including Captain Medina while prosecutors contended he hid evidence in order to preserve his rank and command. On 18 December 1971, after a 62-day trial in Fort George G. Meade which heard 106 witnesses, Henderson was acquitted by a jury of two generals and five colonels. After his acquittal, he stated that the verdict "reaffirms the confidence any Army man can have in the military system."[10]

Later life

After leaving the Army in 1974, Henderson became head of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, where he oversaw responses to devastating floods in 1977 and the Three Mile Island accident. He recommended a 10 miles (16 km) radius evacuation in response and later testified to Congress regarding the incident.[11][12]

Death

Henderson died of pancreatic cancer on June 2, 1998, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. ^ a b "Oran Henderson, 77, Dies; Acquitted in My Lai Case". The New York Times. 1998-06-05. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  2. ^ "Oran K. Henderson". Military Times. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  3. ^ a b c U.S. Army Register: Active and Retired Lists. Vol. I. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. 1959-01-01. p. 449. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  4. ^ a b c U.S. Army Register: Active and Retired List. Vol. I. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. 1966-01-01. p. 252. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  5. ^ Angers (1999), pp. 219โ€“20.
  6. ^ "TOP OFFICER AT MY LAI MASSACRE". chicagotribune.com. 1998-06-06. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  7. ^ "My Lai: the cover-up". BBC News. 1998-03-13. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  8. ^ Goeller, David (1996-12-04). "Flashback: This Month in History". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  9. ^ "Digital History". UH. 1968-03-16. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  10. ^ "Col. Henderson Acquitted In Last of the Mylai Cases". The New York Times. 1971-12-18. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  11. .
  12. ^ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Subcommittee on Military Installations and Facilities (1979). Civil defense aspects of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident: hearings before the Military Installations and Facilities Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 87โ€“.