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the other member, Krichten agreed to assist the prosecution. The trial began in June. Schwarz was found guilty of 12 counts of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor and dishonorably discharged. Green was found guilty of 15 counts of unpremeditated murder. He was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor and dishonorably discharged. Green was surprised by the leniency of his own sentence, remarking "Five years for that?"
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471:, the Marine Corps platoon commander and company commander in the Son Thang area, Green's dishonorable discharge was upgraded to a general discharge. However this was a moot point since Green shot himself in July 1975. Following his acquittal, Herrod was discharged. In 1991, he wrote a book about his court-martial called
407:
Upon arriving at Sơn Thắng, the team had encountered three small huts in the area. They had ordered the inhabitants, all women and young children out. Herrod had then ordered the team to fire upon the group, killing them all. The team then proceeded to a second hut and did the same there. Following
387:
A five-man Marine "hunter-killer" patrol led by Lance
Corporal Randell D. Herrod, who had been in the country for seven months, alongside Private Thomas R. Boyd Jr., PFC Samuel G. Green, PFC Michael A. Schwarz and Lance Corporal Michael S. Krichten had been in Vietnam for only a month, was sent out
438:
On 23 February, Ambort was removed from command and the next day a pre-trial investigation commenced which charged the five
Marines on the patrol with murder. Ambort received a letter of reprimand and fine for making a false report. On 15 May, four members of the patrol were court-martialed, while
368:(VC) killed in a firefight. These incidents were reported by civilians and charges were brought against the Marines. Four Marines were court-martialed and one was sentenced to five years in prison and the other to life, but Major General
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The Sơn Thắng hamlet was located 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of
Firebase Ross. They villagers had previously been told to move to a "safe-zone" in the region, but they declined.
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The following morning, after advice from
Vietnamese civilians, another Marine patrol entered Sơn Thắng and found the dead. Marines Battalion headquarters challenged
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The
Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2nd Edition [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History
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this, the team had come upon a third hut and proceeded to also kill all of the inhabitants. Overall, seven women and nine children were killed.
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on 19 February 1970, in which seven women and nine children were killed. The
Marines reported the civilians killed as being
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Herrod and Boyd were both acquitted. Extremely favorable testimony as character witness was given by Herrod's friend,
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Upon returning to the base, the team "reported a fire-fight with 15-20 Việt Cộng" and that six enemies were killed.
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reduced each of
Schwartz and Green's sentences to one year. They were both released from prison in 1971.
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Lewis Ambort, had ordered the team to avenge the company's casualties and "get some gooks tonight."
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Ambort's after action report and he eventually admitted to having falsified it. On 20 February,
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545:. History and Museums Division Headquarters United States Marine Corps.
453:
The massacre and its legal implications were written about by
Professor
728:"Blue's Bastards : A True Story of Valor... book by Randy Herrod"
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On 12 February, a VC ambush had killed nine
Marines from Company B,
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
542:
US Marines in
Vietnam Vietnamization and Redeployment 1970-1971
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that a "possible serious incident" had occurred at Sơn Thắng.
604:"U. S. Marine Gets 5‐Year Term For Murder of 15 Vietnamese"
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579:
Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
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In 1977, at the urging of Future Secretary of the Navy
475:. Herrod died on 22 September 2017, at the age of 68.
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803:Vietnam War crimes committed by the United States
473:Blue's Bastards: A True Story of Valor Under Fire
457:, a Marine Corps veteran and law professor at
808:United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War
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8:
694:"Marine Out of Prison For Vietnam Slayings"
372:reduced each sentence to less than a year.
753:"1970-71 Preamble: Discipline In Disarray"
582:. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 47–48.
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813:Massacres committed by the United States
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658:"The Abiding Riddle of Oliver North"
499:Tucker, Spencer C. (20 May 2011).
360:) was a massacre conducted by the
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843:Events that led to courts-martial
463:Son Thang: An American War Crime.
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291:Vietnam War Crimes Working Group
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656:Art Harris (23 December 1986).
576:Turse, Nick (15 January 2013).
770:"Randall Dean Herrod Obituary"
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838:History of Quảng Nam province
828:February 1970 events in Asia
818:Massacres in the Vietnam War
637:"The Puzzle of Oliver North"
296:Winter Soldier Investigation
45:Sơn Thắng massacre (Vietnam)
428:III Marine Amphibious Force
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505:. ABC-CLIO. p. 1054.
382:1st Battalion, 7th Marines
362:United States Marine Corps
113:1st Battalion, 7th Marines
392:. The company commander,
286:Viet Cong and PAVN terror
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223:Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất
539:Cosmas, Graham (1986).
357:[ʂəːŋ˧˧tʰaŋ˦˧˥]
774:www.tributearchive.com
833:1970 in South Vietnam
459:Georgetown University
103:16 women and children
183:U.S. Embassy bombing
666:. Washington, D.C.
663:The Washington Post
448:Charles F. Widdecke
420:1st Marine Division
370:Charles F. Widdecke
698:The New York Times
610:. 16 August 1970.
608:The New York Times
309:Sơn Thắng massacre
268:Cai Lậy schoolyard
62:Quang Nam Province
21:Sơn Thắng massacre
823:Massacres in 1970
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619:. Retrieved
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173:Huế Phật Đản
108:Perpetrators
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732:ThriftBooks
711:15 February
353:Vietnamese:
281:Tiger Force
243:Thanh Phong
156:Vietnam War
154:during the
111:Company B,
89:Attack type
56:Sơn Thắng,
797:Categories
680:1330888409
479:References
469:James Webb
376:Background
706:0362-4331
672:0190-8286
616:0362-4331
434:Aftermath
263:Highway 1
248:Sơn Thắng
779:17 March
737:17 March
621:3 August
403:Massacre
366:Vietcong
253:Thạnh Mỹ
203:Bình Hòa
198:Bình Tai
168:Châu Đốc
94:Massacre
53:Location
258:Đức Dục
238:Sơn Trà
213:Đắk Sơn
208:Thủy Bồ
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233:Mỹ Lai
100:Deaths
80:Target
756:(PDF)
388:from
228:Hà My
781:2023
739:2023
713:2023
702:ISSN
676:OCLC
668:ISSN
623:2022
612:ISSN
584:ISBN
547:ISBN
507:ISBN
347:TANG
345:sən-
307:The
72:Date
218:Huế
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
