Ernest Medina, key figure in My Lai Massacre, dies at 81

MILWAUKEE» Former Army Capt. Ernest L. Medina, a key figure in the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War, has died in Wisconsin. He was 81.

Medina was an Army captain on March 16, 1968, when American troops under his command killed hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians. He was acquitted in a courtmartial over the massacre.

Medina died May 8, according to an obituary written by his family. No cause of death was given.

It wasn’t until more than a year later that the massacre became public.

Medina was accused of responsibility in the deaths of at least 182 civilians. Medina, whose platoon took up a position in reserve outside the village, said during his trial that he was not with the soldiers when the massacre happened and that he didn’t know about it until it was over. Medina acknowledged killing one woman, but said he believed she was about to attack him.

Lt. William L. Calley Jr., who led the first platoon into My Lai, was the only one convicted of the 25 men originally charged.

In a 1988 interview with The Associated Press, Medina looked back on My Lai as a “horrendous thing” that never should have happened.

“I have regrets for it, but I have no guilt over it because I didn’t cause it,” he said. “That’s not what the military, particularly the United States Army, is trained for.”

Medina was born in Springer, N.M, to Simon and Pauline Medina. Medina’s mother died shortly after his birth and his grandparents raised him in Montrose, according to his family’s obituary.

Medina lied about his age to join the Colorado National Guard at 16, his family said. In 1956, he enlisted in the Army after briefly considering joining the seminary.