Ronald Ridenhour's letter — Artefacts History

This is the only spare copy of his three-page letter that Ronald Ridenhour kept (it is still unsigned).Ron arrived in Vietnam by ship in December 1967, but had moved out of the infantry to serve in helicopters. In late April 1968 he heard about a ma… — This is the only spare copy of his three-page letter that Ronald Ridenhour kept (it is still unsigned).
Ron arrived in Vietnam by ship in December 1967, but had moved out of the infantry to serve in helicopters. In late April 1968 he heard about a massacre at “Pinkville” (My Lai) from a friend of his who had been there in ‘C’ Company. Ron knew he’d be in Vietnam for another eight or nine months. During the remainder of his tour of duty he talked with other men he knew who had been at My Lai and tried to track down evidence to verify the sketchy information he had.

Transcript: R Ridenhour on bill of rights

This powerful clip is from Ronald Ridenhour’s testimony before the Peers Inquiry. His letter was directly responsible for triggering investigations by the army and then by politicians too. The most comprehensive of those investigations was carried out for General Westmoreland by Lieutenant General William (Ray) Peers from November 1969 to March 1970 and became known as the Peers Inquiry.

Bear in mind that Ron was an ordinary GI, a conscript. He didn’t know much about how the administration side of the army worked and he had never done anything like this before. These were serious allegations, accusations of war crimes and a cover-up… — Bear in mind that Ron was an ordinary GI, a conscript. He didn’t know much about how the administration side of the army worked and he had never done anything like this before. These were serious allegations, accusations of war crimes and a cover-up by senior officers. With no authority or special access he had to start from scratch, trying to work out where he could obtain information on a massacre without raising suspicions. With months still to serve, he was very vulnerable while he was still “in country”. He could be sent anywhere and given any assignment.

Ron knew that if anyone in command got wind of what he was up to they could make his life very unpleasant. While in Vietnam he never wrote down any notes about his findings, he kept all the information in the only really safe place, in his head. Whe… — Ron knew that if anyone in command got wind of what he was up to they could make his life very unpleasant. While in Vietnam he never wrote down any notes about his findings, he kept all the information in the only really safe place, in his head. When he was back in the USA he set about writing the fullest account of the story he could as he knew it. He hadn’t found Lt William Calley’s name, he’d only ever heard it, so he wrote that down phonetically.

Mr Ridenhour’s files include this cutting from the Oakland Tribune, published on December 3rd 1969. He was living in Claremont, California at the time, so this is a local newspaper. The article reprints his letter. By this time the US Army had decid… — Mr Ridenhour’s files include this cutting from the Oakland Tribune, published on December 3rd 1969. He was living in Claremont, California at the time, so this is a local newspaper. The article reprints his letter. By this time the US Army had decided to mount a secret investigation of the allegations he’d made. It would become known as “The Peers Inquiry”.

More clippings from Mr Ridenhour’s files

Another newspaper clipping on My Lai from Mr Ridenhour’s files

Ronald Ridenhour and Hugh Thompson rarely spoke together in public. This link is to the transcript of the statements they made during a conference on My Lai that was held at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA in December 1994. These first-hand accounts are valuable. When they both gave testimony to the Peers Inquiry in 1969/70, they knew nothing about the role to other had played at the time of the massacre. In 1994, with better understanding of the bigger picture, their statements make interesting reading.