The turbulent life of a boy who survived the My Lai massacre

In March, the sun spreads a peaceful golden light across the rice fields in the village of Son My. Mr. Do Ba (residing in Tinh Khe commune, Quang Ngai city) and his neighbors temporarily put aside their field work, cleaned their houses and prepared for the "common death anniversary" to commemorate the 504 compatriots in the Son My massacre.

Holding a trembling hand while lighting incense on the altar, silently looking at the photo of two American veterans placed solemnly next to his mother's portrait, Mr. Ba confided: "Those pilots gave birth to me a second time. Every March, the family holds a joint memorial day for my mother, siblings and the person who saved their lives."

Turning the page of painful memories, he recalled that in the early morning of March 16, 1968, helicopters were rumbling over the golden fields about to be harvested. The US army landed in the village, captured a mother and her children along with many other villagers, drove them into a ditch at the beginning of the village, and continuously opened fire.

In a split second, American soldiers killed Do Ba’s mother and two younger siblings along with many villagers. Between life and death, American veterans suddenly appeared in helicopters to stop the massacre and save nine innocent people.

"Hugh Thompson and Lawrence Colburn discovered my small body moving among the scattered corpses of villagers. They carried me onto the helicopter and took me to the emergency hospital...", Mr. Ba recalled.

After the My Lai massacre, he continued to suffer more pain. His father was imprisoned in Con Dao, and returned home after 1975 but died after a few months due to the consequences of torture. Pitying his orphaned condition, the villagers took care of the boy throughout his childhood.

After finishing 9th grade, Do Ba dropped out of school and wandered to Saigon to make a living, from washing dishes to carrying goods for hire. He wandered everywhere, working day and night for anyone who hired him.

Seeing his foolishness, a group of street urchins, after stealing electric wires, asked him to carry them to sell for money. As a result, Do Ba was sentenced to 8 years in prison for being caught red-handed selling stolen electric wires.

His life seemed to be in a miserable and hopeless situation... fortunately, Mr. Ba was helped by a business that opened its arms to help. By chance, reading an article about the boy who was saved by American pilots in the My Lai massacre, Mr. Kieu Xuan Long, Director of Thai Vi Refrigeration and Electrical Engineering Company in Ho Chi Minh City, sponsored him to be adopted.

Mr. Long let Ba learn the refrigeration trade and work at his company's branch in Long An province. Sympathizing with Do Ba's unfortunate situation, he organized his wedding.

In gratitude to Mr. Long, Do Ba and his wife took the surname Kieu as the middle name for their first son, Do Kieu Quang Huy. After becoming pregnant, Ms. Dang Thi Cu (Do Ba's wife) returned to Son My (Quang Ngai) to give birth and stayed in her hometown.

Business was difficult, the Long An branch closed, Do Ba returned to the city to continue working as a worker, then a security guard for Mr. Long's company. After work, to earn extra income, he traveled around Saigon selling scrap.

Nearly 30 years after the My Lai massacre, through the connection of Madison Quakers Inc. (USA), veterans Thompson and Colburn returned to Vietnam to find the boy they saved years ago.

Mr. Phan Van Do, Representative of this organization in Vietnam, recalls the long search for information that took five long months to find Do Ba making a living in Saigon. In March 1998, Do Ba and two veterans Hugh Thompson and Colburn arrived in Da Nang on two different flights but took the same bus from Da Nang airport to Quang Ngai.

Mr. Do still remembers clearly the "special trip" that day. "As soon as the bus started, I introduced this as the boy you saved in the My Lai massacre. Hearing that, Hugh Thompson and Colburn stood up, hugged Do Ba and burst into tears in the midst of this emotional historical reunion," said a representative of Madison Quakers Inc. (USA).

This person added that on their return trip to My Lai that day, they presented the Son My Memorial Site with two hero medals (awarded by the US Government) for their self-sacrificing actions to save innocent people during the war in Vietnam.

In March 2009, Colburn returned to Son My alone; providing financial support to help Do Ba develop his family's economy.

After many years of wandering to make a living, he returned to reunite with his wife and children in Son My village, Tinh Khe commune. With Colburn's support, Do Ba and his wife repaired their small house, built a barn and bought two cows to raise. His dream of living in a simple family home was so simple, but it took him decades to realize it.

Busily carrying a bundle of grass to the corner of the garden, Do Ba placed his calloused hands on the cow's head and shared that Colburn had saved his life years ago, and later sent money back to help him buy a cow to raise to escape poverty.

"Last year, the Women's Union of Tinh Khe commune also helped me get a preferential loan to buy this cow to improve my income and develop my family's economy," he added.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Giang in Tu Cung village (Tinh Khe commune) emotionally shared that after many years of wandering, more than half of his life he was able to return to his hometown to live. Although their married life still had many difficulties, they were always affectionate and determined to overcome difficulties in life.

While putting a scarf on Do Ba's son, he happily chatted with his son Quang Huy (11 years old), who is in 5th grade. Quietly looking at the boy's clear eyes, he felt his heart filled with happiness.

"Although life is full of hardships and challenges, from now on my life will change. My son and I's future will be brighter," he said optimistically.

As for Ms. Dang Thi Cu, she shyly recalls that when she loved Mr. Ba, her family strongly opposed her because they feared her life would be miserable. "It was his sincerity, honesty, and harsh circumstances that made me love him without hesitation," she shared.

After 50 years of the My Lai massacre, Do Ba prays for the pain of the past to gradually end so that the lives of the people here can open up to welcome the dawn of a new day of peace, prosperity and happiness.

Amidst the ups and downs of life, Do Ba still remembers the image of Mr. Ronald Haeberle (American photojournalist), author of more than 60 photos of the My Lai massacre, sharing his pain with his family.

"When he met my father and I seven years ago, Ronald cried and said that the My Lai massacre would haunt him forever. He hoped that time would heal the wounds in me and the villagers; and that this land would revive and prosper in the future," he recounted.

Within 4 hours on the morning of March 16, 1968, the US army killed 504 innocent civilians in the village of Son My, mostly women and children.

After a barrage of artillery and helicopter gunfire, Charlie Company landed in Son My village. The unit’s soldiers did not find any Viet Cong soldiers in the village, which consisted mostly of women and children trying to find shelter from the American army’s sweep. Many villagers were still cooking breakfast.

The entire company used guns and bayonets to kill, "massacre anything that moved", including people and livestock... American soldiers threw grenades into the houses of innocent civilians without caring what was inside. An officer grabbed a woman's hair and shot her straight in the head with a pistol. A woman who had just stepped out of the house with her baby in her arms was shot dead instantly. More horrifyingly, a group of soldiers used an M16 automatic rifle to shoot the body of a newborn baby as it fell to the ground...