University System of Maryland alumni

Oran_Henderson

Oran Kenneth Henderson (August 25, 1920 – June 2, 1998) was a United States Army colonel who commanded the 11th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division during the Vietnam War and later served as head of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency in the late 1970s. He is most famous for his role in the My Lai massacre where he served as brigade commander for the units involved in the killings, ultimately being charged and acquitted of 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.