William R . Peers William R . Peers ( June 14 , 1914 – April 6 , 1984 ) was a United States Army General , who is most notable for presiding over the Peers Commission investigation into the My Lai massacre and other similar war crimes during the Vietnam War . Biography . Peers , often referred to by his middle name " Ray " by close associates , was born in Stuart , Iowa in 1914 . He attended the University of California , Los Angeles where he was a member of the Sigma Pi Fraternity . He graduated with a degree from the College of Education in 1937 , and received a regular Army commission in 1938 . When the United States entered World War II , Peers was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services ( OSS ) . He joined Detachment 101 , which carried out guerrilla operations against the Japanese in the China India Burma Theater . At first the unit ' s operations and training officer , he eventually became the unit ' s commander . He held that position until 1945 , when he became commander of all OSS operations in China south of the Yangtze River . In this capacity he led a Nationalist Chinese parachute - commando unit into Nanking , securing the former Chinese capital from the Japanese and Communist Chinese before the armistice . After World War II , Peers joined the CIA , establishing the agency ' s first training program . During the Korean War , he directed covert operations by Chinese Nationalist troops into the southern part of the People ' s Republic of China from secret bases in Burma . Upon his return from China , he attended the prestigious Army War College , and afterward held a series of intelligence and staff positions . With his Asian insurgency warfare expertise , it was inevitable that his career would prosper during the Vietnam War . At its beginning , Peers was the assistant deputy chief of staff for special operations . The next year he became special assistant for counterinsurgency and special activities for the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In January 1967 , as a major general , he was named the 32nd commanding officer of the 4th Infantry Division ( " " The Ivy Division " " ) . 14 months later , he was promoted to lieutenant general , and commanded the 50 , 000 American soldiers of the corps - level I Field Force , Vietnam . Based in the Central Highlands , The I Field Force comprised some of the most aggressive American formations in Vietnam , including the 1st Cavalry Division , 101st Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade . Peers also coordinated the operations of four South Vietnamese and the two elite South Korean divisions sent as that country ' s contribution . Under his leadership , allied troops decisively defeated Viet Cong guerrillas and NVA regulars in the battles of Dak To in November 1967 , and Duc Lap in August 1968 . In 1969 , Peers was ordered by General Westmoreland to investigate the My Lai Massacre , being selected because of his reputation for fairness and objectivity . In 1970 Peers issued a very thorough and critical report on the incident , called the " Peers Commission . " Hugh Thompson who , along with his helicopter crew , were the only soldiers who attempted to stop the massacre , said of the Peers report : Peers died at the age of 69 on 6 April 1984 of a heart attack at Letterman Army Medical Center at the Presidio of San Francisco .