M. Ted--

By my periodization, there was only one massacre in Viet Nam. It started when the Japanese left in '45 and slackened up a bit when Saigon fell in '75. I don't want to be understood as trying to justify this mess, but I think there was one thing about 'the Nam' as opposed to other more conventional wars that promoted this kind of tragedy. Namely, a lot more of our casualties were from booby traps, snipers, etc., which gave you no target for return fire. Sooner or later, people taking damage from unseen enemies take it out on whoever is handy. Maybe the mental process is parallel to what domestic abusers do in their heads. The scary part to me is the willingness of higher commanders, whose asses were not directly on the line, to rationalize, ignore, deny, and/or misinterpret such incidents in the name of body count. Behind them are civilians who think a "just" war is possible and who believe war can and should be conducted like football, with rules, referees, and all body parts cordially labelled and returned after the last shot is fired. The whole thing is a such a drekky mess that even a "gentleman's war" would be obscene.

C.C. The entertainer formerly known as "Yellow Two Six," in Phan Thiet City, 1969-70.