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why do we prosecute and jail more today? Probably because it is much harder to keep anything from the general public. During WW2 for example the censorship was extensive. I have been in conversations with some WW2 veterans......do you actually think there were no "atrocities during that war? My father was in the pacific.......Guadalcanal if you may have heard of it. He simply stated that they hardly ever took Japanese prisoners.If you think its because they never surrendered.......think again.
I think this is part of the deal today - communication is so quick.
In WWII, atrocities were planned and carried out to maximum effect. LeMay would have danced a *** if 10 million Japanese civilians were killed (maybe only a million were, but not enough for him)....
One book I read about battles to retake the Philippines detail civilian deaths in the 100's of thousands...and we didn't stop to blink (we caused most of the deaths).
"The total number of noncombatants killed by the Germans—about 11 million—is roughly what we had thought. The total number of civilians killed by the Soviets, however, is considerably less than we had believed."
The USA is thought to have killed "only" a couple million civilians in WWII.
The Russians killed a whole bunch tho. But nothing near, during the war years, the German tallies. After all, much of the territory the Russians fought back through has already been razed by the Germans on the way to Moscow and Stalingrad, etc.
So they killed a lot of combatants as opposed to extermination of innocent women, children, elders, etc.
The Soviets were rattled when they found the results of the SS as they gained territory back. They carefully documented it all on film - movie cameras as well as still. They had large parties of reporters and archivists following along after their armies to detail the crimes.
Actually you can thank the crook LBJ for escalating that mess, quitting, and turning it over to Richard to figure a way out!
1968-1975 seems a mighty long time for a POTUS not to think of a way out of a war that didn't add up to a hill of beans. He could have removed the troops in a year. Nothing different would have happened...or much different, except a lot of Americans and Vietnamese would be alive and happier.
It's as if we forget that in WWII we fought and finished many great battles (for areas the size of vietnam and bigger) in 6 months.
I wonder when we the people are going to start holding the culprits who are responsible for things like this accountable. I'm not just talkiing about specific soldiers either.
I feel what you have posted here is not really fair.
Many US soldiers present did NOT take part in the massacre. Out of all of Charlie Company, about 30 soldiers took part.
Military brutality has always been a topic of choice for those opposing war. And for those who want to find a scapegoat, too.
I served 1968 1969 with the 1st Infantry Division 40 miles north of Saigon, the Iron Triangle area near Lai Khe, and we would have never tolerated something like My Lai.
I served 1968 1969 with the 1st Infantry Division 40 miles north of Saigon, the Iron Triangle area near Lai Khe, and we would have never tolerated something like My Lai.
yeah, I am sure of that.
This type of behavior is looked down upon. It is never heroic.
This is some of what makes Vietnam veterans so bitter. I served in Vietnam for exactly 365 days. I NEVER saw or heard of any women being raped. your comment that it happened every time our soldiers saw a woman working in the "fields" is disgusting. You do know there were prostitutes all over the country. The average cost was about $2-$5...........why the hell would you rape a woman?
I agree. I served there too. Most of these stories are from people who never put a boot on the ground. I never saw any of these horror stories.
*Vietnam vets are often homeless, jobless, or underemployed.
Truth
Burkett quotes research by economist Sharon Cohany, whose 1994 nationwide survey (Burkett 67) revealed the following unemployment rates at the time:
All U.S. Males, 18 & over: 6.0% unemployed
All male veterans: 4.9% “
Vietnam era veterans: 5.0% “
Vietnam veterans: 3.9% “
Thus, the Vietnam vet is actually more likely to be employed than members of other control groups. Further claims by Burkett (and observations by this author) paint the Vietnam vet as being generally more affluent than others in his age group on average, also.
Myth 2
The poor, minorities, and the underclass were forced to fight the Vietnam War.
Truth
% of total Deaths in Vietnam
5% Hispanic
12.5% Black
82.5% White
Burkett contends that these figures actually show that minorities were under-represented with regards to actual deaths in combat, compared to all draft-age males.
I volunteer at a local VA hospital. I've met a lot of Vietnam veterans. I've never met one crazy vet, not even one. Many of them are friendly, very successful, (well, relatively speaking). Some of them like to share their war stories with other vets or anybody who are willing to listen. That is about it. I am friends with many of them. Even though I was born in 1985, they never looked at me as just another dumb Millennial. Many of then don't even hate Hanoi Jane anymore. lol
Not true. After the war, the French reclaimed all of Indochina. Ho Chi Minh begged Truman to allow an independent Vietnam but Truman would not listen. So Ho commenced guerilla activities against them. The US subsidized the French for 80% of their war costs. It was only after the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 that Vietnam was divided.
yes true... Vietnam or French indo-china was a possession of JAPAN during the war
the talks at Yalta, FDR, Churchill and Stalin, divided up the war booty ...and what you got was N/S Korea, N/S Vietnam (which the south was given back to the French), E/W Germany
we helped the French withdraw in 54, and our first American casualty was in 57
we (the allies) caused those conflicts by stupidly splitting countries in half
Returning vets were treated badly at the time, but now things have swung to the other extreme and those same vets are now glorified. Some served honorably, many did not. But they all seem to want to be a hero now..
No, they don't.
They have the same struggle believe it or not.
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