EXPERIENCE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Vietnam and the 20th Century Experience

Rules of Engagement

Vietnam and the 20th Century Experience

Rules of Engagement

Introduction

Lieutenant William L. Calley Jr. was guilty in the My Lai killings. Imagine, a family sitting on their front porch peacefully, making breakfast for their themselves. They see hundreds of people rushing at them, pointing guns at their heads. Firing, killing for no reason, just a assumption. Calley ordered his men to kill hundreds of innocent civilians before he knew anything about them. He broke the rules of war killing them. He used his men in killing civilians saying they are Vietcong. Vietcong are Vietnamese communists. He estimated 200 hundred Vietcong in My Lai, but he killed three hundred and five people. None, still to this day, are known to have been Vietcong.

Calley attacked the Vietnamese civilians before he knew if they were Vietcong. When Calley and his men were called to check out My Lai in vietnam, he expected to arrive on many Vietcong. When Calley and his men got to My Lai they found nothing but civilians. Mainly elderly, women and children. He was surprised because they were told that there were at least 200 Vietcong there. Also because there were so many women and children because he was told that they would be out of the village by the time they got there."The men had seen no- one but Vietnamese civilians and had assumed the civilians were making booby-traps for the Vietcong and the north Vietnamese."David Wright, America in the 20th Century. Their mission was to destroy, to burn, kill animals to mess with the food supply, and blow up escape tunnels. Calley told his men to "waste" the village. On march 16 they began to attack. They fired into the town aimlessly and got no enemy fire. "Cautiously ...