Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Unfortunately, for so many Vietnam vets, what happened there came home with them and they’ve had a very difficult dealing with it. Some stuff just stays with you. Also, unfortunately, our government has been slow to help resolve those issue, PTSD. For a long time, there was a lot of angst toward those “drunk, drugged out, nasty-looking Vietnam vets, but those are the ones suffering the most, and despite all that, they’re all heroes. And most don’t want to talk about it with others, because it’s too painful. Now, the VA is starting to come around and is offering treatment for PTSD for those who want it. Now we have veterans from the Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan who are suffering from the same PTSD. We, who are veterans are proud to have served our country.

Derryg

I never applied for any PTSD benefits however I did have to take the VA to court re: disability, profound hearing loss, seizure issues following brain surgery. The judge reviewed all tthe documentation, about 18"s thick, and found in my favor 100% disability retroactive to when I first filed, PTSD is included.
Derry

PH CIB

I grew up reading too many books by James Fennimore Cooper and watching Victory at Sea on Tv and listening to the stories of all the Men in our small town and the surrounding countryside about their service in WWII and Korea...When I went to Nam in the Paratroopers I made a promise to myself that I would not shoot any Women or Children or unarmed Men and I kept that promise....To me and many others the War had to be fought with Honor,,, although it is almost unspeakable what We as Soldiers,,, US and the VC and NVA did to each other... I worked mostly in the Mountains of the Central Highlands where there were no Civilians,,a Free Fire Zone,, only the VC, NVA and US and we all did an Excellent Job of Killing each other....In a year in Viet Nam and many Firefights I did see one Civilian Murdered and that was one Murder too many, but for a Rifle Company and a year in Combat in Viet Nam with one Civilian killed that is a pretty clean record...We Nam Vets get a bad rap from just a few instances by a few Vets who committed atrocities,,,,most of Us fought with Honor...

Derryg

True, it only took a few unwarranted, unjustified instances to smear us all. Some of the parties involved in those had no business ever being commissioned and put in any leadership position.
Derry

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Yes. It’s a classic mistaken case of one rotten apple spoils the whole bushel.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

For a while it was a "thing" for bored door gunners or convoy guards to hose down domestic animals and wildlife.
Stories, complaints from the Vietnamese and little action.
Then some staff types and a reporter traveling in a convoy witnessed door gunners and convoy escorts shooting at farmers plowing rice paddies with water buffalo. And not as collateral damage during a fire fight, just for the hell of it.
The SHIT HIT THE FAN!
Suddenly all kinds of attention. ROE modifications etc. Some discipline actions and payments to the farmers for livestock lost (not to mention some farmers wounded or killed). Units told that if it happened any more the CO etc would be held responsible along with the gunners.
THINGS CHANGED A LOT VERY FAST! in our area.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

That did happen in some units. I never allowed any of my crews just shoot at random target for fun, or out of boredom. Of course, if shot at, return fire was warranted, but we never shot water buffalo or directed harrassing fire at noncombattants.

PH CIB

My Lai sickened me and it broke my Heart in 1975 when Saigon fell, I never thought we had won the Hearts and Minds of the Vietnamese but I was wrong as evidenced by the sheer numbers of Vietnamese fleeing the Communists and the resulting Boat People….We left a lot of Good People over there, the Vietnamese who were for us and fought with us, and the Hmong and Montagnard and other indigenous peoples who fought with us and then fought against the Communist Government of Vietnam after we left in 1975 until about 1992…We never ever lost Viet Nam on the Battlefield by the fighting of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines we won every Major Battle, Viet Nam was lost by the American People and the American Government…when I left Viet Nam I told them I wanted to keep my Rifle, when they asked “WHY?” I told them to fight the Real Enemy in Washington, D.C……….

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

My sentiments, as well. My Lai was a mixed bag, when it comes to the actions of those grunts that shot up the place. I understand that they were jumpy after having been shot at, with casualties for over a week, but it should have been incumbent on not only Lt. Calley, but his NCO’s to actually determine if there was imminent danger and to identify it before beginning a shooting spree. Obviously unarmed civilians should not have been targets. I know it was frustrating, not always know who the enemy actually was, but the truth of it was, the enemy was normally armed with an AK47 or an RPG launcher. The rest of the story I’m not sure about—should Lt. Calley have been prosecuted, or even charged in that incident? Sadly, it’s doubtful we’ll ever know the real facts, and we do know that the political power that be, or in this instance, were, like to make examples of other in order to promote themselves. But that’s politics, I suppose. There were, no doubt, other, similar incidents that were never reported, unfortunately. I think we went too many inexperienced leaders over there.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

It has always been my understanding that an order was passed down the chain of command to waste the villagers and that Lt Calley was just dumb enough to follow it. Every man there knew the difference between right and wrong. Part of the men chose wisely...others did not.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

You could be right on that. Unfortunately, the brass will always dodge the bullet and the little down the line becomes the scapegoat. As an officer in the U.S. Army, it was always my understanding that lawful orders were the ones to be obeyed, and those that were not might not be obeyed, but one always had to articulate the reasons. Such an order as you mention here doesn’t seem to me to be a lawful order. Or at least highly questionable. My Lai was an altogether tragic and regrettable affair, and the fallout was enormous. Apparently no one gave it much notice until well after the fact when one soldier who was disgruntled for some reason raised an issue and the foo hit the fan. In the end, no one from above was held accountable, unfortunately.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

You are right, of course. The little man had better know for himself what is right and wrong. Also he had better have the moral courage to stand up and do what’s right even at the cost of his life.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

That’s right. Sometimes it pretty tough to not compromise ones morals and values.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

I know that Calley became the scapegoat and went to prison but I can't remember for how long. What ever became of him? Is he even still alive?

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Here is a link to the Wikipedia story about Lt. Calley. Note that in this article there is a reference to a 1LT from the 199th LIB. To clarify, the 199th LIB, to which I was assigned in 1968-69, was not a part of the Americal Division. This may have been a typo or misprint and perhaps was supposed to be either the 196th or 198th LIB, both of which were assigned to the Americal Div/23d Inf. Div. at that time.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Calley