“Charging a man with murder in this place, was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500’ ...
I remember that, but it does not excuse brutality like what was done there-those murdered people were not enemy soldiers or terrorists. The Viet Nam war was the first I’d ever heard of war atrocities-on either side-in a real world context, rather than history books and dad and uncles telling stories about WWII and Korea-’Nam was all over the 6 o’clock news, too.
Following orders, or the fact that both sides were doing it did/does not excuse the Mei Lai massacre, any more than it excuses a homicide bomber-killing unarmed people is murder...