Deborah Nelson

Nelson reports succinctly on military investigations into atrocities/war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam and then reports on a set of follow up interviews with the accused, the accusers, the investigators, and the higher ups. The picture is not pretty, and some more contemporary proper nouns keep cropping up: Abu Ghraib, Iraq. What saves this book from being a total downer is the honorable folks who spoke out then, and again, there is a sense that we must honor them and their lineal descendants speaking out now.… (more)

This is a very good book. At first, I expected it to be sensationalistic, but it was a very even-handed look at the allegations of war crimes during the Vietnam War. The author interviewed many people, from CID investigators, accused and whistle-blowers. Even if the claim was substantiated not much usually happened. The guilty might have to forfeit some pay. The US expects its soldier to be treated humanely when captured and we are angry when they aren't. Yet, in too many cases we do unto others, what we don't want done to us.… (more)