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Hundreds of Vietnamese villagers slain by U.S. in 1967, soldiers say
Chicago Sun Times ^ | 20 OCT 03 | AP Staff Writer

Posted on 10/20/2003 1:36:36 PM PDT by dts32041

TOLEDO, Ohio -- An elite unit of American soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed villagers in 1967 during the Vietnam War, and an Army investigation was closed with no charges filed, the Toledo Blade reported Sunday.

Soldiers of the Tiger Force unit of the Army's 101st Airborne Division dropped grenades into bunkers where villagers -- including women and children -- hid, and shot farmers without warning, the Ohio newspaper reported.

Soldiers told the Blade that they severed ears from the dead and strung them on shoelaces to wear around their necks.

The Army's 41/2-year investigation, never before made public, was initiated by a soldier outraged at the killings.

The probe substantiated 20 war crimes by 18 soldiers and reached the Pentagon and White House before it was closed in 1975, the Blade said.

William Doyle, a former Tiger Force sergeant now living in Willow Springs, Mo., said he killed so many civilians in 1967 he lost count.

''We didn't expect to live. Nobody out there with any brains expected to live,'' he told the newspaper. ''The way to live is to kill because you don't have to worry about anybody who's dead.''

In an eight-month investigation, the Blade reviewed thousands of classified Army documents, National Archive records and radio logs and interviewed former members of the unit and relatives of those who died.

Tiger Force, a unit of 45 volunteers, was created to spy on forces of North Vietnam in South Vietnam's central highlands.

The Blade said it is not known how many Vietnamese civilians were killed.

Records show at least 78 were shot or stabbed, the newspaper said. Based on interviews with former Tiger Force soldiers and Vietnamese civilians, it is estimated the unit killed hundreds of unarmed people, the Blade said.

Army spokesman Joe Burlas said Sunday that only three Tiger Force members were on active duty during the investigation. He said their commanders, acting on the advice of military attorneys, determined there was not enough evidence for successful prosecution.

The only way to prosecute the soldiers was under court-martial procedures, which apply only to active military members, Burlas said.

Investigators took 400 sworn statements from witnesses, Burlas said. Some supported one another and some conflicted, he said.

According to the Blade, the rampage began in May 1967. No one knows what set it off. Less than a week after setting up camp in the central highlands, soldiers began torturing and killing prisoners in violation of American military law and the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the newspaper said.

Sgt. Forrest Miller told Army investigators the killing of prisoners was ''an unwritten law.''

Other soldiers said they sought revenge in the villages after unit members were killed and injured during sniper and grenade attacks.

''Everybody was bloodthirsty at the time, saying, 'We're going to get them back,''' former medic Rion Causey of Livermore, Calif., told the Blade.

Soldiers often cited conflicting views of commanders as a reason they killed unarmed people. Some commanders told investigators that civilians could be targeted in certain circumstances; others said they could never be attacked.

The atrocities carried out by the unit came just months before the killing of about 500 Vietnamese civilians by an Army unit in 1968 at My Lai.

In the years after that, top military officials promised to take war crime accusations seriously. But records from the Tiger Force case show that didn't happen, the Blade said.

The newspaper found that commanders knew about the platoon's atrocities and in some cases encouraged the soldiers to continue the violence. Two soldiers who tried to stop the attacks were warned by their commanders to remain quiet before transferring to other units, according to military records.

Former platoon members still could be prosecuted or sanctioned by the Army, but legal experts say that's unlikely because of the time that has elapsed.

AP


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; US: Illinois; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: bestandvrightest; draftees; liars; vietnam; war
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All I can say is Humm, maybe be an arguement for not using a draftee army.

Just wondering why it showed up today on page four of the chicago sun times?

1 posted on 10/20/2003 1:36:37 PM PDT by dts32041
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To: dts32041
Just wondering why it showed up today on page four of the chicago sun times?

Just in time for the beginning of next years election cycle.....

2 posted on 10/20/2003 1:39:53 PM PDT by b4its2late (My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.)
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To: dts32041
''The way to live is to kill because you don't have to worry about anybody who's dead.''

When you constantly must worry over everyone that's alive, this is an abundantly sane rational.

3 posted on 10/20/2003 1:40:04 PM PDT by laotzu
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To: dts32041
The Marxist media hate GWB so much they must fight the Vietnam War again?
4 posted on 10/20/2003 1:40:08 PM PDT by quark
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To: b4its2late
How does this relect on Bush. He didn't serve in Vietnam. The only candidates that did are Clark and Kerry.
5 posted on 10/20/2003 1:40:56 PM PDT by OneTimeLurker
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To: dts32041
This will end up like other Korea/VN massacres. It will turn out one US soldier killed a dog an a chicken.
6 posted on 10/20/2003 1:41:23 PM PDT by jbstrick (Behold the Power of CHEESE!)
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To: dts32041
Just wondering why it showed up today on page four of the chicago sun times?

Care to make a wild guess? Vietnam=Iraq=Quagmire=liberal=anti-american=anti-BUSH!

7 posted on 10/20/2003 1:41:25 PM PDT by areafiftyone (When the Democrats talk its like the hamster is dead but the wheel is still spinning)
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To: dts32041
This is the Clinton strategy...and the reason they are backing Clark.

Resurrect the Vietnam strategy that was their glory days in the 70's; they impeached a president with this strategy.

They are deceived...the 70's are long gone...it won't work.

8 posted on 10/20/2003 1:44:02 PM PDT by what's up
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To: dts32041
Of course, this just breeds more terrorism, as we all know the Vietnamese are well represented in terror groups.

/sarc

9 posted on 10/20/2003 1:45:02 PM PDT by big gray tabby
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To: dts32041
Sounds like another Tailwind story. Something that could be true (anything is possible, after all) but is probably total fiction. I think we would have heard of this before.
10 posted on 10/20/2003 1:45:39 PM PDT by Batrachian
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To: facedown
Same story; same source; different edit
11 posted on 10/20/2003 1:47:35 PM PDT by sistergoldenhair
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To: dts32041
Sew doubt. It's the only way the West can be militarily defeated.

As for, "unwritten rules", or, "you don't have to worry about anybody who's dead", these should be non-issues for anyone who would claim to love God.

12 posted on 10/20/2003 1:47:40 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: dts32041
As a VietNam vet during '67-'68, I can say that 'killing of prisoners was an "unwritten law"' is catagorically false. The article portrays soldiers in VietNam as no more than lawless bandits. What a bunch of crap!
13 posted on 10/20/2003 1:47:45 PM PDT by caisson71
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To: dts32041
Villagers slain in 1967? That can't be. A democrat (LBJ) was running the war at that time. Why ever would the SunTimes run a story which demonstrates Democrat war incompetence?
14 posted on 10/20/2003 1:47:55 PM PDT by Sgt_Schultze
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To: areafiftyone
#7..Lots of folks read James Patterson novels....
..usually they're good....pretty good...

..but the premise of one I just picked up is this exact scenario, with lots of add-ons, of course.

It was anti-military, anti-death penalty and gratuitous for him.....quite gratuitous!

I threw my copy away....the plot didn't even hold together!

But the basic bad guys were West Point generals who covered up this type of Viet Nam atrocity, and they were protrayed as really bad dudes!

Does it seem coincidental, knowing lots of folks read this kind of novel and buy into it....that those who control propaganda would pull something like this up right now.....pre election.

Or have I invested in too much tinfoil lately????

15 posted on 10/20/2003 1:51:18 PM PDT by Guenevere (..., .Press On!!!)
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To: dts32041
... said he killed so many civilians in 1967 he lost count. ''We didn't expect to live. Nobody out there with any brains expected to live,'' he told the newspaper. ''The way to live is to kill because you don't have to worry about anybody who's dead.'' ..... it is estimated the unit killed hundreds of unarmed people, the Blade said.

Sgt. Forrest Miller told Army investigators the killing of prisoners was ''an unwritten law.''

''Everybody was bloodthirsty at the time, saying, 'We're going to get them back,''' former medic Rion Causey of Livermore, Calif., told the Blade.

Can this writer squeeze in any more stereotypes of the blood-thirsty American soldier? Something smells about this story and its timing.

16 posted on 10/20/2003 1:51:29 PM PDT by capydick (Where did all these Useful Idiots come from?)
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To: OneTimeLurker
Iraq vs Vietnam? I dunno.... just guessing it has some evil democrat ploy behind it.
17 posted on 10/20/2003 1:53:12 PM PDT by b4its2late (My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.)
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To: Guenevere
Or have I invested in too much tinfoil lately????

I prefer Saran Wrap!! ;-)

18 posted on 10/20/2003 1:55:02 PM PDT by areafiftyone (When the Democrats talk its like the hamster is dead but the wheel is still spinning)
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To: dts32041
Just wondering why it showed up today on page four of the chicago sun times?

Yeah, about 46 years late. Part of the democRAT strategy of trying to create the perception that Iraq is a quagmire. First, they have to re-visit Vietnam and make sure to frame it in the worst possible light. Then, its time to compare Iraq to Vietnam. Add 6 months, and presto: Instant Quagmire!!

19 posted on 10/20/2003 1:57:40 PM PDT by meyer
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To: b4its2late
"Just in time for the beginning of next years election cycle....."

Yes, it's very convenient that this 35-year-old story surfaces during the Bush Administration, so the media can hopefully splash some of the mud onto Bush. And we'll probably be seeing TV specials about the Crusades as the election cycle heats up.
20 posted on 10/20/2003 1:57:57 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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