We didn’t have idiotic rules of engagement until after Korea. In Korea, our boys were permitted to fire on civilians if there was a potential threat to US lives.
We had free fire zones in Vietnam. Though it was always up to unit commanders as to how judiciously they were utilized. (Think Calley.) Though we never really got to test our firepower by pivoting North.
One of my platoon leaders was a homicidal maniac. The other should have won the DSC as far as I was concerned. Such is every extreme, until you’re seeing yourself in the dead.