US soldiers & Vietnamese
US Soldiers
Commanders defined all Vietnamese as Vietcong because it was hard to separate Vietcong and the North Vietnamese. Soldiers were ordered to produce bodies of the enemies (Vietnamese) or else they were punished or had to stay longer in the field. They were encouraged to kill any Vietnamese.
“Mere Gook Rule”
Mere Gook Rule is the idea that the Vietnamese WERENT REAL PEOPLE. They were sub humans. US military came up with in order to make it easier for the soldiers to kill Vietnamese without any guilt or remorse. Some commanders brainwashed the US soldiers by stating that the Vietnamese were evil creatures and deserved to be killed. This allowed soldiers to kill and abuse any Vietnamese if they wished to. Vietnamese were not called Vietnamese, but instead they were defined as gooks, slants, slopes, and anything to make the soldiers think they were not humans.
"I had prayed to God that this thing was fiction." - Colonel
William Wilson, a combat veteran who conducted an investigation into the
massacre at My Lai
Commanders defined all Vietnamese as Vietcong because it was hard to separate Vietcong and the North Vietnamese. Soldiers were ordered to produce bodies of the enemies (Vietnamese) or else they were punished or had to stay longer in the field. They were encouraged to kill any Vietnamese.
“Mere Gook Rule”
Mere Gook Rule is the idea that the Vietnamese WERENT REAL PEOPLE. They were sub humans. US military came up with in order to make it easier for the soldiers to kill Vietnamese without any guilt or remorse. Some commanders brainwashed the US soldiers by stating that the Vietnamese were evil creatures and deserved to be killed. This allowed soldiers to kill and abuse any Vietnamese if they wished to. Vietnamese were not called Vietnamese, but instead they were defined as gooks, slants, slopes, and anything to make the soldiers think they were not humans.
"I had prayed to God that this thing was fiction." - Colonel
William Wilson, a combat veteran who conducted an investigation into the
massacre at My Lai
Atrocities committed by the US soldiers during the Vietnam War
1 . Rape
Numerous numbers of Vietnamese were raped by the US soldiers during
the Vietnam War. It was described as an “everyday affair” during the Vietnam War
by many US soldiers. “Raping a Vietnamese woman became a hallmark of guerrilla
phase of war and young American ales intent on asserting their superiority,
their potency, their manhood…raping a woman in a combat zone is something a man
has to do, needs to do, has the right to do. “ From The Misogyny of the Vietnam War Article
Sometimes the US soldiers would sneak into the villages and kidnap pretty looking Vietnamese. They were often treated brutally; tied, gagged, dragged, punched and thrown by the US soldiers until they were raped and finally murdered. They were often gang raped, and the last soldier to rape the Vietnamese woman usually shot them in the head. Vietnamese were not treated like women but was seen as a sexual object.
2. Torture and Murder
Just like rape, torture was also common atrocity committed by the US soldiers. US soldiers used different, variety of methods to torture the Vietnamese victims, US soldiers committed verbal abuse, electric shock torture, water torture(also known as the water boarding), beatings as well as poisoning the food stocks, cutting off parts of the bodies and of course randomly shooting at civilians to show their superiority over the civilians.
Occasionally the US soldiers used electrical devices and water boarding methods to toruture the Vietnamese. Water boarding was to keep pouring water onto a persons face to drown them to make them faint or even to deprive the lives. US soldiers used wires from telephones to the Vietnamese civilians genitals and then turned up the power. The electric transmission from the telephone cords and constantly pouring of water to impair breathing was carried out as well as hitting with sticks or beating by kicking and punching while the victims were tired up, unable to move. Unbelievably these brutal atrocities were committed by “bored soldiers” and were often taken as a joke.
“US commanders wasted ammunition like millionaires and hoarded American lives like misers and often treated Vietnamese lives as if they were worth nothing at all”. From Kill Anything that Moves
Murder and Body Counts
The measure of success was measured by the number of enemy bodies killed. Therefore, to increase the rate of success any Vietnamese seen were defined as Vietcong which was the enemy of the America and its ally, South Vietnam. US soldiers, despite the fact that they were working with South Vietnam, they ruthlessly killed any Vietnamese. Furthermore, the body count was done with carrots and sticks. When Vietnamese were captured, commanders would tell their soldiers; “ I don’t want a prisoner, I want a body count” and immediately , the prisoner would be shot and be false charged as a Vietcong shot while escaping. The unit with the most amounts of body counts were rewarded with extra beer, better food, special gear to wear and even a short vocation. Most soldiers chose to exchange the lives of Vietnamese for a three day pass at the beach resort.
3.Verbal Abuse
Not only physically the Vietnamese were abused but they also abused the Vietnamese mentally. The term “gook” was used to humiliate the Vietnamese and make them to bring them down. They often humiliated the Vietnamese sexually and verbally while they tortured and carried out atrocities. After rape, the US soldiers often mocked the women and their family by calling them Vietcong whores, prostitutes etc.
Numerous numbers of Vietnamese were raped by the US soldiers during
the Vietnam War. It was described as an “everyday affair” during the Vietnam War
by many US soldiers. “Raping a Vietnamese woman became a hallmark of guerrilla
phase of war and young American ales intent on asserting their superiority,
their potency, their manhood…raping a woman in a combat zone is something a man
has to do, needs to do, has the right to do. “ From The Misogyny of the Vietnam War Article
Sometimes the US soldiers would sneak into the villages and kidnap pretty looking Vietnamese. They were often treated brutally; tied, gagged, dragged, punched and thrown by the US soldiers until they were raped and finally murdered. They were often gang raped, and the last soldier to rape the Vietnamese woman usually shot them in the head. Vietnamese were not treated like women but was seen as a sexual object.
2. Torture and Murder
Just like rape, torture was also common atrocity committed by the US soldiers. US soldiers used different, variety of methods to torture the Vietnamese victims, US soldiers committed verbal abuse, electric shock torture, water torture(also known as the water boarding), beatings as well as poisoning the food stocks, cutting off parts of the bodies and of course randomly shooting at civilians to show their superiority over the civilians.
Occasionally the US soldiers used electrical devices and water boarding methods to toruture the Vietnamese. Water boarding was to keep pouring water onto a persons face to drown them to make them faint or even to deprive the lives. US soldiers used wires from telephones to the Vietnamese civilians genitals and then turned up the power. The electric transmission from the telephone cords and constantly pouring of water to impair breathing was carried out as well as hitting with sticks or beating by kicking and punching while the victims were tired up, unable to move. Unbelievably these brutal atrocities were committed by “bored soldiers” and were often taken as a joke.
“US commanders wasted ammunition like millionaires and hoarded American lives like misers and often treated Vietnamese lives as if they were worth nothing at all”. From Kill Anything that Moves
Murder and Body Counts
The measure of success was measured by the number of enemy bodies killed. Therefore, to increase the rate of success any Vietnamese seen were defined as Vietcong which was the enemy of the America and its ally, South Vietnam. US soldiers, despite the fact that they were working with South Vietnam, they ruthlessly killed any Vietnamese. Furthermore, the body count was done with carrots and sticks. When Vietnamese were captured, commanders would tell their soldiers; “ I don’t want a prisoner, I want a body count” and immediately , the prisoner would be shot and be false charged as a Vietcong shot while escaping. The unit with the most amounts of body counts were rewarded with extra beer, better food, special gear to wear and even a short vocation. Most soldiers chose to exchange the lives of Vietnamese for a three day pass at the beach resort.
3.Verbal Abuse
Not only physically the Vietnamese were abused but they also abused the Vietnamese mentally. The term “gook” was used to humiliate the Vietnamese and make them to bring them down. They often humiliated the Vietnamese sexually and verbally while they tortured and carried out atrocities. After rape, the US soldiers often mocked the women and their family by calling them Vietcong whores, prostitutes etc.
Vietnamese woman with a gun to her head, Vietnam War, 1969
Civilians dead on the streets
|
Nine Rules Card
They had to be issued out with the Nine Rule Cards. They had to be issued out with the Nine Rules card which reminded them of treating the Vietnamese with respect. However ironically, commands given out from higher officials contradicted what was written in the card. Most soldiers forgot about the card and never thought about it after that. |
Opposing to Rape &
Torture Even thought it was an “everyday affair” to almost all US soldiers, some soldiers denied to carry out such cruel act. If ay US soldiers tried to protests the kidnapping, or rape or refused to take part in it, they were taunted, called a faggot, homosexual, queer and even VC (Vietcong) sympathizer. |
Why Rape was kept as
Secrets The raping of the Vietnamese women was almost never mentioned by the victims themselves. The Vietnamese women suffered in horror that they might be punished for exposing the truth. And some did not wanted to talk about their experiences and kept them hid because most of them were afraid of the criticisms they will receive albeit it was not the women’s fault. Memories inside the victims still remain even today, and in some cases it has prevented these women from living normal lives, the impact of these war time experiences on the women were life changing. The following quote is from an interview of Vietnam war victims found on youtube.com |
