Note: This original fiction is partly based on the infamous My Lai Massacre that occured during the Vietnam War. It goes behind the whole mentality of having to shoot a non-combatant, and what those American GIs were thinking when it happened. Of course this is nothing compared to actually being a part of the traumatic event. Any characters in this story are completely fictional along with their thoughts. Enjoy...
As I stared down from above in the Huey helicopter, I could see the whole country dangling under my feet. Vast stretches of jungle are seen below. But this was not all that was in Vietnam. Soon there were the minute signs of civilization, primitive to what we were used to seeing. Rice paddies and villages were what our platoon was looking for.
I was part of Charlie Company, headed for the village of My Lai. We were told that this region was on of the believed concentrations of Viet Cong troops.
Most of the GI's in my squad had high motivations. What were these motivations from? Vengeance.
A few weeks ago, a small squad from our Company ran into a booby trap, killing Russel "Rusty" Mandt, a popular sergeant, blinding Robert Campbell and wounding several others. The following evening, when a funeral service was held for the Rusty, soldiers had revenge on their mind. Many remember him as a good man, one that was courageous and persistent with his actions. After the service, Captain Medina rose to give the us a pep talk and discuss the next morning's mission. Medina told us that the Viet Cong's crack 48th Battalion was in the vicinity of a village known as My Lai 4, which would be the target of a large-scale assault by the company. The soldiers' mission would be to engage...