Responsibilities of the U.S Military: The "Nine Rules" and "The Enemy in Your Hands"
A soldier of the U.S military has certain guidelines and rules that he must always follow in times of armed conflict. During the Vietnam War each member of the military, officers and privates a like received a pocket card in September 1967 known as the "NINE RULES." This card contained the rules that each member of the Armed Forces were to follow in the Vietnam War.
A soldier of the U.S military has certain guidelines and rules that he must always follow in times of armed conflict. During the Vietnam War each member of the military, officers and privates a like received a pocket card in September 1967 known as the "NINE RULES." This card contained the rules that each member of the Armed Forces were to follow in the Vietnam War.
As you can see from the example above of the pocket card, the U.S soldiers that were involved in the My Lai Massacre clearly disregarded and broke some of these nine rules given to them before they went off to fight in Vietnam.
Along with the "Nine Rules" each U.S member of the Armed Forces was given another pocket card. This one instructed the military how to handle captured prisoners. They were to treat a prisoner as humanely and fairly as possible. However, the soldiers did not treat the civilians humanely and without a doubt they had know regard for these rules as well. Not all the soldiers felt that what they were doing was right and some even stood up to their commanding officers even after given a direct order.