American forces are
approaching the village of Binh He on all sides. You are closing in from the south. Most of the resistance is defeated. As you move through the thick jungle, with one remaining mile to
go to the village, shots ring out. It
sounds like two assault rifles. Three
of the men in your unit are blown away in minutes, including your best friend. Your unit races towards the shots in a rage,
firing into the jungle at the unseen enemy.
You order your men to stop firing, and you listen to hear footsteps
running away towards the village.
Your men fan out and march towards the
village. You find one smoking gun on
your short march, but not the other one that your unit thought they heard. American forces surround the village on all
sides at once, and no one: enemy, ally, or innocent had the chance to
flee. There are only ten people in this
village.
A. & B. are a young mother and her baby
C. a man in farmer’s clothes, in his 40’s, who’s arm is bleeding and
says he was shot by another person in
this group, yet won’t name his attacker for fear of his wife and child’s lives
D. a battered and bleeding man in his 20’s who claims to be a South
Vietnamese ally
E. an elderly man who curses and spits at U.S. troops
F. a single woman who refuses to make eye contact
G. a teenage boy who speaks a little English and happily greets you,
asking questions
H. an eight year old boy who swears at you, saying the U.S. murdered
his parents
I. an elderly woman who shakes in fear and refuses to make eye
contact
J. a suspicious looking man in his 30’s who also refuses to make eye
contact
You, as a lieutenant, must decide what
to do. Do you allow all to go free,
knowing there are one or two enemies that can attack again? Do you kill any of them? Do you kill all of them? You know you cannot keep any as a prisoner,
as you have to continue to the next objective, and you know you were ordered to
kill any Vietcong encountered. You have
no men to spare to guard prisoners. You
must act quickly to keep the respect of your men. Keeping in mind the rules of war and the level of threat caused
by each villager, which option do you choose?
For homework:
For
each person, circle what you would choose to do with him/her. Then on the lines below, write a minimum one full sentence
for each person, explaining your decision.
You cannot repeat your reasons.
Every answer for each of the ten people must be different from the
others. Use details from the story to
justify your opinion. Remember minimum work does not guarantee a good
grade. You will be graded on how you
completely justify your opinions and for grammar and spelling.
Person A Kill Let go
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Person B Kill Let go
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Person C Kill Let go
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Person D Kill Let go
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Person E Kill Let go
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Person F Kill Let go
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Person G Kill Let go
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Person H Kill Let go
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Person I Kill Let go
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Person J Kill Let go
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What are some of the possible consequences of your actions? Write a
minimum one full sentence.
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How do you feel about your decision? How will your men feel about you afterwards? Write a minimum two full sentences.
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