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SCOTT CAMILE: I saw one case where a
woman was shot by a sniper, one of our snipers. When we got up to her,
she was asking for water. And the Lieutenant said to kill her. So he ripped off
her clothes. They stabbed her in both breasts. They spread-eagled her
and shoved an E- tool up her vagina, an entrenching tool, and she was
still asking for water. And then they took that out, and they used a tree
limb, and then she was shot.
MODERATOR: Did the men in your outfit,
or when you witnessed these things, did they seem to think that it was
all right to do anything to the Vietnamese?
SCOTT CAMILE: It wasn't like they were
humans. We were conditioned to believe that this was for the good of the
nation, the good of our country, and anything we did was okay. And when
you shot someone, you didn't think you were shooting at a human. They
were a gook or a Commie, and it was okay. And anything you did to them
was okay because, like, they would tell you they'd do it to you if they
had the chance.
KENNETH CAMPBELL: The Vietnamese were gooks. We
didn't just call the VC or the NVA gooks. All Vietnamese were gooks, and
they were slant eyes. They were zips. They were Orientals. And they were
inferior to us. We were Americans. We were the civilized people. We
didn't give a shit about those people.
Q. At the time, did you have any
question in your mind that anything wrong was going on?
A. Well, something like this was
just too bad. I mean, it was all wrong.
It's just that I didn't really start
thinking about these things till I came home, because I had to get my
head together to start, you know, almost to get up the guts to start
talking about this thing. Because, you know, I've been holding it in for
a long time.
Q. I'll throw this question out
to anybody. I have heard soldiers testify to personal atrocities
that they committed. And the fact they're here means their
concerned. What happens to a man over in Vietnam?
SCOTT CAMILE: Well, it's our general conditioning.
Even before we get in the service, you know, America is always right,
the government's right. You don't question them.
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