That was not what he was saying at all. The general was astutely recognizing that the Vietnamese, unlike Americans, tended to see themselves not so much as individuals, but as part of the community. It was the community, and their place in it, that gave them their identity. As the Vietnamese saw it, if they had to lay down their lives for their country, they as individuals would die, but they as part of their community, would continue to live on. There is a natural tension between what is good for the individual versus what is good for the community.
American culture tends to come down on the side of the individual.
Nature itself, however, seems to place the good of the community above the well-being of the individual. A bee, without hesitation, will sting anyone threatening the hive, sacrificing its individual life in the process. The ultimate goal of existence is Nirvana, or liberation from the individual self. For the Hindu, in heaven the individual soul loses its unique identify, is dissolved like a drop into the great ocean of life. How foreign this is for most Americans.