The mere passage of time or anticipated difficulty of proof does not deter us from pursuing justice for Birmingham church bombings in 1963 or Auschwitz gassings in 1943. To treat Thanh Phong differently signals a double standard that will be variously attributed to arrogance, racism or worse. Relatively few American soldiers intentionally committed war crimes in Vietnam or other wars. Many of those crimes will forever remain hidden. Hopefully, the unknown perpetrators were and are, at the very least, tormented by the memory of their wrongdoing, of the needless pain and loss they inflicted, of the dishonor and harm they brought upon our country.
War crimes are no different than others.
Once credible evidence of a possible crime surfaces, it should be investigated. The killings in Thanh Phong are no exception. Mercer Law Professor and former Macon Mayor Jim Marshall was an Army Ranger in Vietnam during 1969-70. The Macon Telegraph. The information you receive online from The Macon Telegraph is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.