Vietnam was a civil war. It was also a guerilla war. Women and children fought. They shot guns, threw hand grenades, and set traps. The women and children buzzword doesn't work in this context.
Soldiers often kill prisoners of war.
War is a nasty business. It does bad things to the minds of the people that fight it. Women and children participated. His men won the fire fight and captured 13 women and children. Many of the captured participated in the fire fight.