On a moonless night in February 1969, Kerrey recalls, the six-member squad he was leading came under attack from a set of thatched huts in a village. He says he and his men returned fire only to discover to their surprise and horror that they had killed women and children. Kerrey's own account has shifted, and a military document obtained by The Associated Press cites the account of an old Vietnamese man from the village who reported an atrocity from there in February 1969. If so, that would be very serious. Its glory is all moonshine. . . .
War is hell.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on April 28, 2001. Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved.