That night in the mekong delta, the women and children who died were, in the heartless phrase, "collat-eral damage." They were victims of the fog of battle, or of the atrocity of Oops! You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vietnam was some omelet. But it was a war, after all-a tragic, confusing, mishandled business in which the enemy merged with the civilian population, and the girl who did the laundry might blow.you up with a grenade hidden beneath the folded underwear. Brave, decent men like Bob Kerrey got hurt or killed and sometimes made mistakes that killed the innocent.
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