of men killed in a land mine during an operation brought out feelings of hate and fear towards the Vietnamese (Olson, Calley, p.52). While the American soldiers were being wounded or killed the enemy was rarely to be seen or shot at. The soldiers were frustrated that their friends were being killed by the enemy, but they could not find the enemy to kill them. This lead American soldiers into My Lai with the attitude to seek revenge for previous casualties and that nothing would stop them (Olson, Roberts, Peers Report, p.54).3Distinguishing between the enemy soldiers and civilians was another factor of why this massacre occurred. The problem of not knowing who the enemy was also led to fear and frustration within the American soldiers. The enemy was not dressed in uniform so they were not easily detected. Some civilians were helping the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army. Some would be civilians by day and snipers at night. Even children would coddle up to jeeps and drop hand grenades in the jeep (Olson, Roberts, Peers Report, p.54). The soldiers were becoming very frustrated because they did not know who to be friends with.The misinterpretation of the mission by the captains and the soldiers also led to the My Lai massacre. To start off with, the plan was based upon a faulty assumption concerning the strength and disposition of the enemy and the absence of noncombatants in the operational area (Olson, p58). The village was supposed to be clear of all civilians, and those who remained were the enemy or sympathizers of the enemy. The initial orders given by Colonel Barker were to neutralize the village of My Lia and to destroy enemy resources, such as buildings, hootches, tunnels and livestock (Olson, Kotouc, Peers Report, p.59). When Captain Medina called the Charlie Company together to explain the mission, the 4 troops walked away with different interpretations of the mission. Gregory Olsen said they were instructed t...
