Check out the full clip below:
This is a bad situation.
Weve totally lost command and control here.
He didnt want them to fire, but someone started firing.
The lieutenant there, hes clearly lost it because hes seeing things that arent there.
So hes seeing VC running around, and he can see their SKSs or AK-47s.
Tom Cruises character is looking and going, I dont really see that.
Youve got bad leadership at the top.
A guy makes a bad assumption.
Then you have lack of command and control, discipline over your own troops.
This is not outside the realm of possibility.
This just shows how things can go wrong and a lot of civilians get hurt and killed.
This is not so much like a search-and-destroy mission, its more of a sweep and clear.
But there were instances where villages were attacked innocently.
The villagers are there.
But theyre so amped up that they just, some immediately assume that theyre all VC.
But My Lai is a rarity.
That specific sequence highlighted in the video finds Cruise’s character agreeing with his comrade about enemy riffles.
