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Muõ Ñoû 72 143
the old people, all of them are attacked”.
“After shooting them, the Communists went to inspect the bodies and took
all the victims’ belongings which were considered war booty. I saw many
old women and children falling on the spot.”
Replying to a question on the reason for the indiscriminate fring and shell-
ing, the rallier said:
“In my opinion the Communists considered all people feeing Quang Tri
to the South were pro-government people. As such, they were considered
anti-communists and had to be shot at. Those who had stayed behind in
Quang Tri city were compelled by the Communists to go to Vinh Linh.”
He was asked:
“When you ventured out on the road, did you see the bodies of any chil-
dren?”
“Yes, about 10 children... dead and scattered along the road for about one
kilometer”
“How many female bodies did you see?”.
“About 10, but a greater number were wounded. They sat in the gutters or
under the bushes”
“Did you see many old people dead or wounded?”
“Many ...”
“Were there many young men dead?”
“A lot of young men died.”
“In your judgment were they civilians or servicemen? Were they villagers
or city people?”
“In my opinion they were young men from all walks of life... students or
young men who were not in the army ...”
He added:
“When we returned to our unit for critiques, the men complained to the
leaders about the indiscriminate fring and said it was wrong, but the lead-
ers did not agree. They said the civilians were part of the enemy popula-
tion, and that if they were allowed to fee they would later take up arms
and shoot us. We were under orders to fre on everyone, and we had to
carry out those orders.”
He refused to hazard an estimate of how many were killed:
Nhöõng ngöôøi vôï lính - Vaän nöôùc, phaän ngöôøi
the old people, all of them are attacked”.
“After shooting them, the Communists went to inspect the bodies and took
all the victims’ belongings which were considered war booty. I saw many
old women and children falling on the spot.”
Replying to a question on the reason for the indiscriminate fring and shell-
ing, the rallier said:
“In my opinion the Communists considered all people feeing Quang Tri
to the South were pro-government people. As such, they were considered
anti-communists and had to be shot at. Those who had stayed behind in
Quang Tri city were compelled by the Communists to go to Vinh Linh.”
He was asked:
“When you ventured out on the road, did you see the bodies of any chil-
dren?”
“Yes, about 10 children... dead and scattered along the road for about one
kilometer”
“How many female bodies did you see?”.
“About 10, but a greater number were wounded. They sat in the gutters or
under the bushes”
“Did you see many old people dead or wounded?”
“Many ...”
“Were there many young men dead?”
“A lot of young men died.”
“In your judgment were they civilians or servicemen? Were they villagers
or city people?”
“In my opinion they were young men from all walks of life... students or
young men who were not in the army ...”
He added:
“When we returned to our unit for critiques, the men complained to the
leaders about the indiscriminate fring and said it was wrong, but the lead-
ers did not agree. They said the civilians were part of the enemy popula-
tion, and that if they were allowed to fee they would later take up arms
and shoot us. We were under orders to fre on everyone, and we had to
carry out those orders.”
He refused to hazard an estimate of how many were killed:
Nhöõng ngöôøi vôï lính - Vaän nöôùc, phaän ngöôøi
