MovieChat Forums > Casualties of War (1989) Discussion > why were they given such lenient sentenc...

why were they given such lenient sentences?

posted 11 years ago by zackattack-1
3 replies | jump to latest

First off, I would say this is one of the best war films ever made. The storyline and immersion really has a tremendous effect on the audience. I know in real life the perpetrators were given harsh sentences at first but were eventually commuted to lesser sentences.

Look up Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E. It is the gravesite of over 90 servicemen who were executed for war crimes during World War II for charges of murder and rape. They received death sentences for atrocities committed against victims from Britain, France, Poland, Italy, Algeria, and even some of their own fellow soldiers! It just doesn't make sense why they seem to have sort of a double standard.

Why would the Army be so strict on such atrocities during World War II, but shortly thereafter in Vietnam, become so lenient with things like this?

[–] Disardor 11 years ago

I don't have any exact answers for you, unfortunately, but Captain Hill does tell Eriksson that "court martials are notoriously lenient and stateside review boards are even more lenient," so perhaps things like that changed between WWII and Vietnam or perhaps the fact that the case you reference involved far more killings (and atrocities against fellow soldiers) whereas this one just involved the one Vietnamese girl could have something to do with it. I'm not saying they shouldn't have been punished more severely, mind you, because I think they should've been; just trying to help you figure out why this discrepancy might have existed.

[–] cdz6969 11 years ago

Here might be an answer:

WWII was a popular war. Vietnam wasn't.

Half of the country didn't want to be there to begin with. Had they started really punishing US soldiers for committing crimes overseas like rape and murder. People would have pointed the fingers at Uncle Sam for drafting these teenage kids who weren't smart enough to go to college and putting them in a war zone.

Then imagine the uproar the public would have happened had they started executing their own soldiers (The ones lucky enough to survive the fighting). There would have been so much more public pressure to end the war and come back home, which would have cost the Military Industrial Complex to lose billions more in non-purchased weaponry.

Jesus would support Universal Health Care

[–] YankeeDood 10 years ago

The judges smoked marijuana.

"If it doesn't have a guitar in it, it's dumb."
- The Usual Rock Hipster