An American atrocity

On a rainy night in January 1868, several days before Tet, a squad of Marines on a mission to gather intelligence is attacked by a large force of North Vietnamese regulars. Only six Marines live through the assault. The following day, the half-dazed and exhausted survivors capture three Vietnamese dressed as farmers. The captives are put on "trial" for being the enemy, sentenced to death, and executed. One of the captives-a teenage boy-is tortured and hanged. While prosecuting the killers for premeditated murder, Jeff Conners, a young Marine lawyer, confronts the difficult issues that arise when Americans prosecute their own for atrocities committed in a guerilla war: Should we require our fighting men and women to follow the rules of war when fighting an enemy that ignores them? Are the rules of war even relevant to guerilla conflicts? Where is the dividing line between warfare's inherent brutality and war crimes? Written by a former Chief Prosecutor for the First Marine Division, An American Atrocity is a powerful, insightful, and gripping narrative describing one man's struggle to balance moral responsibility with military duty. -- from cover.