Kill When I Say Kill
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Mid 1971 or so, we were flying support for a Vietnamese unit. I was backseat in a Huey performing Command and Control duties with a Vietnamese Lieutenant next to me.
Our hunter killer team spotted several armed individuals walking on a dyke between rice patties. The Vietnamese Lieutenant pointed and said "Kill" several times. He seemed to be excited about finding this group. This went on for maybe 5 minutes – seemed to be longer. Just didn’t feel right, the individuals had waved at us and made no effort to hide or shot at us.
We discussed – myself, Huey crew, and Cobra crew. After the 5 or more minutes the Lieutenant stopped saying Kill and stated "Okay" they are friendly patrol.
Over the years after Vietnam when I was called a baby killer or other insults I remembered this instance which helped me ignore the insult as I knew we had exercised restraint when appropriate.