ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by discussing some of the rules and their relevance to the Vietnam War. It examines the Vietnam Generation's perception of the lawfulness of certain acts committed against civilians and the environment by the combatants and explores that generation's responses to such acts. General protection of so-called civilian objects—places of worship, farms, schools, homes, etc.—has been provided for in several international conventions. Largely because of the extensive and long-term damage suffered by the Vietnamese environment during the prolonged war, numerous measures have been taken to prohibit action hostile to the environment and climate, hence incompatible with human well-being and health. The South Vietnamese also engaged in many illegal acts against the civilian population and killed a great number of innocent civilians. The perspectives of Vietnam veterans on the conduct of the war vis-a-vis civilians by American forces are the most illuminating. Vietnam veterans are less likely than others to attribute acts against civilians to US forces in Vietnam.
