The Murder of Ben Tre

from an Associated Press repert (7/2/68) This once placid delta city “ied today’ - flattened in a 50-hour onslaught of hombs, shells and napalm that drove out the Vietcong. It became necessary to destroy the city to seve it. So said a U.S. maior. But at least 500 of Ben Tre's 35, 000 civilians — possibly 1,000 - are dead. "We will never know for sure," said U.S. advisor Lieut.-Colonel James Dare, "Many families are buried permanently under the rubble." This provincial capital was one of 35 towns and cities attacked by the Vietcong in the upsurge of fighting last week, The invaders had overrun most of the city and were rallying to knock out the last pockets of Governrent resistance when the barrage was ordered. A U.S. captain said: "We waited until we had no choice. We argued with our corps headquarters at Can Tho. They didn't like the idea but they were convinced when we explained that it was rockets and bombing, or the end of us," Armed helicopters made dozens of passes at the rambling market place in the city centre, smashing its walls and leaving the roof amass of twisted metal, Business houses became gaunt shells of blackened concrete. The radio station, from which the Vietcong began broadcasting, was levelled by U.S. fighters. Major Chester L. Brown directed the attacks from a tiny spotter plane, He said: "It is always (sic) a pityabout the civilians. In the mass confusion of this kind of thing, the people don't know where the lines are, they don't know were to hide." But he saved hundreds of civilians from possible death, Told to bring in an air strike on "1,000 Vietcong" fleeing from the city, he buzzed down low and saw scores of young children and women, "Some Vietcong may have been among them, but I wasn't going to bring napalm on them," he said. Editorial note: We have published this despatch in full, and without changing the offending word Vietcong because we felt that this would make the item of more use to people wanting to use it. The very bits about savine civilians are a revelation in themselves, How many tires has there not been a Chester L. Brown to stop a napalm attack on fleeing civilians? The whole article is as put out by the Associated Press correspondent Peter Arnett, even the headline.