War, Weapons and Words

As I read Dan Neil’s column on modern weapons, I recalled an exercise I took part in at Ft. Belvoir, Va., in 1966 (“Bomb Mots,” 800 Words, May 6). As combat engineers, our mission was to plant TNT and plastic explosives deep into a hill. When the plunger was pushed by our commanding officer, the side of the hill collapsed and buried a dozen or so outhouses in a gully, simulating a “Viet Cong village.”

The commanding officer then congratulated us on successfully “wiping out the enemy.” When one bleeding-heart private first class asked what of the women and children who may have been “wiped out,” the commanding officer just shrugged and said, “What’s a few gooks more or less? They’re probably VC sympathizers anyway.” When it comes to warfare, the old cliche still holds: The more things change . . .

Bud Hoferer

Los Angeles