The next step in the activity depends upon how you plan to use it. I follow up the activity with a short writing assignment in which I ask students to answer the following question:  Is it right to kill someone because of the power they might eventually have over you?

The answer to this question forms the foundation for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. We refer back to this debate throughout the Caesar unit.

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Scenario

During the Vietnam War, an infantry squad was patrolling deep in enemy-controlled territory near the Cambodian border. At one point in this operation, the squad leader, Sergeant Johnson, decided to scout along a trail that ran through a valley leading toward a village a short distance away. Johnson told one of his rifleman, a private named Dillon, to stay on a small hilltop as a lookout while the rest of the squad followed along the trail in the valley below. Johnson expressed concern about a possible ambush on the trail and reminded Dillon that their platoon had been ambushed in this same area and had suffered a number of casualties some weeks prior to the present operation. “Don’t take any chances,” Johnson warned. “Better to kill a few of those murdering villagers than to let any more Americans die.”

As Dillon watched the squad make its way along the trail, he saw a Vietnamese woman suddenly appear on the trail just ahead of the squad, but around the bend so they could not see her. From his vantage point, the woman appeared to lean over the edge of the trail and then quickly moved back into the underbrush—out of sight of the squad, but still visible to Dillon.

Dillon was immediately suspicious. This was enemy controlled territory, and the woman could easily be part of the local guerilla forces. On the other hand, many innocent peasants lived in and around the village. Was the woman a guerrilla soldier who might set off a mine or booby trap when thee squad came around the bend in the trail? Or was the woman simply a peasant who had perhaps dropped something on the trail in her haste to hide from the advancing American soldiers? Also, what about the things Johnson had told him? As a soldier, he was taught to obey all orders of his superiors. To disobey is a crime.

As these thoughts went through Dillon’s mind, the squad kept moving and now was almost at the spot where the woman was hiding. The squad was too far away for Dillon to call out to them. Even a warning shot would probably not stop them from proceeding around the bend. Dillon raised his rifle and lined up his sights on the woman in the brush. But as his finger tightened on the trigger, he hesitated.

If he shot the woman and there turned out not to be a mine or booby trap on the trail, he would have murdered an innocent person. But if he didn’t shoot her, a number of his friends might be blown to bits if the woman detonated a mine.

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Small Group Questions

1. What should Dillon do: hold his fire or shoot the woman?
2. Why is that the right thing for him to do?
3. Do you agree with what Sergeant Johnson told Dillon? Why or why not?

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Whole Class Discussion Questions

1. If Dillon holds his fire, why does the fact that the people in his squad are his “friends” make a difference (or does that make a difference)?
2. If Dillon decides to shoot the woman and it turns out that she was just an innocent peasant woman, do you think he has done anything wrong? Why or why not?
3. If Dillon killed an innocent civilian would you be willing to call him a murderer? Why or why not? If yes, what should his punishment be? Why?
4. If Dillon decides not to shoot the woman, and it turns out that she was a guerilla soldier who sets off a mine or a booby trap, and some of his fellow soldiers are killed and wounded, do you think he has done anything wrong? Why or why not?
5. If Dillon fails to shoot the woman and some of his fellow soldiers are killed and wounded as a result of his failure to shoot, would you be willing to say that he has committed a crime? Why or why not? What crime has he committed and what should his punishment be? Why?
6. What do you think the morals of war are? What guidelines or criteria can someone use to live by in a war?
7. What impact do you think this might have on what people write and what they read?

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Original Use & Adaptability

This lesson plan was originally designed for use in a classroom setting consisting of approximately 27 to 29 students; however, the assignment can easily be adapted for smaller classrooms and for home school use.

Adapted from Johannessen, L.R. (1997, January 20). Teaching the Vietnam War. Presented at a teacher’s institute meeting at Township High School, LaGrange, IL.

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Enrichment & Home School Use

As mentioned above, this assignment can be completed independently or in small groups.

Make use of local resources to supplement the activity. Instead of a group discussion amongst peers, the group discussion could involve the extended family, friends, or community members. Call upon the experiences of community members who have military experience to add an additional dynamic to the discussion.

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Other Assignment Components

The Soldier's Dilemma
The Soldier's Dilemma Essay Assignment

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Handouts

The Soldier's Dilemma Scenario
The Soldier's Dilemma Discussion Questions
The Soldier's Dilemma Essay Assignment