posted on May, 20 2006 @ 02:54 PM
Some lifer explained it to me this way: the average American fighting man, due to training, equipment, and supplies was worth three chucks. So when a
soldier was killed it could be assumed that he took three of the enemy with him. That was probably more the alcohol talking than the actual McNamara
strategy concerning the bodycount as measure of success. What I like the best is that there were these guys, "the best & brightest," who studied the
conflict in Vietnam and came up with some truly whacky ideas, and then implemented them. The bodycount was McNamara's brainchild. He was the guy who
came up with the Ford Falcon, the same model I drove for years. I don't blame him entirely for coming up with a concept that ultimately could only
lead to profound demoralization for all concerned, because the Vietnam war came with a set of boundaries. Generally, it seems in war, that victory is
measured in real estate. Ground. Territory armies deprive other armies of possessing. But we weren't allowed to go true north. Unlike Giaps' forces
which, with their P-38's, were infiltrating the south. They were looking for ground. Ours was a "static defense." I heard that phrase in one of the
best Nam films made, Go Tell the Spartans. And so to compensate for the lack of secured ground, we started counting bodies. But, I guess McNamara
didn't figure that there would be so many...