Noto analyzes My Lai and Son Thang against the backdrop of a flawed military justice system and an arrogant and inept civilian and military leadership that failed to articulate a coherent military strategy to win the war. Noto shows that failure of leadership contributed to problems of command discipline, racial tension, drug abuse, and general disregard for military protocol. His study examines these issues and describes how ordinary American boys became cold-blooded killers seemingly overnight, what combination of factors led to these tragic events, and how the military can prevent them from happening in future conflicts. -- P. [4] of cover.