Honors Summer Read 2025: Rules of Engagement

Welcome to the East Central University Honors Program's Enduring Questions website!

If you are enrolled in an Honors Enduring Questions class for the fall semester of 2025 at ECU (EQ1 or EQ3), this website is for you. Read on!

Ten percent of each student's grade in both EQ1 and EQ3 will be based on your responses to the questions raised here.

This website is designed to spark conversation. The sort of conversation we're looking to create with this website is academic in character. Thus, your responses should consist of clear, concise statements of your ideas crafted in standard English (not text-speak!). They should be long enough to convey your thoughts, but short enough for other readers to read and respond to fairly quickly. In short, you don't want your responses to be so long that you monopolize (or kill) the conversation by going on, and on, and on.....(we all know how irritating that can be!).

Obviously, responses should not use profanity. They should be civil and respectful. People do not always agree. Responses can be critical; however, all communication is expected to be courteous and professional. Contributors' positions may be questioned; their character should not.

The objective here is to reflect on some of the issues raised by the text, to connect the reading to your personal experience, and to help first- and second-year Honors students get to know each other better.

When should I begin posting my responses?
As soon as you have begin reading The Women by Kristin Hannah. Answer questions after you have read the corresponding chapter (and all preceding chapters). Don't skip around. Ideally, you will read the question after you've read each chapter and respond at that time. There are some questions that you shouldn't respond to after you're read farther ahead in the book (since you know more than other readers do and your response will be shaped by what comes later).

When is this assignment due?
This writing assignment is designed to be completed before classes begin in August.  Details about where and how to account for and submit your word count total will be provided in class when the semester starts (preview: you will compile your comments into a Google Form survey that will be due after classes begin).

How many questions should I respond to?

We do not expect you to respond to each question, but you should respond to several representing different sections of the book. We hope that by the time all the class has completed the assignment, every question will have at least one or two responses.

Are there any questions I have to answer?

Yes: "The Takeaway." Only answer "The Takeaway" when you have finished reading the book. When you answer the Takeaway, you are also testifying that you have read the entire book (you can find a link to "The Takeaway" question in the text below). 

New requirement this year:

Everyone is also required to answer "The Tip of the Hat" question (see post below). Your answer to that question will not be a part of your word count. In order to respond to this question, you need to read comments other students have made and take take of those that are most thought-provoking.

How will you know if I have read the book? Will we be tested on it?

We won't test you. We'll trust you. These questions are not designed to show whether or not someone has read the book. They are designed to enrich your engagement with the book and with other Honors students. But if your answers somehow raise suspicions about whether you've read the book or not, you may get further questions about them from the Honors Director. Academic dishonesty of any kind (including the use of of AI to generate answers and not merely revise them) may result in expulsion from the program and loss of an Honors scholarship. Academic dishonesty becomes a greater temptation the later you wait to start (and finish) this assignment.

Will you really be able to tell if I haven't read the book?

No. Some people successfully cheat and lie their way through college, cutting corners and rationalizing dishonorable behavior. You get to decide if you want to be that person. In the process, you'll be determining whether the diploma you're working toward will be just a piece of paper or whether it will actually represent an education.

How much should I write?

Your responses should add up to a sum total of not less than 750 words.  Don't try to load up all 750 words into one or two comments.  You should also respond to comments left by other readers. And pose questions to other readers. (Check back later to see if anyone has responded to your comments-and respond to their responses.)  All of this writing will count toward your 750-word total.  Students are responsible for keeping track of their word total (eventually, we will ask you to cut and paste your responses into a Microsoft Word document, which has a word count feature).  This is not just a writing assignment, though; it's a reading assignment, too.  Every student is responsible for reading every word of the assigned text.

Where do I post my responses?
At the bottom of each question post, you will find a "comment" link. If it has a "0" beside it, that means no one has commented yet; as more people comment, the number will go up. When you're ready to weigh in, click on the "comments" button, read any previous comments, and start writing. Please sign your posts. And use your real name--not a nickname--so we can get to know each other).

More questions?
E-mail us at sbenton@ecok.edu!

Engaging with The Women

Kristin Hannah (photo by Ruth Fremson/New York Times)

In this post, you will find links to questions about Kristin Hannah's The Women. These questions are identified by the chapters they refer to in the book and are listed in the order in which the issues they address are raised by the text.

Once you've started reading the chapters listed below, click on the links, read the corresponding questions and comments other readers may have left (click on the "comment" button beneath each post to see them), and then join the discussion (or initiate it).

Some question sets require further research. Some require watching a movie. One requires independent journal writing.

Most posts have several questions. You may answer any of them you wish. It is not necessary to answer all of them.

Answer the questions you consider to be most thought-provoking rather than those that are simply easiest to answer.

 

There are only two questions that every student is required to answer.  These are the last two, referred to here as “The Takeaway” and "The Tip of the Hat." Don't answer these until you've finished reading the book. Your answer to "The Takeaway" is your promise that you have read the entire book. 

As you are reading, underline any passages that you consider to be thought-provoking, insightful, or artfully expressed (unless you're reading a library copy, in which case, you may want to just make note). You may want to refer to one of the passages you have underlined in "The Takeaway."

As you are working through this webpage, pay attention to comments left by other students. You will offer a "tip of the hat" to the author that made the most thought-provoking comment.

After you've finished the book, be prepared to discuss it at the 2025 Honors Burkean Parlor, which will meet from 7-8:30 pm on Monday, August 25th in the Chalmers Herman Theatre.

Note: Academic dishonesty of any kind (including the use of of AI to generate answers and not merely revise them) may result in expulsion from the program and loss of an Honors scholarship.

Chapters (some chapters are not included; some chapters have multiple question sets noted by letters: A, B, C, D, E).

1: "Heroes' wall"

2: A family duty
3: "A patriot"

4: "Babies"

5: What to bring

6: "Second-class citizens"
7: The degree

8: "A good guy"

9: Stars and Stripes
10: "Dance with me"

12: "The Guard was called in."

14: "Maybe it had always been a lie"

15A: "A child crying for her mother"

15B: "In his arms"

15C: "I can count"

16: "Don't believe him"

17: A necklace
18: What is wrong with the world?

19A: "I couldn't believe the language you used at the club"

19B: Shame

20: "What do you have left?"

21: "What's wrong with her?"

22A: "You got him killed."

22B: Forget it

23A: The tide turns

23B: "We have to try."

Kate Webb

24: Fashion show?

25: "Time doesn't mean what it used to"

26A: Lieutenant William Calley

26B: Immoral maybe?

26C: Ron Kovic

27: "I don't . . . think I'm ready"

28: "This jabble"

30: "I couldn't let you go"

31: "Soccer ball balloon"

32A: "You don't belong here"

32B: "You almost ended me"

33: "The beginning of healing"

34A: "Invisible"

34B: "The people who you love the most"

35A: "The last best place"

35B: "How did I end up here?"

35C: "The last believers"

35D: Remembering

The Takeaway: Only answer this one after you've finished reading the entire book

The Tip of the Hat: Requires reading comments left by others

Chapter 1: "Heroes' Wall"

"On the Wings of Change"(2021) street art by Diosa (Jasmina Cazacu). The suffragists depicted in this mural are: Mary Livermore, Myra Bradwell, Frances E. Willard, Fannie Barrier Williams, Jane Addams, Catharine Waugh McCulloch, Ida B. Wells, Grace Wilbur Trout, and Agnes Nestor.

The McGrath home features a wall of family heroes. They are all men.

If you had a "wall of heroes" in your home that was entirely comprised of women who are not family members and not Biblical or literary characters, who would go on that wall?

How much harder is it likely to be for male students to create such a wall than it will be for the women students to do so? Would it be easier for female students to include men on their heroes' wall?

Chapter 2: A Family Duty

Jack Nicholson as Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men (1992)

In chapter two, we learn that "All her life [Frankie]'d been taught that military service was a family duty" (14).

Is it fair that some families believe that military service is their duty while others do not?

Is it fair that some serve and some others simply benefit from their service?

Many people speak freely of their rights (e.g. life, liberty, privacy, etc.), but is there any kind of duty or obligation or responsibility that everyone shares? To their family? To their country? To the human race? To God? To the natural word?

Or are such responsibilities purely a matter of personal taste and opinion?

Optional extra: See Colonel Jessup's testimony in A Few Good Men for some reflections on the military duty. 

Chapter 3: A Patriot

Female soldiers march in a parade marking the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)

There are several questions in this set. Respond to any of them that you consider to be thought-provoking and avoid the easy ones.

When Frankie's mother refers to her as a "patriot," she does so with disdain. She goes on to rebuke her daughter for joining the army, asking "How could you be so stupid?"

Many people thinking joining the U.S. military is a brave and honorable life choice, but is it always brave and honorable to join the military of your home country, regardless of what country you live in or what time period you are living in?

Is it always honorable to be patriotic and take pride in your nation?

 Should all citizens feel proud of their country and patriotic?

Does calling yourself a patriot mean that you believe your country's actions are, on the whole, positive? Or does calling yourself a patriot mean that you love your country, right or wrong, because it is yours, just like your family is yours?

Why might Frankie's mother think it is "stupid" for Frankie to join the military?

Chapter 4: "Babies"

"Homecoming Marine" (1945) by Norman Rockwell

Captain Bronson wonders aloud why they are sending "babies" to war. Presumably, he is talking about the large number of combat soldiers in the Vietnam War who were in their late teens and early 20s.

On the one hand, you could say that it makes sense because young soldiers are more likely to be physically fit and less likely to have families that depend on them.

Are there any less positive psychological or ideological reasons why nations might rely on young people to enlist and serve and not more mature adults?

For example, are younger people less likely to be skeptical of a nation's foreign policy or its political objectives?

Why might Captain Bronson use the language he does?

Chapter 5: "What to Bring"

Promotional poster for The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Frankie's first experiences in Vietnam differed greatly from her expectations, and she wonders if the "men who wrote the 'What to Bring' section of the information packet [she'd been given had] even been to Vietnam?"(38).

Have you ever had an experience that differed greatly from what you expected going in or by what you were led to believe by the previous information you'd been given?

If you have already been at ECU for a year, how did the experience differ from what you expected going in? What advice do you wish yoú'd been given before your first year?

Why do you think the advice provided in the information packet for Army nurses like Frankie going to Vietnam was so far off the mark?

Chapter 6: "Second-class citizens"

Nursing graduates, University of Delaware, 1966

Ethel complains that "Nurses back in the world are second-class citizens. And, big surprise--they're mostly women. Men keep us in boxes, make us wear starched virgin white, and tell us that docs are gods. And the worst part is, we believe them" (51).

Ethel is describing an America that existed over fifty years ago. Nurses are no longer required to "wear starched virgin white." But can you think of any ways in which nurses are still treated as "second-class citizens" in the healthcare world? Is it likely that gender still plays an important role in determing who becomes a nurse and how they are treated?

Chapter 7: The Degree

Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (2001)

Frankie quickly feels that the nursing degree she earned in college has not prepared her for the kind of nursing work she is expected to do in Vietnam.

Given her experience, would it be fair for Frankie to feel that much of her time in college had been wasted?

Is a disconnect between college education and real world job skills a problem today?

Is it more of a problem with some degree plans than it is in others?

If a degree were not a requirement for many entry-level jobs, how many students would be better off going straight into the workforce and learning on the job?

Chapter 8: "A Good Guy"

This question is for readers who have read through chapter eight and no further in the book.

SPOILER ALERT: only read the question below after you have read chapter eight.

Photograph with a view from Saigon's luxury, 5-star Caravelle Hotel rooftop, 1962

After Jamie asks Frankie to go with him to a hotel in Saigon that has "soft beds" and "clean sheets," Frankie confronts him with her knowledge that the surgeon is a married man, although he does not wear a wedding ring (86).

Based on what the book has revealed about Jaime so far, how much do you agree with his statement that he is, as he says, "a good guy"? What evidence can you provide to support the case both that he is and that he is not a good guy?

Given that some basically good people make some bad decisions and the fact that at some point almost everyone makes some good decisions, can we ever know who is and who is not a "good guy" and a "good girl"?

Is "goodness" a summation of all the decisions people have made over the course of their lives? Or is there a point in which someone can no longer take credit or blame for past acts?

Chapter 9: Stars and Stripes

Only answer this question set after you've read Chapter Nine.

Frankie observes that even though an "increased number of wounded" are coming into the hospital, the U.S. Defense Department's daily independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes, "published rah-rah-America-is-winning-the-war articles every week" (92). Frankie's mother, meanwhile, tells Frankie that an "International War Crimes Tribunal found the U.S. guilty of bombing civilian targets, included schools--SCHOOLS, Frankie!--and churches and even a leper colony" (96). After encountering an orphan whose South Vietnamese village had been bombed, presumably by Americans, Frankie observes "War was one thing; bombing villages full of women and children was something else. God knew there were no stories about it in the Stars and Stripes. Why weren't they reporting the truth?" (103).

Presumably, Stars and Stripes would not want to publish articles that might demoralize the troops in the field. 

If you suspected that publishing bad news might have a palpably negative effect on the morale of your country, your workplace, your school, or even your family, would you consider keeping it quiet?

Given that withholding information is not the same thing as lying, shouldn't you always consider withholding information if you think the effect of sharing it would be harmful?

At what point is it disloyal or unpatriotic for a U.S. citizen to write or publish things that expose or criticize the shortcomings of the United States?

When is it disloyal or unpatriotic for an instructor to ask their students to study such shortcomings?

If an orphanage or a leper colony is bombed by mistake, does that reduce the need to criticize it?

Chapter 10: "Dance with me"

Only respond to this set of questions after you have read chapter 10.

"The Meeting of Jacob and Rachel"(1850) by William Dyce

In chapter 10, Frankie reflects on her relationship with Jamie, who is married. It would be a violation of Jamie's marriage vows for him to enter into a relationship with Jamie. For that reason, many would consider it immoral for him to do so. But what about Frankie? Would it be immoral for her to enter into a sexual relationship with Jamie, since she is not bound by any marital vows? The vows are his, not hers, right?

In a traditional society, sex outside of marriage is considered immoral, but is that a standard that can or should be used to judge the actions of others?

Or is it simply a personal decision and a matter of taste?

Do you believe that younger Americans have largely abandoned that traditional belief?

In what ways might that be seen either as a sign of progress or as a sign of decline?

Is a declining belief in universal moral standards a sign of progress or a sign of decline?

Chapter 12: "The Guard was called in"

In Chapter 12, Barb receives a letter from her mother that mentions the 1967 riots in Detroit, when 33 Black people were killed.

Below you will find a trailer for Detroit, the 2017 movie about that event, directed by Katherine Bigelow.

For this question set, watch the movie (available via various streaming services), and draw any connections you see between the events depicted in the movie and the events depicted in the novel.

After watching the film, you may want to do some research (cite reliable sources!) on whether the film accurately depicts the events that took place in Detroit in the summer of 1967.

Is this an event that you are familiar with? Why do you think Hannah includes a reference to it in the novel?

Chapter 14: Maybe it had always been a lie

Frankie feels disillusioned with Stars and Stripes and with the U.S. the government for not telling the truth about the casualty count: "The America Frankie believed in, the shining Camelot of her youth, was gone, or lost. Or maybe it had always been a lie"(163).

Do you think this evolution in Frankie's thinking is a reflection of the aging process? Is this kind of disillusionment to be expected of most youth as they mature into adulthood and see past the romantic ideals of their childhood?

Or did America itself change into something less lovely during the Vietnam War?

Is "Camelot or a lie" an unfairly polarized characterization of the choices Frankie and other Americans have?

What is achieved and lost by characterizing contemporary America as a "lie" or by characterizing America of the past as a "Camelot"? 

Chapter 15A: A child crying for her mother

Detail from an iconic 1972 photograph showing Phan Thi Kim Phuc running down a road near Trảng Bàng, Vietnam, following a napalm strike. Photo by Nick Ut via Wikimedia Commons.

When another wave of casualties hits the Operating Room, Frankie sees civilians and "a child, crying for her mother," and wonders "Had the U.S. bombed another South Vietnamese village?" (173).

The first question in this question set requires some research (cite reliable sources in your answer):
How did the civilian casualty rates in the Vietnam War compare to the civilian casualty rate in other wars the U.S. military has fought?

Is a high civilian casualty rate a reliable measure of an army's brutuality?

Would you say that armies that inflict high civilian casualty rates are less virtuous than armies that don't? 

Chapter 15B: "In his arms"

Detail from An Officer and a Gentleman (1983 dir. Taylor Hackford; starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger)

After an exhausting, vicious day in the OR, Rye picked Frankie "up in his arms and carried her through the burning, smoking camp" (177).

Does that gesture strike you as gallant and romantic? Does it affirm traditional gender roles in a problematic way?

Don't answer this question if you've already read ahead in the book.

Chapter 15C: "I can count"

An American Green Beret, right, and a South Vietnamese soldier helping a wounded Vietnamese soldier after fighting near Duc Phong, north of Saigon, in 1969.Credit...Bettmann/Corbis

When U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson announces that 10,000 North Vietnamese had died and only 249 Americans in the Tet Offensive (January 31, 1968), the bloodiest day of the Vietnam War to that point, the narrator notes that the president "didn't even mention the South Vietnamese casualties" (177).

President Johnson probably assumed that American audiences were interested in the number of American soldiers who were killed (naturally) and the number of enemy combatants that were killed.

 Why might it be a problem that Johnson didn't mention the number of South Vietnamese who were killed (America was South Vietnam's ally in the War)?

Should the South Vietnamese feel slighted by this omission?

Research follow up: How many American, North Vietnamese, and South Vietnamese were killed in the War?

Chapter 16: "Don't believe him"

This black & white educational film above about "Adolescent Development" (a.k.a teen sex eduction) was released in 1953. It was likely made for education students or teachers, and produced to serve as a supplement by McGraw-Hill for the book Adolescent Development by Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Ph.D. This text attempted to provide a “complete and accurate picture of American adolescents and why they differ from adolescents in other cultures.”

When Frankie calls Barb for intimate personal advice, Barb asks "They did have sex-ed in your all-girls' school, didn't they?" (187).

Do you think Barb is kidding? Does she assume Frankie's school had sex-ed classes? Or does she assume that they did not?

Should schools have sex-ed classes, and if so, should they stick entirely to the biological mechanics and dangers? Or should they also include words of caution like these that Barb gives Frankie: "don't believe him if he says he loves you" (187)? 

Chapter 17: A necklace

American sailor with the skull of a Japanese soldier during World War Two. Unknown photographer.

Frankie feels sickened when she comes across an American soldier "wearing a necklace made of amputated fingers and ears strung on a leather cord"(200). These "trophies" were taken from the bodies of North Vietnamese soldiers.

Given that a soldier is authorized to kill the enemy, and that the enemy wants to kill him, why does it matter (or does it matter?) what a soldier does to the enemy's lifeless body after they have been killed?

Is harming a lifeless body worse than killing a living body?

Chapter 18: What is wrong with the world?

Democratic National Convention in Chicago (1968). Photo by Perry Riddle.

After Frankie returns to the United States and encounters hosility from protestors and taxi drivers and indifference and apathy from the bystanders, she wonders, "What was wrong with the world?" (216)

This question is simple. Based on the world described in the text so far (and the way the story has been told?), what would you say is "wrong with the world"? 

Chapter 19A: "I couldn't believe the language you used at the club."

Image by Mitch Gerads

Frankie's mother and Dr. Boren find Frankie's cursing to be highly objectionable.

Given the time and the context, would you agree that Frankie's use of language is offensive?

Or has she earned the right to use strong, adult language because of the harrowing experiences she has endured and her visceral reactions to those experiences?

How important is it to avoid cursing? Is cursing merely a personal choice, which some people are comfortable with and others are not?

Can it be considered a mild form of violence, which, in certain contexts, can cause others to feel highly uncomfortable or even threatened because it violates social norms?

Is society's tolerance for cursing increasing? Is that a good thing?

Chapter 19B: Shame

"Christina's World" (1948) by Andrew Wyeth.

Frankie "felt stripped bare by her parents' shame" (232). Given what you've read so far, why would you say her parents might feel ashamed of her? Try to imagine and articulate their thoughts and feelings as clearly and as generously as possible.

Chapter 20: What do you have left?

Ariana Grande. Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for iHeartMedia.

After reflecting on what she values about her relationships with her late brother and her exes, Frankie resolves to dedicate herself to her nursing career.

How does gender play a role in the decision to choose between career and family?

Given the choice between finding a deeply satisfying long-term partnership (and no deeply satisfying career) OR a deeply satisfying career (and no deeply satisfying long-term partnership), which would you choose?

Do society's most successful people chose career over personal relationships at some point?

Chapter 21: What's wrong with her?

"Shrik" (1893) by Edvard Munch

Frankie appears to suffer from a classic case of Post-Traumantic Stress Disorder. As such, do you think she and others like her should qualify for the Purple Heart, a medal that is given to members of the U.S. military who are wounded or killed while serving with the U.S. military?

Does it matter that the symptoms for this wound may not have been revealed until she had finished her tour of duty?

Chapter 22A: "You got him killed."

Frankie blames her father for encouraging her brother Finley to enroll in the Army.

If you pressure someone to take a risk--or encourage them--and they take that risk, do you bear some of the responsibility if they undergo any suffering as a result?  (271)

How much blame do Frankie's parents bear for Finley's fate?

Chapter 22B: Forget it

"Forget It! Forget Me!" (1962) by Roy Lichtenstein

The doctor at the VA encourages Frankie to "Just forget about Vietnam" (275). 

When is "just forget it" good advice and when is it not?

What advice can you give someone to make it easier for them to heal from a trauma?

As you continue to read through this novel, pay attention to the way different characters deal with their own trauma, the trauma experienced by loved ones, and the trauma experienced by patients.

Chapter 23A: The Tide Turns

A Vietnam veteran hurls his service recognition memorabilia toward the U.S. Capitol April 23, 1971.
Source: Washington Area Spark

According to The Women, by April 1971, the majority of Americans had turned against the Vietnam War and the men who fought it, although they had previously supported both.

Based on what you know about the Vietnam War (you may want to do further research on this question), was U.S. involvement a mistake from the beginning? Or was it a war worth fighting that simply didn't turn out as the U.S. wanted it to?

Were those who opposed the War from the start always right? Or did the War lose its justification along the way as events unfolded?

Chapter 23 B: "We have to try"

A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man, calling for an end to the recent violence and bloodshed against pro-democracy demonstrators, was pulled away by bystanders, and the tanks continued on their way. Photo by Jeff Widener/AP, FILE

When Frankie asks Henry if he thinks the protests "will do any good?", he responds, "We have to try" (300).

Presumably, it doesn't matter to Henry if protesting "does any good;" he feels compelled to do it as a matter of principle. Frankie agrees with him.

If you believe there is almost no chance that a risky venture will succeed, when is it still important to do it anyway?

How much should someone be willing to risk out of a matter of principle?

Kate Webb

This is not a question--just information on Kate Webb, who is mentioned in chapter 23 and pictured at left.

Click here to learn more.

And/or watch this video.

Chapter 24: Fashion show?

Kathleen Cleaver at Home, 1968. Photograph by Alan Copeland.

When Barb is invited to attend a fundraiser to help bring Prisoners of War home, she says one reason she doesn't want to go is because she doesn't want to wear pantyhose: "You know I haven't worn them in years"(304). As the narration reveals, when she and Frankie go to the fundraiser, "Frankie dressed in a way that would have made her mother proud: in a navy blue knit pantsuit. Beneath the jacket, she wore a bold geometric print blouse with large, pointed lapels"(305). Barb, meanwhile, "wore a black miniskirt and a black turtleneck and black knee boots" (305).

This is one of many passages in the novel that describe in some detail the clothing choices made by the characters. As you continue to read through the text, pay attention to these descriptions and consider: do you think the author pays too much attention to the clothes the women wear? Does the focus on clothing seem trivial? Do these descriptions help create a more vivid images in readers' minds? Do the clothing choices tell us something important about power and politics in the time period (and in our own)?

Chapter 25: "Time doesn't mean what it used to"

Frankie, age 26, suspects that Henry may be too old for her to engage in a physical relationship with him. Joan encourages Frankie to look past the perceived age difference.

If two adults are considering a physical relationship, how do you determine whether an age gap is too great? What role does gender play in this determination?

Would you encourage Frankie to consider a relationship with Henry?

Don't answer this question if you've already read ahead in the book and know what happens.

Image at left: Priyanka Chopra and her husband, Nick Jonas. At the time this photo was taken (George Pimental/Wire Image), in 2017, Chopra was 33 and Jonas was 23. 

Chapter 26A: Lieutenant William Calley

Lt. William L. Calley, Jr. at Fort Benning, Ga., in 1971. During his trial he showed no remorse for the killings of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians.Credit...Joe Holloway Jr./Associated Press

As we learn in chapter 26, American Lieutenant William Calley was sentenced to life in prison for his actions relevant to the My Lai massacre (327).

Do some research on My Lai (cite reliable sources) and offer your thoughts on whether you believe:

a) Calley should have been convicted (since Calley was a soldier pursuing a military objective);

b) his conviction was just;

c) many more American soldiers and decision makers should have been convicted alongside him (since Calley was not personally responsible for everything that happened at My Lai).

The video below is a History Channel production about My Lai.