I heard stories like this from relatives and other veterans who fought in World War II. One man told me how he and his colleagues went through villages in North Africa shooting everyone in sight, including children, because they were suspected of favoring the other side or maybe just because they were there. Prisoners were tortured and shot routinely, women raped, and so on, by Americans as well as the soldiers of the other belligerents.
Generally, the acts took place under orders, or at least with the knowledge and consent of higher command. My informants included people who had been in North Africa, Italy, the Philippines, and Okinawa. I don't think these were tall stories; the tellers often seemed disturbed by them. The majority were reputed to regularly exhibit symptoms of mental disorders attributed to their war experiences.
Later, I saw the same sort of stories repeated in magazine articles and in short stories and novels. Then came the forgetfulness. The forgetfulness is truly remarkable, but I guess it makes work for journalists, and it certainly provides a basis for further wars. The enthusaists for intervention in Serbia had already forgotten Vietnam, much less World War II.
So, what conclusions do you want to draw?