 Whether these casualty figures were solely enemy combatants during this operation is questioned by first-hand observer and embedded journalist Jonathan Schell, writing for "The New Yorker".During the assault on villages around Ben Suc, villagers not explicitly following ARVN orders to amass for evacuation were to be declared VC.He observed the shooting of unarmed individuals include a man riding his bicycle too quickly past a patrol, a woman carrying surgical and medical supplies, three civilians crossing on a rafter, whom were all subsequently declared as VC, with US forces not discerning whether they were combatants or not.