Why? Why do we have serial killers and child molesters? Because some people are just wrong. Couple this with the fact that sixty years ago the screening process was nowhere near as sophisticated as it is today (is it really that good today), and some bad folks get in. Couple it with the fact that in reality the very people who are the most physically able to fight - the young - are also the most impressionable, and you have people who would "never hurt a fly" perfectly ready to do the most horrible things to each other.
No-one goes into combat without first being trained, physically and mentally, to kill; and if you don't hate your enemy you aren't going to be inclined to try to kill him. I'm sure there are a lot of other factors involved, but it's a simple fact that if you're ready to go to war, you're only a step or two away from doing exactly what you might later call "war crimes".
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“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
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