According to the first paragraph, the writer is former Marine Force Recon (who served in 'Nam), sharing what his son, a marine rifleman, told him about his deployment. It's one of many viewpoints of the war.
War involves the death of soldiers and innocent civilians alike, there is no denying that, but what I understand from all my reading is that our troops will go out of their way to avoid civilian casualties. The terrorists, the enemy, think *nothing* of using innocent men, women and children as targets and shields. That casualty count probably includes lots and lots of insurgents and terrorists and fanatical suicide bombers who would take out *more* civilian lives if allowed to continue their vendetta.
FWIW, I took the word 'fun' as "yeah, right, sure." It's not fun.