The necessity for cluster munitions first appeared early in the Vietnam War. Pilots began to encounter targets that were spread apart. To strike these targets from air, napalm and iron bombs were not efficient. Consequently, the US created a bomb that could spread its munitions in a predicted pattern. The US Navy began its development in 1963, and in 1967, these cluster bombs began to reach Vietnam.

Each cluster bomb is composed of 200 to 700 bomblets. After the cluster bomb is dropped from the air, the bomb falls for a pre-set amount time. After reaching their set time, the cluster bomb slowly dispenses its bomblets. These bomblets begin to explode after being spread apart. Following this explosion, its fragments into nearly 300 pieces of jagged steel. The shrapnel from this decapitates and shreds the arms, legs, hands and feet anyone in this region, effectively slaughtering people over a large area.

An internal fuse triggers each cluster bomblet. They could be set to explode above ground, on impact, or to be time-delayed. This allows them to be transformed into time bombs or mines.

Furthermore, the failure rates of the cluster bombs to explode when assigned are 5 to 30 percent. After they land in an area without exploding, they create uncharted mine fields. These bombs may hide under weeds, soft soil, sand, mud or water. They may also become buried under soil or plants. As time passes, these cluster bombs become unstable, resulting in an imminent explosion.

Cluster Bombs also hamper the use of land that was once littered with cluster bombs. Since villagers know that some of these bombs may not have exploded yet, these lands remain uninhabited for decades.

These bombs still plague the area in Vietnam. In fact, just recently on April 23, 2001, a bomb had exploded in the southern province of Binh Thuan, resulting in the death of four. Local inhabitants had discovered the bomb in a forest in Hoa Thang. They attempted to disassemble it in order to sell the scrap metal and explosives but accidently triggered it.

Thousands of people have been killed or mutilated by bombs left over from the Vietnam War that ended in 1975. 20 years later, these bombs are still initiated by children playing with small cluster bombs or by adults when they attempt to salvage larger bombs for scrap metal and explosives.