!!Part I: Fill-in-the-blank: !CHARACTERS • Billy Boy Watkins - One of the casualties in Berlin's squad. Watkins is referred back to

many times, often accompanied by a short song that the squad sung frequently about his death. Watkins died after he stepped on a defective mine which severed his foot from his leg. Although not mortally wounded, he enters a state of shell-shock and dies. Doc Peret claims Watkins died of fright. Watkins, especially via his song, demonstrates how soldiers cope with the death around them, sometimes subliminally morphing tragedy into comedy to lessen the fear.

• Frenchie Tucker - Dies in a tunnel, shot in the nose. • Chris Haninnen- shot himself in the foot to escape active duty in Vietnam. • Paul Berlin - Narrator/protagonist, who thinks up the chase after Cacciato. • Harold Murphy - Another soldier in Berlin's squad. Murphy leaves early on since he

feels the mission is worthless and the penalty for it is too great. • Li Van Hgok – “captures” them when they fall into the tunnels. He is a young man

trapped their as a POW himself. Once had a promising career but then tried to desert. They destroy his area and then leave.

• Stink Harris - Leads party; is "trigger happy." He once had ringworm. He jumps ship at Athens when he thought that they would be caught again. Is then never seen again in the fantasy.

• Cacciato - Soldier who goes AWOL (to Paris). • Bernie Lynn - is killed after following Frenchie Tucker into the tunnel and is shot

underneath in part of his throat. • The two grandmothers and the water buffalo-disappear after they fall into the tunnel. • Sarkin Aung Wan - Burmese refugee who saves the squad many times, such as the time

they became lost in a Vietcong tunnel complex. She and Lt. Corson then leave together after Berlin refuses to stop chasing Cacciato.

• Cpt. Fahyi Rhallon - One of the Savak. Tries to arrest the squad in Iran. • Buff - Short for Water Buffalo, is known for his big size. He dies while the platoon is

trying to cross a field. Berlin commonly refers to his death as "life after death" because his face remains in his helmet after he is killed.

• Lt. Sidney Martin - The former lieutenant of Berlin's squad; insisted on following SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). One of the SOPs in Vietnam was to search all tunnels before detonating them; Martin enforced this rule sternly. None of the men in the squad wanted to search tunnels after seeing Tucker and Lynn die. The men in the squad attempt to plead with Martin, but he sternly restates that they must search tunnels before blowing them. In the end, all the men in the squad agree to kill Lt. Martin. The exact manner of death is never stated, except that Lt. Martin died in the tunnels. He was also an officer from West Point. DIES LAST.

• Ready Mix - Died during an assault of a hill in the Highlands. No one knew his real name; the mention of this character serves to illustrate a common superstition among soldiers in Vietnam that it was best not to get to know someone if you thought he was going to die soon.

• Lt. Corson- Frequently referred to simply as the Lieutenant. He takes command of the platoon after Lieutenant Martin, the de facto leader of Berlin's squad. It is stated that he was busted down twice from a higher rank, once fairly and once not. As the story moves on the "Lt." is too old for the war and wants to go back to his country. He is always "sick", says Doc, and the sickness is called homesickness. When the squad reaches India, he is temporarily cured when he meets a woman — a married hotelier who had once studied in Baltimore, Maryland — but he becomes sick again when the squad moves on.

• Jolly Chand—in Delhi, is the reason Lt. tries Corson to not continue, but he is kidnapped by his squad. She is the symbol of America.

• Rudy Chassler - Dies from injuries sustained after stepping on a landmine. • Jim Pederson - A religious man, who dies in rice a paddy after being shot multiple

times by the door gunners in the Chinook that dropped the platoon there. As he dies, he attempts to shoot down the Chinook. He carries postcard pictures of Christ with him.

• Oscar Johnson - Black soldier in the Third Squad. He said that the Vietnam cold made him think of Detroit in the month of May, "lootin' weather." It is suggested that Johnson may not be from Detroit at all, despite his ghetto posturing—his mail comes from and goes to Maine, and one of his nicknames is "the nigga from Ba Haba.”

• Eddie Lazzutti - Soldier in the Third Squad. • Doc Peret - the squad's medical aide. He sometimes uses M&Ms as a type of medicine

for those under his care, usually as a way to calm down the over-reactive and the dying. !

PLOT SUMMARY 1. The third squad pursues Cacciato who has gone AWOL. Cacciato lays a fake booby-trap and

Stink trips it. Cacciato leaves in October. They then proceed to follow Cacciato for six or seven days.

2. 11:55 AM, about two weeks later. Berlin considers “what had happened and what might happen.”

3. Harold Murphy is the one who turns back. Berlin decides to go on. 4. Berlin arrives in the war in June of 1968. The corporal gives a lecture. This is Berlin’s fake

practice for the real war. Berlin also looks back on the time he went camping. The divide between Formal and Informal Operating Procedures begins the conflict with Sidney Martin.

5. 12:20 AM. 6. Stink shoots the water buffalo. They come across Sarkin Aung Wan. 7. Sarkin and Berlin’s romance begins. Cacciato leaves a trail. Stink “catches” Cacciato. 8. Almost 1:00 AM Berlin’s “bravest moment” (62) is walking to the sea in the dark to pee.

9. Takes place before Cacciato is dead. Sidney Martin gives coordinates in code, but it takes more time. This makes Oscar mad because Bernie is bleeding out on the ground. This demonstrates Sidney Martin’s adherence to “the book” - to the rules. Bernie dies. They give him green M&Ms.

10. Stink’s attempt to rescue Cacciato results in him getting bitten. Stink represents several young tendencies: Getting ahead of yourself (not thinking ahead), and enthusiastic but unskilled (hence the shooting of the water buffalo). He also tries talking to the Vietnamese in chapter 39, but ends up screaming. The allusion to Alice in Wonderland begins here.

11. Pederson is shot dead. They call in an airstrike on an innocent town (the town of Hoi An). They call in Willie Peter (White Phosphorus) and HE (high explosives).

12. Now 2:15 AM. Paul Berlin outlines the reasons for his actions. He is motivated by courage. “There was a Silver Star twinkling somewhere inside of him” (81).

13. They fall in the hole in the road. Li Van Hgoc, a major in the 48th Vietcong Battalion. He refers to the idea of “Xa,” the land being Paul’s true enemy. They are trying to defeat the tunnels. Defeating the land is impossible. Li Van Hgoc lets Paul look through the periscope and Paul sees…

14. the deaths of Frenchie Tucker and Bernie Lynn (exhibits bravery. He volunteers to go into the tunnel.) from a different perspective.

15. Li Van Hgoc tells Paul that “things may be viewed from different angles” (91). Li Van Hgoc then captures Paul but Li Van Hgoc tells Paul how he (Li vH) is trapped in the maze. They are both trapped in their fears. Sarkin saves them.

16. They play basketball. Paul Berlin likes the clarity of the sport (102). The third squad starts to dislike Sidney Martin. Oscar starts to talk about Lt. Martin. Rudy Chassler steps on a mine and a battle begins.

17. Sarkin leads them to Mandalay. 18. Berlin sees Cacciato dressed as a monk (peaceful, nonviolent) and gets attacked. Sarkin

licks his wound. 19. 3:00 AM. Paul is trying to convince himself that this could be possible. 20. The gunners are in the chinook. Pederson is shot. He is a religious man. 21. Paul Berlin isn’t sure how to make things move forward. The New Delhi Express literrally

slows down. He finds the rhyme on the train and thinks that Cacciato is there. It very rapidly switches from the train to the river Song Tra Bong (where most of the action in Vietnam happens). Buff gets his face blown off.

22. Paul thinks about the real members of the third squad. He thinks about Sidney Martin and Lieutenant Corson.

23. They are in India. This is “the India that Paul Berlin has always believed in” (147). His family shows up again. Lieutenant Corson is a real person who exists and is “the father figure” and falls in love with Jolly, who is his mother figure.

24. The soldiers use a long-distance phone line and calls home. Doc, Oscar, and Eddie all call home. No one answers when Paul calls home.

25. This is the start of the trouble with Lieutenant Martin. There is a big contrast between Paul Berlin and Sidney Martin (168), these two leaders and their ideas.

26. Paul’s story loses its momentum. “What the hell was he doing here?” (172). They find Cacciato’s face in the newspaper and this is their reason to move on. At this point we know that he has killed Sidney Martin and Corson talks to him about this.

27. This is a newer, faster train (176). The mayor of the town of Ossivil tells paul that he hasn’t accomplished anything yet.

28. This shows Paul as being an unimpressive person. His entire history can be written in less than two pages.

29. They are now in Tehran. Lt. Corson is suffering from nostalgia. They encounter a beheading. They are arrested and are being asked questions. This is Paul’s mind fighting against him.

30. 3:52 AM. Paul wonders why his imagination led to a beheading in Tehran. 31. Paul thinks about visiting the Des Moines River with his dad. It is revealed that Billy Boy

died of a heart attack, scared to death. He faints and Cacciato gives him a stick of Black Jack gum.

32. Paul eats pears while thinking about Billy Boy’s death. 33. They are arrested and questioned. Paul thinks about his motives and the summer of 1967

which he spent working with his father at Fort Dodge, building houses. 34. Sidney Martin orders all of the men to search the tunnel, but they all refuse; all except for

Cacciato, who is out fishing. Oscar plots to kill Sidney Martin. 35. Paul Berlin and Cacciato go fishing at Lake Country. The bobbing SECRET is that Sidney

Martin is going to be killed. Paul has the chance to be brave, to step in and save Sidney, but doesn’t. He is just the messenger.

36. They’ve been captured by the Savak. In the middle of the story, Paul acknowledges reality. But then he changes to a big chase scene with a pimped-out getaway car.

37. This chapter discusses Quang Ngai - the land. 38. Lam means “escape.” They are escaping from Tehran to Paris. Stink jumps ship and dies, so

this represents Paul starting to mature because Stink is the representation of the cons of being a youth.

39. Stink tries to speak Vietnamese. Paul encounters a little girl with gold earrings (could be the basis of Sarkin) and wonders if she likes him. Paul earns a promotion in September.

40. Within this chapter, he cuts back to the Observation Post. They spend the night in Zagreb and encounter a college dropout from San Diego State. We see Paul’s desire.

41. Buff dies. Cacciato opens up a can of peaches. 42. It is now six months later than the deaths. 5:00 AM. 43. A gargoyle is referenced. Oscar is Paul’s subconscious. “Oscar’s running the show.” 44. Paul and Sarkin have a very formal, unrealistic breakup. Paul’s fantasy converges with

reality. 45. 6:00 AM. Paul is unable to process this. 46. Oscar has assumed control. They storm a building. Lieutenant begins Paul’s fantasy “He

might make it. He might do all right.”