How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"A newspaper," Walowick said. "Only thing in it is the stuff about guys burning their draft cards."
"Faggots and commies," Brunner said. "Anybody who wouldn't stand up for their country is either a f***** or a Commie."
"They're doing what they think is right," Monaco said. "Maybe they are right, who knows?"
"That's why we got four and five-man squads," Brunner said. "'Cause those jerks are home smoking dope and burning their draft cards. You get blown away because you don't have a full squad, you can thank those creeps." (12.11-14)
Brunner doesn't come off as sympathetic at first, but once he finishes his rant, his anger is understandable. In his mind, draft dodgers lead to Americans being outnumbered in combat. That anger's personal.
Quote #5
What Brew said about not having the nerve to go to Canada shook me. Here he was in Nam, getting shot at every day, afraid of every noise, every step, and yet he had been afraid of going to Canada. It shook me because I knew what he meant. Sometimes standing alone seemed to be the hardest thing in the world to do, even when being in the crowd meant you could be killed. (12.21)
If you were drafted in the '60s and chose not to go to war, the government wasn't like, "It's okay. We understand." It'd either be jail or fleeing to another country, leaving your family and community behind—maybe permanently. Perry's right that there was social pressure involved in making that decision, too. If you went to jail or ran away, how would people think of you?
Quote #6
Captain Stewart came around to check for casualties. He started talking about how we had to be more aggressive, how we had to go out to get the Vietcong.
"We got to keep them up a few nights," he said. He patted Sergeant Simpson on the shoulder.
When he left I could see that Sergeant Simpson didn't look good.
"You okay, Sarge?" I asked.
"That man bucking for major real bad," he said. "He gonna get somebody killed before he makes it." (12.29-33)
Sergeant Simpson's in a tough position. He's caught in the middle: above the other men in the platoon, but not high enough up the ladder to decide what missions they go on. Maybe he also doesn't like getting patted on the shoulder.