How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
There were stands of trees every hundred yards or so along the rice paddies leading to the hill. We hit the first stand and fought from tree to tree. (18.131)
The trees, on the other hand, make for good cover. Without them, Perry and his fellow soldiers would be easy targets for enemy shooters. Thanks, trees.
Quote #8
I loaded another clip, and started firing. It was a hamlet, the same thatched roofs, the same smell of burnt bamboo. We fired into the village, trying to chop down anything we could see. (18.160)
It's a little messed up that Perry's platoon once went into hamlets for "pacification" missions, and now they're doing this. They've seen the inside of villages, which makes it feel all the worse when they fire on them. They know that if they hit villagers, they are either young or elderly, and that makes most of them feel pretty bad. The smell of burning bamboo doesn't help either.
Quote #9
Problem. It was nearly dark. The sides of the stream were clear for twenty to forty meters on both sides. On the side of the stream that we were on, away from the ridge, there was a rice paddy that we had to cross. We had passed it coming, but going back was another thing. They knew we were there now, knew we were headed back. If we got Congs on the ridge when we were passing the paddies, it would be hard going. (21.101)
We don't mean to oversell our "Images" section, but you definitely need to get a look at a picture of a rice paddy to understand why it was hard to cross them. Basically, these guys are playing Oregon Trail: Vietnam War edition.