How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
TJ unwrapped a piece of gum he'd had in his jeans pocket and folded up the foil wrapper into a shiny triangle. He chewed the gum for a minute, then stuck it to the foil triangle and stuck the triangle to my T-shirt. (2.10)
Back when they were playing war as kids, TJ gives Jamie a medal. Okay, okay, it's a piece of gum wrapper, stuck on by gum—still, though, it's precious to Jamie because it symbolizes her bravery and military prowess. Even more importantly, this memory comforts Jamie when she thinks about her brother.
Quote #2
Every once in a while the Colonel pulled out the box of things he'd saved growing up, when he had traveled all over the place just like we did, from this post to that one. He showed us ticket stubs from train trips through Germany and Italy, and matchbooks he'd collected from restaurants in just about every American city you could think of. (2.15)
For the Colonel, showing his kids his ticket stubs and matchbooks is a way of reliving the past; it allows him to remember going to those places, and what it was like to travel there. His desire to show off his memorabilia highlights his positive feelings toward these travels for the army.
Quote #3
Colonel replied, his fork halfway to his mouth, strings of cheese stretching to his plate. "I think he's probably thinking about this squash casserole right now and remembering how soft his pillow upstairs is." (4.31)
As Jamie tries to imagine what it's like for her brother at war, her dad shocks her by saying he probably misses home. The Colonel is certain that TJ thinks about the food and people at home to help him deal with the war. In a way, he's using the past to deal with the present.