Chapters 6-8 Summary

Chapter 6 begins with Jake and bombardier Marty Greve in an Intruder flying alongside Commander Camparelli's plane as they approach the South Vietnam coast, where two companies of Viet Cong are dug in along a treeline. Camparelli takes the first pass, but his weapons-release system malfunctions and he cannot drop the bombs. Jake dives and releases a load, which forward air controllers in a nearby light plane tell him is right on target. He makes a second run, again on target. Back in his room, Jake tries to write a reply to his former girlfriend, but ends up tearing her letter to bits. The next day, he again flies to South Vietnam, this time with Big Augie as his bombardier. The other plane is piloted by a young man named Corey Ford who wants to become an astronaut, and a bombardier named...