He wanted to remain in this place, so still and quiet amid the hills of guns…Blood so bright upon the sawtooth ridges, and the screaming that never stopped. He could never forget.
-- Narration (chapter 3)

Importance: This piece of narration is found in a flashback to Rory's time serving in the Korean War. He remembers arriving at an abandoned temple and wishing to stay there rather than returning to the violent horrors of combat. This moment emphasizes Rory's sense of trauma as well as his personal desire for peace.

And now her grandson had returned with war in his blood, and she worried where it might drive him.
-- Narration (chapter 4)

Importance: This quotation conveys Granny's worries that Rory's service in the Korean War may have fundamentally corrupted him in some way, such as giving him violent tendencies. However, as the narrative shows, Rory's personality is fundamentally defined by an abhorrence for violence in response to the...