Chapter 18, The Lagoon Summary and Analysis

In the Batangan peninsula, Alpha Company is assigned to protect a Vietnamese camp on the beaches of a lagoon. The camp's inhabitants are refugees, South Vietnamese chased from their homes by heavy fighting and the Viet Cong. The lagoon was once full of the tropical beauty that characterizes Vietnam, but it has been ravaged by war. The coral reefs and sandy beaches are a treacherous paradise. The perimeter of the camp is surrounded by barbed water. The outside of the perimeter where the sand meets the jungle is ringed with mines: Bouncing Bettys, booby-trapped grenades, and artillery rounds. This semi-circular minefield forces the camp's inhabitants and the soldiers to spend their days on the beach or in the waters of the lagoon.

In the center of the refugee camp is a makeshift flag pole on which is...