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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Caputo describe his feeling after learning about the death and casualties?
(a) It is the first time he feelst the slimy, hollow-cold fear of death.
(b) It is the sadness of seeing his friends changed.
(c) It is the detachment of unreality.
(d) It is the remorse of not having been with his men.

2. Where is Caputo's first command?
(a) Danang, Vietnam
(b) Okinawa, Japan
(c) The Philippines
(d) Seoul, Korea

3. What happens about two hundred yards away from the village?
(a) The invisible enemy opens automatic sniper fire on them.
(b) They get lost and go around in a circle.
(c) An attack helicopter goes ahead of them to strafe the area.
(d) The Hill 267 howitzers shell near the place where they are.

4. Who makes up Caputo's first command?
(a) A group of forty Marines in the Third Marines Division
(b) Men he went to basic training with
(c) Older, war experienced non-coms
(d) New recruits from Alabama

5. What looks beautiful from the hill but becomes ominous up close?
(a) The vietnamese villages
(b) The orange smoke of artillery
(c) The muddy colored river
(d) The Cordellia

6. What is the majority opinion about the countermanded orders to ship out?
(a) That it is a preparedness test for the real thing.
(b) That is because of political infighting.
(c) That the war in Vietnam is over before they can get there.
(d) That some general has a loose screw.

7. What happens with the ARVN scouts in the first offensive action?
(a) They are all captured and shot.
(b) They are massacred by the Viet Cong.
(c) They take a stand between the Marines and the enemy.
(d) They detach themselves and flee in panic.

8. Why does Caputo choose to enlist with the Marines?
(a) It was the only branch of the service accepting volunteers at the time.
(b) He thought the Marines had the best dress uniforms.
(c) He did not want to be on a ship or fly an airplane.
(d) It promises to fulfill all his expectations more than any other branch of the service.

9. What game are Campbell and Greene playing in the NCO's tent when Caputo enters?
(a) Gin Rummy
(b) Cribbage
(c) Poker
(d) Canasta

10. What irony does Caputo see in the guerrilla warfare manual he had studied in the States?
(a) The suggestion that the enemy could not advance in the jungle.
(b) The remark that the jungle is only in Africa.
(c) The statement that one should not be afraid of the jungle.
(d) The idea that the jungle is only trees.

11. What is the change that takes place at Hill 327?
(a) More work is done during the night than in the day.
(b) The junior officers are all given new commands.
(c) The plan changes from defensive to offensive.
(d) The food improves with better suply lines.

12. What do they learn about military plans in the bush?
(a) Nothing ever happens according to plan.
(b) Why there are always contingencies.
(c) Their Quantico training has really paid off.
(d) How to avoid surprise.

13. At what age does Philip Caputo enlist in the Marine Corps?
(a) 19
(b) 20
(c) 18
(d) 21

14. What is the stated interest of the U. S. government for war in Vietnam?
(a) To establish a permanent military base in Vietnam
(b) To get control of Vietnam's oil supply
(c) To bolster the American economy
(d) To abolish Communism in the world

15. What is to be the measure of victory in the battle?
(a) The number of enemy corpses
(b) The cooperation of the ARVN
(c) The cessation of sniper fire
(d) The time it takes to finish clearing the area

Short Answer Questions

1. What do they experience on their first night?

2. Who are the only adults who pay attention to the Marines as they pass through Dogpatch?

3. What fills the foggy night after the pursuit of the VC and the body count?

4. What booby traps are observed on the trail after fording the river?

5. Why is it difficult to round up the platoon?

(see the answer keys)

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