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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What does he imagine being in the military will be like?
(a) He enters the war with romantic notions of being a hero.
(b) He thinks it will be dull and routine.
(c) He thinks it will be frightening but he needs the money.
(d) He imagines it will be like taking a vacation.

3. What familiar smells and sounds does Caputo comment on back at base camp?
(a) He mentions the smell of sweaty uniforms and the sound of the field radio.
(b) He comments on the smell of spent ammunition and the sound of beetles.
(c) He mentions the smell of insect repellent and the sound of mosquitoes.
(d) He mentions the oil and solvent used for cleaning rifles and the metallic sound of cleaning rods.

4. Who are the only adults who pay attention to the Marines as they pass through Dogpatch?
(a) The local police
(b) The Vietnamese Ruff-Puffs on leave
(c) The fruit venders
(d) The whores called Boom-Boom girls

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens for about twenty-five of the men?

2. How do they spend their first day at Danang?

3. At what age does Philip Caputo enlist in the Marine Corps?

4. In this first offensive, how do Caputo and his men see themselves?

5. What do Caputo and his platoon have in common?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does he say he fears being an unsat or a marginal?

2. What does Caputo recall when the helicopter he is in draws ground fire?

3. Explain what Caputo says is the worst thing about hiking in the jungle.

4. How does Caputo describe the way a soldier fighting in the jungle should act?

5. What is the new warfare of the New Frontier?

6. What is the sound of 155mm artillery firing?

7. What does Caputo sense at his old base camp when he goes to collect his belongings?

8. Why does the C-130 make a sudden steep assault-dive on the way to the war zone?

9. Why do the men continually have to be reminded to keep five paces between them and the next man?

10. What is Caputo's troublesome encounter with Sergeant Fred Wagoner?

(see the answer keys)

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