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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to an old Vietnamese woman chewing a beetle?

2. What tale does Colonel Nickerson love to recount?

3. What evidence do they find to show it is a VC attack?

4. What is it that Captain Neal wants from the platoon?

5. What happens to a large number of the platoon down in a paddy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What becomes Caputo's chief responsibility and how does he begin to see himself?

2. Why are the men of C Company pleased about the treats sent to them?

3. How does the platoon snap and go on a rampage/

4. What is the ridiculous hold up in getting the evac helicopters to the platoon?

5. What is the condition of the radio when Caputo gets it from inside the bunker?

6. What is so frustrating to Caputo during the trial?

7. What does Caputo say about the effect of his job as Regimental Casualty Reporting Officer?

8. What is Caputo's opinion of Maj-Gen Lew Walt the night of the first VC assault on the battalion base camp?

9. Why does it take so long to launch Operation Long Lance?

10. What effect does Colonel Nickerson have on the morale of the Marines?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mob frenzy is an interesting phenomenon. Starting from the total destruction of the village after the Claymore wounded or killed so many men, write a paper on mob mentality and how it causes people to get caught up in the moment without thinking. Compare that to some incident in recent history that you know about.

Essay Topic 2

Using the colonel who had bodies dug up to show a visiting general and the colonel who wanted his horseshoe pitch done during preparations for a VC offensive, discuss in a paper how some people rise to the top without having the necessary qualifications. Discuss in the paper whether you think this is a phenomenon limited to the military.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper on the idealism of the young and inexperienced. Use Caputo and his platoon leaving Okinawa convinced they could end the war in a matter of days and the new arrivals of Battalion one-three as your examples. If possible relate that to some time in your life when you thought something might be a simple matter to solve even when more experienced people were telling you it was more difficult than you thought.

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