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Chapter 1

• Men are defined by the things they carry.

• Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries letters from a woman named Martha.

• Ted Lavender carries tranquilizers and dope.

• Henry Dobbins carries extra rations.

• Kiowa, a Native American soldier, carries a copy of the New Testament.

• Norman Bowker carries a dead Viet Cong boy's thumb and a diary.

• Dave Jensen carries extra socks, and Dr. Scholl's foot powder.

• Lee Strunk carries a slingshot.

• Rat Kiley, the medic, carries brandy, M&Ms and comic books.

• Mitchell Sanders carries condoms.
• In the first week of April, Martha sends Lt. Cross a white pebble. It becomes his good luck charm.

• In the middle of April the platoon is sent to destroy tunnels in the Than Khe region.

• Lee Strunk draws unlucky "17" and is assigned to search the tunnels before destruction.

• Ted Lavender is killed on the way back from relieving his bladder.

• The men strip...

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