Chapter 6 Summary

In a stream of consciousness style of writing, Caputo recounts his early day of fighting in the spring of 1965. Jumbled memories of battles are rolled over one by one, like waves lapping upon the shore of Caputo's memory. Lance Corporal Stone's hand is shot, a corpsman is paralyzed, guns misfire, Viet Cong ambush them, fellow men succumb to heat stroke, a soldier will die in a few days from his injuries, and the third platoon burn down a village out of anger and spite.

Through the narrative, Caputo makes it clear that he and the other men are beginning to see how much damage is being done, both physically and psychologically. Worst of all, the soldiers "are learning to hate." (Chapter 6, p. 110)

Chapter 6 Analysis

Caputo no longer tries to hide his messy, garbled memories from us. He has drawn us into battle with...