Slaughterhouse Five

  • Billy Pilgrim is born

    Billy Pilgrim is born
    Billy Pilgrim is born in Ilium, New York on July 4th, 1922.
  • Billy drafted into the Army

    Billy drafted into the Army
  • Death of Billy's father

    Death of Billy's father
    Billy's father dies in a hunting accident while Billy is in the Army. Billy's dad is known for pushing him to the edge, by forcing Billy to do things like stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon, or swim in the deep end of the pool with no swimming experience.
  • Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge
    Billy is sent to Luxembourg in 1944 to fight Germans in the Battle of the Bulge. Almost immediately, Billy is taken prisoner by the Germans. Just before being captured, Billy experiences his first instance of 'time travel' where he sees his life from beginning to end.
  • Bombing of Dresden

    Bombing of Dresden
    Dresden, once known as a beautiful German city, suffered a very controversial bombing from the US in 1945; the story seems to revolve around this event.
  • Lions Club

    Lions Club
    Billy is elected president of the Lions Club in Ilium, New York.
  • Billy Meets his Favorite Author

    Billy Meets his Favorite Author
    Billy meets his favorite author, Kilgore Trout. They bond over science fiction, and Billy briefly helps him deliver papers.
  • Billy Captured

    Billy Captured
    Billy is captured by an alien race and taken billions of miles away from Earth and taught the nature of time. The aliens who captured him were known as the Tralfamadorians.
  • Plane Crash

    Plane Crash
    A plane holding Billy, and a group of optometrists crashes, leaving only Billy to survive.
  • Death of Billy's Wife

    Death of Billy's Wife
    Billy's wife, Valencia, dies while Billy is recovering from the plane crash of carbon monoxide poisoning
  • Death of Billy

    Death of Billy
    Billy is assassinated in Chicago by someone hired by Lazarro during Billy's time travel speech. This was Lazarro keeping his promise to seek revenge on Ronald Weary's death.