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Lt. Jimmy Cross gets drafted
When O'Brien got drafted he immediately froze up and got scared. He drove to the Canadian border to try and flee to avoid being drafted. While staying at a hotel he met a man named Elroy that helped him make his decision on the war. -
Jimmy Cross becomes leader of Alpha Company
Jimmy was still new to battle when he joined Alpha company. He was still afraid of being shot at or killing someone. He spotted his first dead body, an old man close to a pig pen, during one of his first weeks there. Instead of focusing on the conflict, Cross is preoccupied with recollections of his former sweetheart, Martha. -
Ted Lavender Dies
On the way back from going to the bathroom, Lavender is shot, falling especially hard under the burden of his loaded backpack. Lavender was high and didn't feel much. This was the first time Lt.Jimmy had seen a death in Vietnam. Because he was the first of the team to die, this had an impact on the entire group. Following the chopper's removal of Lavender, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross led his soldiers to Than Khe's village for a little memorial. -
Lt.Jimmy Kills His First Man
Lt.Jimmy is stunned to the point where he can't move after his first kill. He was unsure whether the man earned it or whether he had a family. Kiowa tried to reassure him, but he was deafeningly silent. -
Lt.Jimmy Cross is Shot for the First Time
Lt. Jimmy was taken aback when he was shot for the first time. He was delighted that Rat Kiley handled the situation well, even cracking jokes. After a stay at the hospital, he was ok. -
Curt Lemon Dies
Lemon and Rat Kiley were playing catch with smoke grenades in the shade during a break their platoon took from being on the move. Curt lemon walks out of the shade but then gets blown up, accidentally by a land mind into the tree. -
Rat Kiley kills a baby buffalo
Rat Kiley tortured a newborn buffalo after Curt Lemon died, as a result of his grief and rage after the death of his friend. Repeatedly shooting it in different places but the animal remained alive. -
Kiowa Sinks and Dies
Kiowa's death is emblematic of war's tragic sorrow. He dies in a terrible way, drowning under the muck of a sewage field. Lt.Jimmy concludes that although the order to camp came from a higher power, he made a mistake letting his men camp on the dangerous riverbank. He decides to write a letter to Kiowa’s father saying what a good soldier Kiowa was. Norman Bowker was not strong enough to get Kiowa out of the muck resulting in Kiowa's death. -
Rat Kiley Shoots Himself in the Foot
After they had to walk in the dark for a while, Rat Kiley went insane. He couldn't stand the night and was convinced that the bugs were out to get him. To get out of Vietnam and the war, he shots himself in the foot. -
Norman Bowker Commits Suicide
Norman Bowker struggled to transition out of the war, working in a variety of jobs. He would drive around aimlessly in his father's car late at night, and he would occasionally play basketball during the day. He committed suicide by hanging himself at a YMCA in central Iowa.
