Going After Cacciato

It’s two o’clock in the morning in December, and Paul wakes up on a train. The Delhi Express is slow; they’ve gone only two hundred miles in eight hours, and they’re now outside Chittagong. When Paul covers the lieutenant with a poncho liner, he wakes up and starts a rambling story about how he was busted by the MPs in a club in Seoul after a man named Jack Daniels stars a brawl. The lieutenant tells Paul a secret: They’ve all been kidnapped. Paul should escape when he sees the chance to do so.

Paul goes to the bathroom and thinks about confessing his role in this adventure. He decides that someone other than Cacciato needs to take responsibility. He sees a poem on the mirror in pink lipstick: “Roses are red / Villits are blue / Delhi is next / Then Timbucktwo” (136). The other men prepare to search the train, following Oscar’s battle plan.

As Paul moves through the coaches, checking IDs and kicking open luggage, he remembers frisking children and old men along the river, on Sidney Martin’s orders, stripping them naked, frisking women, babies and pets. He remembers that Buff was dead two hours later. The trainmaster shouts at them as they search: “Dishonor! Disgrace! Shame!” (139).

The men advance towards them; Doc fires into the ceiling, but they keep coming. Doc and Paul escape into the next compartment and lock the door. Paul calls the men savages as they return to first class. They meet up with Oscar and Eddie there; all they were able to find was Cacciato’s empty black AWOL bag.

Eddie loves music and sings all sorts of songs; his favorite is Mama Cass. The Third Squad prefers the melancholy songs. They know when it’s Saturday because Eddie listens to a classical music program each week.

Oscar is black with smooth skin and aristocratic carriage. He claims to be from Detroit, but he sends mail to Bangor, Maine. He talks about Detroit sports but doesn’t know any modern players. His voice changes at various times, but Paul thinks it’s hard to tell whether it’s an act.

Jim Pederson says, “Cong Giao” (Catholic) when he sees a villager with a crucifix or rosary beads. He passes out pictures of Jesus that he keeps with him. He isn’t Catholic, but he tries to reinforce Christianity. He has moral principles: he stopped them from burning down a village once, gave aid to a dying Vietnamese woman, and wrote to Billy’s parents.

Stink is short, strong, and quick to anger. He’s the only boy in a family of seven. He’s a mechanic and takes excellent care of his rifle. Stink became friends with Bernie Lynn at the beginning of June and introduced him to his sister Carla. At the end of June, though, he found a naked photo of Carla in Bernie’s wallet. “Stink Harris was made to be betrayed” (144).

Lieutenant Corson is a widower but still wears his wedding band. He carries captain bands in his pocket; he was twice reduced from that rank. He loves the Army and believes in its mission, but he doesn’t have the same strict standards as Sidney Martin. He blows the tunnels without searching them, and the men love him.

Doc is tall with gray eyes and smoker’s teeth. He believes in science, but by science, he means anything that works, including M&Ms as medicine. He once told Paul a story about how he took an air conditioning unit apart as a kid, looking for the box where the cold was stored.

The only names that matter are the ones that are used, whether it’s a first name, last name, or nickname. Buff earned his nickname as a result of his strength. No one knows Doc’s first name. Lieutenant Corson is known by rank. Paul Berlin is usually called by both names together. Names bring the men closer and keep them apart. No one knew Ready Mix’s real name; he died after just twelve days.