Uncertain of his future goals, seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, a black high school graduate from Harlem, travels to Vietnam to fight in the United States Army. When Richie leaves basic training for Vietnam, he harbors a host of illusions about the war and the army. He confidently believes that the medical profile he has received for …
Summary: Chapter 1 It is 1967 and seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, a black high school graduate from Harlem, joins the army. He has few other choices: though he is very intelligent, his single mother, abandoned by her husband years ago, cannot afford to send him to college. Rather than remain in the slums of Harlem, Richie …
Summary: Chapter 4 “My father used to call all soldiers angel warriors,” he said. “Because usually they get boys to fight wars. Most of you aren’t old enough to vote yet.” (See Important Quotations Explained) Lieutenant Carroll, the kind and competent leader of the platoon, leads a moving prayer for Jenkins, calling him an “angel …
Summary: Chapter 10 In retaliation for receiving aid from American soldiers, the Communist Vietcong attack the nearby village that Richie’s squad has recently pacified. Richie’s company creeps up on the village to set an ambush for the Vietcong. Feeling exposed and vulnerable, Richie wonders how Kenny would feel if Richie died, and ponders his own …
Summary: Chapter 7 Jamal, a medic, informs Richie that Captain Stewart has reported three kills for the patrol despite the fact that really only one enemy was killed. Richie wonders about the dead soldier’s family, his life, and his hopes for the future. Walowick, another member of the squad, urges him to stop worrying about …
Summary: Chapter 13 Christmas is approaching and rumors of peace have reached a fever pitch. The North Vietnamese have supposedly called a truce for their new year, called the Tet, and this truce is expected to lengthen into a permanent cease-fire. Everyone is convinced that the American troops will be returning home in a matter …
Summary: Chapter 17 Richie returns to his unit and learns that Sergeant Simpson has finally gone home. The new squad sergeant, Dongan, is a racist who consistently puts black soldiers in the most dangerous positions during patrols. Lobel approaches Peewee and Richie to tell them that he is on their side if a serious race …
Summary: Chapter 20 I also knew when I got back, she would expect me to be the same person, but it could never happen. (See Important Quotations Explained) During the evacuation, a scuffle breaks out between the Americans and their Vietnamese allies. The Vietnamese want to be evacuated first, so they threateningly surround the American …
id=”Richie Perry”> Richie Perry – The narrator and protagonist. Richie is a seventeen-year-old high school graduate from Harlem. Though he is smart and ambitious, his alcoholic single mother cannot afford to send him to college, so he joins the army to escape an uncertain future. Richie is sent to Vietnam, and during his months there, he …
When Richie Perry first arrives in Vietnam, seventeen years old and fresh out of high school, he is naïve, lost, and confused. He has no grasp on the brutal reality of war, no sense of himself, and no idea of how he wants to build his life. Though he is unusually bright, sensitive, and talented, …