“They aren’t gooks, they’re Soldiers just like you and me” was said twice during chapter 19. The first one was said by Killigan to LT McDonough because Killigan could see that the LT was becoming very agitated since the Viet Cong soldier was not replying to his demands. The second one was said by LT McDonough to another lieutenant who originally said “bring the gooks over to the CP.” The first one, the one that Killigan says to the LT, is more striking to me because it should be the officers duty to keep his emotions in-check. However, I like this passage because it shows that officers can indeed learn a lot from enlisted soldiers; officers are not perfect. When LT McDonough states it to the lieutenant, I believe it is for the benefit of the young near-by lieutenant because the young lieutenant does not seem to know that at the end of the day, all soldiers are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect.

When CPT Moray finally makes his appearance in chapter 20, and I have to say that I was less than impressed. It seems that the CPT does not want to place himself in the position that has the most friction during the upcoming mission, but he instead places himself 4,000 meters away from the objective. Instead of choosing to lead from the front, the CPT opts for leading from the rear which I believe is not a good choice. LT McDonough recognizes the CPT’s inexperience and it is clear that LT McDonough does not think highly of the CPT. Regarding the aggressiveness of LT McDonough as the company prepares for the CPT’s final company-level operation, I believe that LT McDonough has the right amount of aggressiveness. I believe that the LT had to be very aggressive in order to gain control of the situation.

One thing that really stood out to me was the way LT McDonough rallied his men when the village was being attacked. He was able to quickly collect his men and descend upon the village in a quick manner. Furthermore, it appeared that he was very concerned with the well-being of the villagers and was willing to risk himself injury in order to make sure they are alright. Overall, I enjoyed seeing that the LT cared so much about the Vietnamese people living in the village; it was clear that he wanted to protect them in any way that he could.