1. The narrator does not see himself as heroic, even 20 years after the Vietnamese War.
"All of us, I suppose, like to believe that in a moral emergency we will behave like the heroes of our youth, bravely and forthrightly, without thought of personal loss or discredit."
2. The narrator was anti-war during the late 60's, and due to that, had an extremely difficult time deciding whether or not he should go to war.
"... I was drafted to fight a war I hated. I was twenty-one years old. Young, yes, and politically naive, but even so the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong."
3. The narrator went to war because he feared what his society would think of him if he didn't.
"I was afraid of walking away from my own life, my friends and my family, my whole history, everything that mattered to me. I feared losing the respect of my parents. I feared the law. I feared the ridicule and censure."
"The Ghost Soldiers"
1. The narrator highly respects and appreciates Rat Kiley.
"Thank God for Rat Kiley. Every so often, he trotted back to check me out. Which took courage."
2. After the narrator is no longer doing field work, he misses the fear and adventure, although that was his main concern before he came to war.
"In an odd way, though, there were times when I missed the adventure, even the danger, of the real war out in the boonies... The presence of death and danger has a way of bringing you fully awake. It makes thinks vivid..."
3. The narrator wants to seek revenge on Bobby Jorgenson for not treating him urgently and making him go into shock.
"... think up ways to make Bobby Jorgenson feel exactly what I felt. I wanted to hurt him."
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