Going After Cacciato

Two days after the events of the previous chapter, the squad is walking through the jungle, again trying to capture Cacciato. They’ve been moving slowly, in single file, looking for any hints of Cacciato’s presence. As the group proceeds, rations are growing sparse, and soon they’ll have no more food. Berlin fantasizes about eating delicious American food and drinking Coke.

Doc studies his map and talks to Lieutenant Corson. He shows Corson the group’s progress: they’re nearing the neighboring country of Laos—a dangerous area. Harold Murphy, who carries the squad’s “big rifle,” mutters that the soldiers should let Cacciato go, rather than risk their own lives. Lieutenant Corson ignores Murphy and motions for his soldiers to continue marching toward Laos. As the soldiers continue, Paul Berlin becomes extremely tired. He falls back to walk alongside Oscar Johnson, his fellow soldier. Johnson mutters that there’s no way Cacciato walked the way they’re walking now. Johnson adds that Corson—who’s ordering them to risk their lives—is clearly in poor health.

After many more miles of walking, the soldiers arrive at a vast river, which marks the border between their country and Laos. There are no bridges over the river, but Corson orders his man to wade across it. They do so, slowly and carefully. To their surprise, the river is shallow and easy to cross. For the next six days, the soldiers march through Laos. They pass by villages, some of which are deserted. Their days are grueling—they wake up at daybreak, march until the mid-afternoon, and then, after a brief rest, march until the sun sets. Everyone finds the march exhausting, but especially Lieutenant Corson.

One afternoon, the soldiers are marching over a small creek when Lieutenant Corson collapses. He’s been suffering from dysentery lately, and hasn’t been dealing with the march well. Doc examines Corson and concludes that “the old man’s had it.” The soldiers drag Corson to a nearby tree, and spend the rest of the day sitting with him. Corson falls asleep, and it’s not clear if he’ll survive the night or not.

The remaining soldiers of squad three decide to have a meeting to determine the fate of their mission. Harold Murphy is among the first to speak up—he argues that they should turn back, rather than risk their lives hunting down one deserter. Oscar Johnson disagrees—he argues that the soldiers have responsibilities to their lieutenant, and shouldn’t ignore these so readily. Murphy points out that without Corson to testify, the soldiers could easily be accused of desertion themselves—after all, they’ve marched into a foreign country, seemingly along the same path that Cacciato took when he went AWOL.

The soldiers have listened to “speeches,” and now it’s time for them to vote on what to do next. One by one, they cast ballots by writing down their decisions on pieces of paper. Paul Berlin votes to continue searching for Cacciato, winning the vote for the “go-aheads.” The next morning, the soldiers discover that Harold Murphy has left, and left behind his big rifle. Oscar Johnson picks up the rifle, and the soldiers continue west into Laos without Murphy.