Going After Cacciato: Chapter 31 Summary & Analysis

The chapter concerns Paul Berlin’s early experiences in the army. He and the other soldiers of his platoon are marching single file through the jungle and mountains, occasionally seeing a rice paddy. Berlin dreams of the day that the soldiers will reach the sea—then, he thinks, there will be no more marching. In the meantime, the soldiers entertain themselves by singing and telling jokes.

Berlin thinks about the death of Billy Boy Watkins, which has happened only a few days ago. Doc Peret—who isn’t Berlin’s friend yet—confirms that Billy Boy died of a heart attack. Berlin, who seems terrified of Billy Boy’s death, imagines explaining the incident to his father, and shrugging as if to say, “not so bad.”

Paul Berlin tries to concentrate on forgetting the details of Billy Boy’s death, but the harder he tries, the more difficult it becomes. He tells himself “not to take it personally.” As he marches through the forest, Berlin strikes up a conversation with Cacciato, who is chewing his favorite gum. Cacciato has been a soldier for longer than Berlin, and he tells Berlin that he’ll soon adjust to life in the war. As Cacciato and Berlin talk, Berlin imagines a telegraph telling Billy Boy’s father that his son has been “Scared to death.” Berlin finds that he can’t stop laughing and giggling.

Berlin continues laughing, and as he laughs, he remembers the day that Billy Boy died. The men were sitting around, drinking soda and fooling around with their guns, shooting at the cans of soda. Suddenly, Billy walked away from the soldiers, and accidentally triggered a land mine. Amazingly, the mine didn’t kill Billy—indeed, it left him virtually unharmed. The mine ripped off his foot, but didn’t seem to hurt him at all—at least not at first. Berlin remembers Doc Peret telling Billy, “War’s over. That’s a million-dollar wound.”

Berlin continues to remember Billy Boy’s death. After losing his foot, Billy Boy felt a sudden rush of pain. Billy Boy gritted his teeth and rocked his head back and forth, seemingly unable to speak. Suddenly, his body went slack. Doc Peret touched Billy Boy’s chest, and checked for a pulse. He reported, with great surprise, that Billy Boy was dead—apparently of a sudden heart attack. Doc claims that he’s seen people “scared to death” before. The other soldiers nod and wrap Billy Boy up in a body bag. They radio for a helicopter, and before the long, the helicopter arrives to carry Billy Boy’s body away.

As the incident of Billy Boy’s death ends, the soldiers resume their business. Eddie sings humorous songs about Billy Boy, and Cacciato offers Berlin a stick of his prized Black Jack gum. He tells Berlin, “You’ll do fine. You will. You got a terrific sense of humor.”