Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in If I Die in a Combat Zone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Evils of the Vietnam War
Courage
Duty vs. Conscience
The Enemy
Racism at War
Summary
Analysis
The “Chieu Hoi,” a Vietnamese scout for Charlie Company, enters a captain’s office and asks for a pass to go home; his wife fears their sick child may die. The captain refuses, saying that the army needs him out there helping him fight, and his child will be fine. The Chieu Hoi persists, restating that his child will die, but the captain is unmoved—he claims that America is fighting the Vietnamese’s war for them, so the Vietnamese must help. The captain says that the Chieu Hoi can help save American soldiers, but he won’t “save the baby.” The Chieu Hoi says that because he used to be a Viet Cong, the men in Charlie Company don’t even like him. Within a day, he deserts.
The Chieu Hoi Program is an initiative by the South Vietnamese government to encourage its people to defect from the Viet Cong and support the American effort against North Vietnam. The captain’s total disregard for Chieu Hoi’s personal request suggests that he does not care about Vietnamese people whatsoever, only protecting American lives and achieving American goals.
Themes
