Captain Smith Character Analysis in If I Die in a Combat Zone

Captain Smith replaces Captain Johansen as the commander of Alpha Company. Captain Smith is short, pudgy, and obviously inexperienced, making him the polar opposite of Captain Johansen. Due to Captain Smith’s incompetence and inability to lead, he leads Alpha Company into heavy losses during their first mission, but he is far more saddened by the toll his failures will have on his military career than by all the soldiers who died under his command. Within a couple of months, Captain Smith is stripped of his command.

Captain Smith Character Timeline in If I Die in a Combat Zone

The timeline below shows where the character Captain Smith appears in If I Die in a Combat Zone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Alpha Company at the end of June, replaced by a short, fat Tennessean named Captain Smith. Smith gives his new soldiers a “pep talk” but no one in Alpha Company trusts... (full context)

The next day, the tracks and infantrymen keep searching villages for Viet Cong. Smith orders his men to clear out a bunker. They throw grenades in, and an old... (full context)

Captain Smith calls for an airstrike, and jets cover the village in napalm and burn it to... (full context)

Barney shows O’Brien a two-inch hole that the mine’s shrapnel punched in his canteen. Captain Smith shows O’Brien a miniscule hole in his shirt and claims that he’ll get a Purple... (full context)

When the track commander tells Smith to have his men walk in front of the tracks to check for mines, Smith... (full context)

...and wait out the night. Mortars hit them during the night, wounding two more. Captain Smith thinks he sees a Viet Cong soldier and shoots at them, but he discovers that... (full context)

...is deployed to the top of a mountain, setting up in a Buddhist monastery. Captain Smith’s superiors tell him to expect a fight. The soldiers meet a monk who cares for... (full context)