The Yellow Birds

In an intensely lyrical voice, Private John Bartle recalls his memories of the war in Iraq, recounting his experience of fighting in the city of Al Tafar, Nineveh Province. Bartle describes the war as something that tries to kill everyone indiscriminately, an ever-present force that feeds on destruction and violence. Patient and determined, the war tried to kill everyone in the spring, then in the summer, killing thousands of people by September—soldiers and innocent civilians alike. Bartle and his friend Murph count the number of soldiers who have died, with the goal of avoiding becoming the thousandth soldier killed.

Although September seems to bring nothing new, Bartle later recounts it as a period that would change his life forever, setting the foundation for everything that would be important in his life. In Al Tafar, after four days of crawling along rooftops, Bartle and Murph are now waiting, hidden, at dawn. Bartle looks down at the space that his fellow soldiers and he are responsible for defending, and notes the dead bodies in the street and the strong smell of burning around him.

As Bartle’s platoon waits on the roof, Bartle lights a cigarette, watches Sergeant Sterling pour Tabasco on his eyes to stay awake, and feels comforted by his companion Murph’s steady breathing, which Bartle is now used to hearing by his side. After Bartle puts out his cigarette, the two of them chew some tobacco. When the lieutenant tells the men to get ready, Bartle and Murph prepare their rifles and get ready to take part in yet another battle.

Bartle describes reaching this building a few days ago and running into the empty house, yelling aggressively when the soldiers perceived shapes they thought might be people. On the first day, the platoon’s interpreter, Malik, who studied literature before the war and speaks excellent English, sits next to Bartle. He always wears a hood over his face to keep people from knowing who he is, because he knows that he would be killed for helping the Americans.

Looking around, Malik tells Bartle that this used to be his neighborhood. He stands up and points to a place where an old woman used to plant hyacinths. Despite Bartle and Murph’s warnings that Malik should remain seated, Malik keeps on standing and, when shooting suddenly erupts, Malik is killed on the spot. Although Bartle and Murph do not see Malik die, his blood splatters all over their uniforms.

After Malik’s death, Bartle and Murph decide that this death doesn’t count, and that they are still at nine hundred sixty-eight or seventy deaths. Reflecting on this episode, Bartle explains that the reason he felt neither surprised nor moved by Malik’s death is because death is so common in Iraq. In this context, the only way to remain sane and want to keep on fighting, Bartle argues, is to focus on the actions he needs to perform, not on the deaths around him. Cynically, Bartle concludes that, even though he initially thought that war would bring people together, he soon realized that it only forces everyone to focus on their own survival. This mad Bartle see other people’s deaths as reassuring, since they made it less likely for him to die.

Reflecting on this mindset, Bartle concludes that this mode of thinking was an illusion, since war kills people arbitrarily, respecting no particular order or logic. Unlike what they thought, counting up to a thousand deaths does not protect anyone, and Bartle and Murph might be killed at any point. Bartle rejects the idea of destiny, noting that the fact that he ultimately survived while Murph died does not mean that Murph was destined to die. Rather, death struck Murph impersonally, in exactly the same way it could have affected anybody else. Although Bartle was not present at the moment of Murph’s death, he knows that the knives that killed his companion could have killed anyone else, and that neither living nor dying makes soldiers special.

When Malik dies, therefore, Bartle does not feel anything. He only remembers a woman who his conversation with Malik reminded him of, a woman who served him tea once in delicate cups. The memory feels distant, covered in dust, but he tries to unbury it and remembers the old lady’s wrinkled face.

Four days after Malik’s death, when the soldiers prepare for combat, Bartle notes that the place where Malik pointed to the hyacinths is now all burned-up and any trace of ordinary civilian life gone. As the sun begins to rise, the lieutenant, a detached, reserved man, explains that the third platoon will try to lead the enemy to their front. He asks about the fires that he notices in nearby orchards, and tells Bartle and Murph to monitor them. When the lieutenant forgets what he was previously saying, Sterling, a sergeant, intervenes and completes the lieutenant’s sentence, adding that their job is to “kill the hajji fucks.”

After Bartle realizes that the call to prayer did not sound that morning, a mortar attack suddenly erupts and the men protect themselves, lying on the ground with their hands over their head. When the attack stops, everyone yells that they are fine and gets ready for battle. When Sergeant Sterling tries to motivate the soldiers, Bartle describes his mixed feelings of appreciation and hatred for Sterling. Although Bartle hates how aggressive Sterling becomes in battle, he also knows that he needs Sterling to stimulate him for him to want to fight. Seeing Sterling yell with anger and hatred at the enemy, seemingly taking pleasure in shooting at others, makes Bartle feel grateful.

The enemy then appears, hidden in nearby buildings, and Bartle begins to shoot. When he sees a man who shows surprise at still being alive in the middle of this shooting, Bartle wants to congratulate him but realizes that it would be inappropriate to yell words of encouragement to the enemy. Bartle sees his fellow soldiers shoot at this man, and he feels uncomfortable and wonders what kind of men they are. At the same time, he knows that he is terrified and finds that he too is shooting at the man. The knowledge that they are killing him collectively makes Bartle feel relieved, despite his moral interrogations. In the end, though, Bartle knows that he is the one who gave the man a fatal shot.

Bartle then sees a car drive on the road near the orchard, with white sheets flowing from it, and notices that there is only an elderly couple in the car. He wants to tell his platoon not to shoot, but the shooting has already begun and Bartle watches the scene without saying anything, filled with fear and anticipation. When the old man in the car is killed, the old woman tries to get out of the car and is soon shot dead. Murph makes a surprised yet unemotional comment about this woman’s death, and Bartle notes that sleep deprivation makes them feel as if nothing matters.

As Bartle watches the old woman bleed to death, Sterling gives Bartle and Murph pieces of dry pound cake. A small girl then moves toward the car and begins to drag the old woman’s body away. In the meantime, Bartle watches the leaves of some trees move in the wind. The lieutenant comes by to congratulate the soldiers on their good work and Bartle wonders if they all look so frightened that the lieutenant needs to reassure them that they are going to be okay. Bartle has a hard time believing that they fought well but decides that his disbelief does not mean that what the lieutenant is saying is not the truth.

Bartle knows that they are going to be sent on a new mission soon but feels comfort from knowing that Murph and he have survived this one. He wonders if he could have known at the time that Murph was going to die soon but concludes that he could not. That day, they were simply happy and relieved, and spent the next hours sleeping in the sun.