Our history is now yours, and this is who you will be.
-- Captain Marjorie Miller (Chapter 1)

Importance: At the outset of the narrative, Urrea includes this quotation to introduce his thematic inspection of war. When the Clubmobilers are attending training seminars, Captain Marjorie Miller tells the women that their pasts and their personal lives no longer matter. The history and the ethos of the Red Cross is now their identity. The author suggests that war can foster community because the individual is dedicating their life to the needs of a greater cause. The Clubmobilers, nurses, and soldiers are all fighting for freedom.

They sat through ridiculously detailed instructions on how to make up their face, with men explain to them in bureaucratic terms how to do what they had been doing all their lives, in the proper fashion.
-- Narrator (Chapter 2)

Importance: In Chapter 2, Urrea utilizes this moment to develop his thematic inspection of gender roles. During the training...