Chapter 13: Last Shot Summary and Analysis

Wolff read up on George Orwell because his son was writing a paper on him. The line, "It is a great thing to die in your own bed, though it is better still to die in your boots," (p. 219) struck a note with Wolff. It was his experience in Vietnam that some guys didn't die in their boots, they were literally blown out of them. It made him think of his friend Hugh Pierce and all the things in life he missed by dying so young. It was Hugh who had started the "stroll" and singing "My Girl" as they parachuted out of the copters. He remembered how Hugh turned to him just before he jumped and asked, "Are we having fun yet?" (p. 221) and then he was gone.