Summary

The chapter titled 1966 opens with Bill Houston on leave in Honolulu. He wanders around drinking a lot and gets into a fight. He doesn't get back aboard his ship to avoid the man he'd fought with and winds up spending time in a military jail and then doing “grunt work” such as garbage detail.

Back in America, Bill's younger brother, James, is struggling. He is still in school but hates it. The family is struggling financially on James's mother's agriculture job. James has a younger brother named Burris. One day, Bill calls and James answers. They talk about the military. That evening, James goes out with friends and winds up spending time with Stevie Dale, a girl who isn't his girlfriend. They soon begin having sex on a regular basis. James says he plans to join the military and go Vietnam. His mother says she'll...