Beasts of Burden
Jaelan Leonard and David Forrest
Facts from the Articles
1. They all shared the burden of being at war, so they were all in it together. They have to survive as brothers.
2. The emotional burdens that they had affect the physical burdens that the soldiers choose to carry in the war.
True Brothers
Although saving his comrade poses a heavy burden to the soldier, he does it anyway. In war, you fight for the man next to you and he fights for you. No man gets left behind.
Deep Thought
Everyday, soldiers were affected by their thoughts, and the stress of being in battle affected them especially. Any thought, whether it was good or bad, deeply affected the GI in Vietnam.
A Group Effort
The soldier in the background is keeping watch for his comrades while they rest. Often, this is how slow afternoons during the war would go, one man keeping watch for his squad. He would make sure they were safe. Usually the men would take turns watching out for each other like this.
PREDICTIONS
I believe Lieutenant Cross will die near the end or middle of the book. He seems to caught up in thought about Martha, and so distracted from his duties.