In the book, Fallen Angels, there are key characters who play a very impactful role on Perry. Such a character is named Jenkins, and he plays the part better than anyone else in this story. He shows the fear of any young person going to a war, not only that Jenkins serves the United States to show his father that he is that devoted to gain the respect and love from him, but as one finds out later he is forgettable. With all of this, one might think that he is an expendable character but that is far from the truth; this man did the most for the main character in the simplest, but most effective way, by dying. The tragedy struck early in the book. The incident all occurred near the base where Jenkins was stationed in Vietnam, showing early signs of fear. He was selected for guard duty and was shaking so badly before he left (Myers 17); This shows the extreme external fear of this poor soldier at his young age. Within the next few pages, he was exclaiming “I think I’m going to die over here”(Myers 26). As the platoon was coming back from their normal patrol, there was a boom and screaming. A soldier had stepped on a mine, and…show more content… “My father is a Colonel … he wanted me to be infantry”(Myers 25). As one can see, he was not looking to be a soldier. It seems the character wants to fit in as well as impress the father. But, the father will only ask for more until he gets the prodigal son that he seeks so badly after. “First, I volunteer for the army, then I volunteer for infantry and take advanced individual training in infantry. I serve my time over here, then I go to Officers Candidate School”(Myers 25). Additionally, this bright young man stands no chance of having his own future because he is constantly trying to achieve the impossible. Sadly, the authors show what happens to good people in bad places. They are simply forgotten, like dust in the
