“We’re all dead and just hoping that we come back to life when we get into the World again.” In the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers you follow a young man named Richard Perry through his time in Vietnam. In this book all of the characters face the same emotions and fears. They all have to face the possibility of death at any moment, the intense love of comrades, and the sorrow of losing a close friend in combat.
All of the men deal with facing death and destruction every single day. They have to live with the idea that at any moment they could be killed. During one of the times they went into a village, Perry is almost killed by a VC but the VC’s gun didn’t fire and instead Perry kills him. This is only one incident when the men come face to face with death.
The men also develop a strong bond of friendship. After seeing all the terrible things they see every single day they come to understand each other and care about each other strongly. After being together for so long it is not uncommon for them to show strong feelings towards each other that in the World would be thought of as weird. The men understand each others fears and hopes and don’t make fun of each other for crying. This is a bond that will stay with them forever.
Each and every man also deals with the loss of a close friend in combat at one point or another. In the beginning a man who came to Nam with Perry, Jenkins, steps on a mine and is blown up right in front of Perry and the other men. This is something that they will grow accustomed to and learn to deal with. All of the men deal with the sadness that follows losing a close friend and that makes them understand each others sadness. It is not uncommon for a man to cry and no one else will make fun of him.
In the book Fallen Angles by Walter Dean Myers, the characters all share some of the same experiences and feelings, such as death, comradeship, and losing a close friend. When they are in Nam the men feel as though they are dead and just waiting to get back to the World in order to feel alive again.