Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

"The way Rat told it, she came in by helicopter along with the daily resupply shipment out of Chu Lai. A tall, big-boned blonde. At best, Rat said, she was seventeen years old, fresh out of Cleveland Heights Senior High. She had long white legs and blue eyes and a complexion like strawberry ice cream. Very friendly, too." (p. 89)

"It was as though he had trouble recognizing her. She wore a bush hat and filthy green fatigues;  she carried the standard M-16 automatic assault rifle; her face was black with charcoal." (p. 98)

"Her eyes seemed to shine in the dark - not blue, though, but a bright glowing  jungle green." (p. 101)

 I really enjoyed this story, although it was one of the longer chapters in the novel. I thought it was interesting how Mary Anne changed under the effects of the war. This is one of the few stories I've heard written of modern war times that include women. Usually when I have read such a novel, the woman is always the damsel in distress. In this case, Mary Anne was the hero and Eddie became more or less the damsel. It is interesting that for once the woman is the one to become strong and independent, and it breaks several normal beliefs. During war times, feminism has never been fervently followed and its inspiring that O'Brien took so much of his novel to write about a woman's strength. Even though in the end Mary Anne changed far beyond the normal boundaries, I think this is an inspirational chapter.