Plot Events
The narrator threw this weapon that killed the young soldier
What is a grenade?
This soldier was with the narrator during the ambush incident.
Who is Kiowa?
The story explores this feeling that veterans often experience about their wartime actions.
What is guilt (or regret)?
The story's structure alternates between the present conversation and these memories
What are flashbacks?
The ambush takes place in this Southeast Asian country.
What is Vietnam?
This is what the young Vietnamese soldier was carrying when he appeared on the trail.
What is an AK-47 rifle?
This is the name of the narrator's young daughter who asks about killing.
Who is Kathleen?
This emotion heavily influences the narrator's decision to throw the grenade.
What is fear?
The story is told from this point of view.
What is first person?
The conversation with his daughter takes place this many years after the war.
What is 20 years later?
This is what the narrator imagines he might have done differently in the alternate version of events.
What is let the soldier pass by without throwing the grenade?
The narrator describes the young Vietnamese soldier as being about this age.
What is a teenager (or young man)?
The narrator struggles with telling this to his daughter versus protecting her innocence.
What is the truth?
The detailed description of the young soldier's appearance and imagined life creates this for the reader.
What is sympathy (or humanization of the enemy)?
The ambush occurs during this time of day.
What is early morning (or dawn)?