Elroy Berdahl
The man who owned Tip Top Lodge. The man who helps Tim when he considers running away to Canada.
Tim O'Brien
Author of the book, member of Alpha Company.
Azar
Weird, twisted member of Alpha Company. He straps a puppy to a claymore and blows it up. He helps Tim punk Bobby Jorgenson. He laughs at the man Tim kills, first laughs at Kiowa's death, then is profoundly changed when they pull his body from the muck.
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross
The lieutenant of Alpha Company. He blames himself when people die. For awhile he carried letters and a pebble in his mouth that were sent to him by Martha.
Martha
The young woman that Lt. Jimmy Cross loves.
Henry Dobbins
Gunner who wore his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck for good luck.
Dave Jensen
Freaked out when Lee Strunk stole his knife and he broke his own nose. Made a pact with Lee Strunk that if one of them was put into a wheelchair they would kill the other.
Ted Lavender
Killed by a sniper early on in the book. Lt Jimmy Cross feels responsible for his death.
Mitchell Sanders
He was sort of the "alpha male" of the company. He tells the story of the listening patrol.
Kiowa
Christian Baptist Native American soldier. He is the nicest guy in the company. O'Brien's best war buddy. He dies from being sucked into marshy mud flooded with latrine waste. Friendly and peaceful, very religious. sleeps on a Bible, carries a hatchet. Ti
Lee Strunk
Got into a fight with Dave Jensen. Made a pact with Dave Jensen to kill the other if wounded and put in a wheelchair. He died from a mortar explosion.
Rat (Bob) Kiley
Medic. When Curt Lemon dies, he writes a letter to Curt's sister. She never writes back. He shot up a baby water buffalo.
Curt Lemon
Died playing catch with a smoke grenade with Rat Kiley when he stepped on a live claymore and was blown into a tree.
Mark Fossie
Brings his girlfriend, Mary Anne Bell, to the military base in Vietnam.
Mary Anne Bell
Mark Fossie's fianc�e. She comes to Vietnam, get involved with the Green Berets and becomes a guerrilla jungle fighter. She eventually disappears in the bush and is never seen again.
Dancing girl
Danced around while her village burnt down village. Azar mocks her dancing.
Norman Bowker
Gets home from the war and is lonely and depressed. He feels his father will only love him for military medals. He feels responsible for Kiowa's death. His ex-girlfriend, Sally Kramer, married someone else. He hangs himself in a gym.
Sally Kramer
The young woman that Norman Bowker loves.
Linda
Tim's 9 year old love childhood sweetheart. She wore a red cap which covered her bald head; she died of a brain tumor.
Nick Veenhof
Teased Linda about her red cap and snatched it off of her head.
Kathleen
Tim O'Brien's daughter
Bobby Jorgenson
The medic who bungles first aid to Tim after Tim is shot.