Remembering

"We kept the dead alive with stories" (page 239). Around the camp, soldiers told stories of those that had died. They told stories of Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon, and Kiowa. By telling these stories, they were able to remember - and in a way bring back to life - those who had died. This is the same thing O' Brien does throughout the entire book. Each chapter is a different story about an experience the soldiers went through during the war. O' Brien re-tells these stories as he looks back on his past. It is his way of "keeping the dead alive" by remembering them and writing the stories down. These stories can then be read by numerous others through the years. This continuous reading and story-telling keeps the dead alive because it makes sure that they are always remembered and never forgotten.