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Terms
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam, or ARVN, was South Vietnam’s military force during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Although the ARVN was, at its peak, the fourth-largest army in the world, high levels of corruption and incompetence among its officers compromised its efficacy. Early in the war, the Southern Vietnamese forces concentrated on eradicating the Vietcong insurgency, but as the United States became more involved in the war effort, it took increasing amounts of ownership and control over the war’s military strategy.
ARVN Quotes in Fallen Angels
The Fallen Angels quotes below are all either spoken by ARVN or refer to ARVN. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
The village was a good ten minutes away and everybody seemed relaxed. I wasn’t. I was scared.
I had never thought of myself as being afraid of anything. I thought I would always be a middle-of-the-road kind of guy, not too brave, but not too scared, either. I was wrong. I was scared every time I left the hooch.
On the way to the chopper, I found myself holding my breath. I kept thinking of the noise I had heard when Jenkins got it. By the time we took off I was panting.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
The mortar shells landed behind us. They were long again. Long but walking. They had spotters who saw where the shells were landing, and who were directing the fire. They kept shortening up the range to get closer and closer to us. And the shells were coming fast.
The noise was terrible. Every time a mortar went off, I jumped. I couldn’t help myself. The noise went into you. It touched parts of you that were small and frightened and wanting your mommy. Being away from the fighting had weakened my stamina. It did even more to my nerves. I was shaking. I had to force myself to keep my eyes open.
“He forgot the tags,” Gearhart said. “He left them in the hut.”
“How they gonna let their folks know they dead?” Peewee said.
Gearhart didn’t answer.
What would they do for a body? Would they send home an empty coffin? Would they scrounge pieces from Graves Registration? What would they say to their parents? Their wives? We lost your son, ma’am. Somewhere in the forests he lies, perhaps behind some rock, some tree?
We burned his body, ma’am. In a rite hurried by fear and panic, we burned what was left of him and ran for our own lives.
Yes, and we’re sorry.
Perhaps they would tell them nothing. Not having a body in hand, not having the lifeless form to send with the flat, they would not acknowledge that there was a death at all.
Yes, and we’re sorry.
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ARVN Term Timeline in Fallen Angels
The timeline below shows where the term ARVN appears in Fallen Angels. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...gone, fighting either with the Vietcong army or the Americans’ allies, the South Vietnamese army (ARVN). Most Vietnamese men seem to join less out of ideological conviction than the desire to...
(full context)
Chapter 14
Word comes down that Alpha Company is being sent north to Tam Ky to advise ARVN troops. Lobel figures that the Northern Vietnamese forces will prefer to attack the dinky ARVN...
(full context)
Chapter 15
...almost no cover. A few guys from a watercraft unit are there, tasked with teaching ARVN soldiers how to maintain their equipment. Perry hopes that the American forces will finish training...
(full context)
...as night patrol here is “something else.” Their first mission involves helping two squads of ARVN soldiers ambush a Vietcong road. Tall grass—a perfect hiding ground for enemy fighters—covers the landing...
(full context)
...the sounds of artillery start early in the morning and continue late into the night. ARVN forces run most of the patrols, and at least half the time, they come scurrying...
(full context)
Chapter 17
...finds Alpha Company camped out between Tam Ky and Highway 1 with a bunch of ARVN soldiers. Everything feels off. Peewee and Monaco both gladly embrace Perry but feel bad that...
(full context)
...in it for a company—a woman and two children approach the camp. At company HQ, ARVN soldiers can’t get any information out of her. Peewee starts to make a doll as...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...Johnson joins Perry at breakfast bearing gossip about a fight between Captain Stewart and the ARVN colonel. Johnson has an air of experience about him, and Perry values his insights. He...
(full context)
...forces will go first. Lieutenant Gearhart expresses displeasure over the outcome; he’s heard that the ARVN colonel got “a whole battalion wasted” elsewhere. But orders are orders. Only Peewee sems eager...
(full context)
...faulty equipment or lack the expertise to use it properly. He soon realizes why the ARVN colonel didn’t want his men going first, since the soldiers must cross hundreds of yards...
(full context)
...a pissed-off Captain Stewart; since the Americans drew no fire on their initial approach, the ARVN colonel now wants his men to take the hill so he can get credit for...
(full context)
As soon as the front line of ARVN soldiers clears the rice paddies, the hill explodes with gunfire. The ARVN forces quickly fall...
(full context)
...the village when they start taking fire again. By this time, some of the disorganized ARVN troops have caught up to the Americans. Under their colonel’s orders, they lead the charge...
(full context)
The American and ARVN soldiers set up a perimeter and wait for the helicopters to arrive. Perry feels cold...
(full context)
Chapter 19
Word comes through that Northern Vietnamese reinforcements are coming; the ARVN and American forces must evacuate quickly. The soldiers set about the grim task of collecting...
(full context)
The American and ARVN forces head for the same pickup zone, with the Americans pushing through the cover of...
(full context)
...Perry hits the ground. Dirt and human flesh rain down on him. He fires—accidentally—on the ARVN forces to his right, then turns his attention back to the VC troops, now surrounded...
(full context)
Chapter 20
As the evacuation choppers finally arrive, the ARVN troops surround the American soldiers with guns; they want to be the first ones out....
(full context)
Chapter 21
...And the landing zone spooks him further; although it’s supposed to be close to an ARVN ranger post, he sees no sign of ARVN troops. The squad cautiously approaches the stream...
(full context)
