Fallen Angels

Harold “Peewee” Gates is the deuteragonist. Peewee consistently challenges those who look down upon him or threaten him. He is quick witted and has a sharp tongue that he uses to cut down those who bother him. Peewee is arrogant and flippant, often coping with the war around him through humor. However, underneath his facade, Peewee is a deeply caring and loyal character; he quickly becomes Perry’s best friend and cares for him deeply, providing support to him emotionally in his times of need. He epitomizes The Importance of Friendship and Camaraderie Between Soldiers.

Peewee is a mixture of mature and childlike, which represents the paradox of bringing children to fight a war. He enters Vietnam aloof and very playful, but he secretly harbors a strong sense for danger and an ability to adapt to the world around him. Peewee, like Perry, experiences a loss of innocence due to the brutality of the war, reinforcing the coming-of-age format of the text. Peewee’s childishness makes way for bravery as he protects Perry and saves Monaco’s life at the end of the novel. While Peewee’s joking nature does not change, he becomes more reserved, deeply impacted by the violence and atrocities he witnessed during his time in Vietnam. Peewee’s character arc serves as a reminder of the sacrifices that young soldiers had to make during the Vietnam War.

Lobel is a Jewish soldier who joined the army to prove to his father that he is not gay. This subplot also underscores the coming-of-age format, as he and the men in the squad think about their sexuality and how to express it—the others wonder about girlfriends or marriage back home. Having experienced prejudice first hand, he befriends Perry and Peewee, promising to stand up for them should racial tensions within their squad rise. While Lobel does not receive much development, his character arc revolves around war movies and how they function as a form of mythos and escapism for the soldiers. This becomes a motif in the novel. Lobel is the nephew of a Hollywood director, and he is obsessed with movies. Lobel explains to Perry that he views the war as a movie, and he is an actor within it.

Lobel’s fixation on movies represents the desire of many soldiers to find a form of escapism, hiding them from the harsh realities of the war. Lobel clings to the idea of movies to deny the truth of what he’s seen; he can’t accept that the violence and bloodshed that he has seen is real. He uses movies to avoid difficult life questions that contemplate the difference between right and wrong in war and the difference between life and death. However, despite Lobel’s escapism, he worries about his skills as a soldier.

Monaco is an Italian American soldier in Perry’s squad who is often portrayed as the voice of reason and stability amidst the chaos of the battlefield. Monaco is a strong and dependable soldier who remains calm in dangerous situations; this ability lands him his place as the squad’s “point man,” the member of the squad who walks in front of the other soldiers on missions. Monaco’s bravery and resilience make him highly respected by his fellow soldiers. During his time in Vietnam, Monaco is proposed to by his girlfriend back home, and he agrees to marry her and arranges their wedding for a date after the final member of the squad has returned home from Vietnam. This subplot underscores the tragic elements of the text, since the implicit suggestion is that many squad members will not return home, including possibly Monaco himself, and if they do, they will not be the same.

Through Monaco, Myers portrays some of The Psychological Impacts of War on soldiers. For example, he experiences a flashback one evening and fearfully fires his gun at an empty doorway. Monaco states that he’d thought he had seen a pair of Viet Cong soldiers. This event functions as a catalyst for the other soldiers to contemplate their own mental health and makes them feel more protective of each other.