Pharaoh’s Army: Memories of the Lost War

Wolff recognizes that he stands out in Vietnam, not only as a white man but as a particularly tall one; when marching in a column, for example, as much as he tries to avoid it, he knows that he is an easy target for snipers. He is “out of proportion” to everything around him: “All was shaped and scaled to the people whose place this was. Time had made it so” (77).

One night, while on a mission, Wolff and his troupe set up camp. He watches some Vietnamese troops catch a stray puppy and tie him to a tree. When Wolff asks what they are going to call the dog, they act confused at first, then reply “Canh Cho,” which means “dog stew.” Wolff tries to convince them not to eat the dog, but the soldiers respond by taunting the dog with the fire. Wolff eventually pays them for the dog and takes it back to his tent. From then on, the troops greet Wolff by miming eating stew.

Shortly after Christmas, Vera breaks up with him by letter, telling him she has been seeing someone else. Wolff is jealous of the other man but otherwise unaffected and unsurprised.