When I read this chapter, I don't think I was too surprised that Norman Bowker took his own life. From his flashbacks in a previous chapter, I could see the PTSD working and his need for release. I am sad that medication and help was not available then for him because no matter what he said about the Silver Star, he was still a hero. What stuck out most to me 
was how Bowker could not hold down a job after the war. I do not know if that was the PTSD or whether nothing could capture his attention as the war had done. I thought about all of our enlisted soldiers now who are not fighting oversees and I wondered if there was anything like that after Vietnam. I think it would have helped Bowker tremendously to be stationed at a place like Camp Atterbury so he could still feel the military influence. Now, maybe there was something like that and Bowker was too tired of war to re-enlist, but I think that it would have kept him from taking his life if he felt like he still held a military purpose.
was how Bowker could not hold down a job after the war. I do not know if that was the PTSD or whether nothing could capture his attention as the war had done. I thought about all of our enlisted soldiers now who are not fighting oversees and I wondered if there was anything like that after Vietnam. I think it would have helped Bowker tremendously to be stationed at a place like Camp Atterbury so he could still feel the military influence. Now, maybe there was something like that and Bowker was too tired of war to re-enlist, but I think that it would have kept him from taking his life if he felt like he still held a military purpose. 
maybe the saddest chapter of the book
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