Throughout the journey of James and Dee, life is shown to be sacred, yet in danger. While both are young, serving in the army caused them to take a chance on their own lives to defend their flag. While millions of young men all over the world took that opportunity, none truly fulfilled their goals. James, a Lance Corporal, must overcome his fear of death and darkness in order to defeat the enemy. This is shown when he must go down into a dark basement to check for enemies. Although he is afraid, he knows that he must not panic, but do his duty in risking his life, just like his comrades have done in the past. By overcoming this, he shows how he will not back down easily, even in the face of death. Another example of this is when he raids a German base. Although having his whole unit blown to nothing but dust from a giant explosion, James knows that he can’t run or worry, but instead must think. After avoiding death and realizing that a few shots from a mortar at the base will scare and destroy the heavy guns, he accomplishes his goal of taking down the enemy. As he quotes, “It was the first time in his life he could remember anybody ever calling him anything but average. Maybe the army was a place where he could be more than he was back home.”

During his time serving Dee continues to question himself. He asks “What the hell am I doing here?” Although he cannot answer the question himself, his backstory proves he has a motive to fight. Landing on Omaha Beach, with death surrounding him and bullets flying past his face, Dee is afraid, scared, and trembling, yet not alone. All of his unit risks their life landing and Dee knows that life cannot be taken for granted. Dee wants to be more than just a normal kid, but knows that in order to do that, he can’t fear his whole life. For example, Dee chooses to risk his own life to save his Sergeant from drowning. This true act of bravery can proves how Dee is not afraid to put his life at risk. As Dee quotes, “The beach. The guns. The cliff. The bodies. He saw it all, understood where he was, what he needed to do.” As Dee starts to strengthen his spirit, a mortar falls next to him, his best friend, Sid, is no where to be seen.