"A Marine floated nearby, his sightless blue eyes staring up at foreign sky. . . After that, I did my best not to look at the faces of the dead."
This is the first time Chester sees a dead man during the war. He's frightened by the emptiness of the corpse's eyes, so he vows not to look again. He doesn't want to imagine what happens to the white man when he dies. Chester's people have such rich myths surrounding the afterlife and the progression of the soul after death, so he is prepared for his own death, but the American culture is somewhat mysterious to him.
"The intense training had built up our confidence. By the end of basic training, I felt satisfied that I had learned everything I needed to know to stay alive in combat."
Chester's decision to approach combat with confidence is a testimony to his previous training. Back home he had already learned the traditional warfare of his people. All of that comes in handy when he's preparing to put his life on the line in these dangerous battles.
"The new religious teachings caused confusion. We students were taught only the white man's way at school and only the Navajo way at home. And each culture saw the other as wrong."
This is the classic quandary of the mixed-race child. Although Chester is fully Navajo, he experiences a similar dysphoria when he enters school. These kids are educated according to government standards with no regard for the sanctity of their cultural traditions. At home, however, they are taught by their parents to respect an entirely different way of life. These conflicting perspectives often cause these children to struggle with identity issues very young. They want to be accepted, but they are being taught two separate methods of living.
"The entire family had worked hard to build up our herd, and we were happy and grateful for our healthy animals. In Navajo country, sheep were a measure of wealth . . ."
Raising the sheep is a family activity. Chester and his family have poured years of work into growing their herd. It's not only the means of their survival but an essential part of pride in their culture.
