Meet the Cast
Jamie Dexter
Take one part card lover, one part know-it-all, and add in die-hard army enthusiasm, and you have Jamie. Our narrator and leading lady, she's is one tough cookie. She might be a twelve-year-old gir...
The Colonel (a.k.a. Jamie's Dad)
Attention! The Colonel is coming through, stand aside. This guy makes the hairs on the backs of our necks stand up. We believe Jamie when she tells us: The Colonel was born to run the show, and he...
Private First Class Bucky Hollister
He might be a radio repairman and a soldier, but to Jamie, Private Hollister is nothing more than her gin rummy partner. And one she can beat, too. The pair starts playing early on in the summer an...
TJ Dexter
TJ might already have shipped off to Vietnam when the book starts, but that doesn't mean he's not important. We get to know a lot about him through flashbacks and Jamie's memories. Some of the best...
Sergeant Byrd
First things first, it's pronounced "bird" like those flying animals. Jamie meets Sergeant Byrd at the rec center, where she learns how to develop film. It's through Byrd that Jamie realizes war is...
Mrs. Jeannie Dexter (a.k.a. Jamie's mom)
We don't get to know Mrs. Dexter very much outside of what Jamie tells us about her. Think about it this way: How much do you tell your friends about mommy dearest? Some, but probably not a whole l...
Cindy Lorenzo
Jamie's friend Cindy is developmentally disabled, so it can be tricky to have a conversation with her, and sometimes Jamie gets a little impatient repeating things or trying to explain them to her...