How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I liked Jonesy even though I wasn't sure what he was talking about sometimes. Like when he asked me if I was a hero type.
"No," I answered.
"You tall—how tall are you?"
"Six foot two."
"A lot of tall dudes are hero types," Jonesy said. "You go crazy trying to watch their backs. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, but I'm not the hero type," I said. (1.62-67)
Jonesy doesn't want to watch the back of someone who keeps throwing himself in harm's way. Can't really blame him. That's what he seems to mean by "hero-type"—someone who puts himself in danger.
Quote #2
"Those people, the Kurds, laying on the ground, they didn't have a chance. We got the chance. We got to do a gut check and see if we got the will to win."
I didn't know if I had the same will to win as the guy from the 3rd. What I did know was that I wanted to do my part. (2.35-36)
Birdy's a little more humble than the guy from the 3rd. We're not sure that's a bad thing. No one person can win the war—"doing your part" is more like the day-to-day of being in the army.
Quote #3
Then I realized that it was the noise, the constant booming, that just filled my guts with a trembling sensation. I knew if I heard the boom I was safe because whatever had exploded hadn't hit me. But it was the idea that at any moment it could be all over, that I could be dead or lying in the sand twisting in agony, that filled me with a terror that I hadn't known before. Terror. It wasn't just being scared. It was a feeling that was taking me over. I knew it but I hoped no one else saw it. (5.107)
Even though it's normal to be so afraid, Birdy doesn't want anyone to see that he's feeling that way. Above all things, he wants to seem brave.