Once An Eagle Character Analysis

Conflicts persist throughout life and they can be in many shapes and forms. They can happen with people, yourself, and the environment. In Once An Eagle by Anton Myer the US joins the fight in WW2.For the war Sam gets deployed to a horrible jungle. I will analyze Sam’s conflict with Courtney Massengale, Sam’s conflict with the Japanese, and his conflict with the jungle. Courtney is a major antagonist in the book. He isn’t the bad guy per say, but he has many different views then Sam. In the army Courtney isn’t a field officer. He stays home and makes plans and gives orders. Sam doesn’t find any solace with Courtney even though they do about the same things. Sam on the other hand is very hands-on type of soldier and want’s to fight with his men not telling them what to do with the safety of a command room. Courtney doesn’t interact with Sam as he does with Sam’s wife Tommy. Whenever Tommy and Courtney meet it at parties and the reader can tell that Courtney likes Tommy in a romantic way and that goes against Sam: “She had never looked as attractive to him as she did at the moment.” (Myer 825). Tommy doesn’t do anything she’s faithful, but it still is going against Sam. Courtney and Sam have varying views on life then each

The Japanese are better equipped, supplied, and disciplined than the American army. The Japanese get set up in little log huts for cover and they have to accede to many of them. They’ve had time to prepare and train in situations like the horrid jungle: “He was just there like he dropped out of the sky…” (Myer 790). Sam has to outwit the Japanese than just brute force his way through them. His way of outwitting them was getting a couple native canoes and fording a river so they could flank an exposed part of the Japanese army. Sam loses many friends to the Japanese, but Sam still accomplishes his goals. The Japanese are a tough enemy and the jungle just made them