Going After Cacciato characters

Appears from the start

A young American infantryman in Vietnam whose fear, memories, and elaborate imagination shape the novel. He joins the pursuit of Cacciato while trying to understand how an ordinary soldier can act amid danger without either mastering it or escaping it.

Appears from the start

A cheerful, physically solid soldier regarded by the squad as simple-minded. He leaves the war intending to walk west all the way to Paris, turning desertion into a goal so implausible that the men sent after him cannot agree how seriously to take it.

Appears from the start

The exhausted lieutenant leading the squad that pursues Cacciato. Older than many of the men and frequently unwell, he retains command while showing little enthusiasm for rigid military abstractions.

Appears from the start

A confident, practical squad member who often supplies the authority that Corson lacks. His judgment carries weight with the other soldiers as they decide how far to continue the pursuit.

Appears from the start

The squad medic, observant and methodical even when events become improbable. He records distances and developments, lending the westward journey a surface of factual order.

Appears from the start

A volatile soldier whose aggression and suspicion repeatedly sharpen tensions within the squad. He treats the pursuit as another mission to be forced through by toughness.

Appears from the start

A member of the pursuing squad who shares its burdens and debates while remaining less dominant than Oscar Johnson or Stink Harris.

Appears from the start

A soldier who initially joins the pursuit but questions both its legality and its sense. His refusal to accept an open-ended march tests whether the squad is following orders or inventing its own mission.

First appears in chapter 4

A strict lieutenant remembered from the squad's earlier combat service. He insists that standard procedures be followed despite the men's belief that his methods expose them to needless danger.

First appears in chapter 8

A young Vietnamese refugee whom Paul helps during the pursuit. Resourceful and direct about her wish for a safer life, she becomes his companion and imagines Paris as a place where they might begin again.

First appears in chapter 15

A Vietnamese major encountered in an immense tunnel complex. Cultivated and philosophical, he has adapted to life underground and offers the squad advice about finding a route back to the surface.

First appears in chapter 35

An officer who receives the travelers after their arrest in Tehran. Courteous and intellectually playful, he discusses the uncertain boundary between fact and possibility with Paul before deciding their fate.