Lieutenant Cross is a symbol of a man's role to love a woman in the society. The author says that Cross carried a photo and a bunch of letters written by the woman he admired the most, Martha. Because of the love Cross had for Martha, the writer says that he would sit down and imagine things happening between him and Martha. "He would imagine romantic camping trips into the white mountains in the New Hampshire'' (O'Brien 1). Through this relationship the writer depicts the role of man in formulation of families and intimate relationships between sexes.
The advent of the Vietnam War, however, distances Martha and Lieutenant Cross (O'Brien 4). As a result, Cross is forced to live in faith, hoping that Martha returns love to him; even though he does not believe in words "love Martha" that is at the end of the letters from her. While he is way in the war, Cross sadly remembers how he had wanted to tell Martha that he loved her and he would wish to spend a night with her. The writer says, ''he remembered kissing her goodnight at the dorm door. Right then, he though he should've done something brave. He should have carried her up the stairs to her room and tied her to the bed and touched her knee all night long. He should've risked it. Whenever he looked at the photos, he thought of new things he should've done'' (O'Brien 4). The war therefore disrupted not only the relationship between Martha and Cross, but it also disjointed many other men from the people they loved, because the author says that every man had carried a memento in their pockets. This is the emotional toll that war can take on the human mind, but the physical toll it takes and be just as strong. The war breaks up men from their loved ones as well as their professions. .
O'Brien also indicates the man's role in medicine and hygiene as well. The author says that Dave Jensen, a specialist in field hygiene, carried dental floss, a toothbrush, and hotel-sized bars of soap along with him to war.
