Comprehension Questions
Chapters (20 - 25)
1. Why did the women and children run from the Marines that invaded Saidan?
(Ch. 20) (2 to 3 sentences)
They had been told by the Japanese soldiers that Americans were devils that
would kill and torture them. The Japanese propaganda terrified them so much
they did not allow themselves to be captured.
2. Why did Wilfred say they could not celebrate after the victory on Saidan?
(Ch. 20)
On Saidan over 3000 Americans died, the entire Japanese garrison of 20,000 was
wiped out and many Japanese civilians took their own lives because of fear of
being captured.
3. Why was Ned nervous about going out at night on Eniwetok? (Ch. 21)
The giant crabs looked like giant spiders. He thought that if he stepped on
one with his bare feet it would chop his toe off with its big pincers.
4. Who were the Chamorros, and why had Ned “wanted to weep for them? (Ch.
21) – 3 to 4 sentences
Chamorros were the people that lived on Guam that were American citizens
and loyal to the United States. Once Guam was taken over by the Japanese,
the Chamorros tried to resist. The Japanese were very cruel to them. If
they refused to work for the Japanese they were put in concentration camps
or shot.
5. What events lead Ned to be shocked to see Charlie alive? (Ch. 21) (2 to 3
sentences)
 Wilsie found Charlie’s body. His lips were blue and there were no signs of
him breathing.
 He had a wound that extended from his soldier across his body.
 Wilsie left Charlie near a log covered with leaves to be recovered by the
Graves registration.
6. What was “battle fatigue” and how did Ned explain it? (Ch. 22)
It was the sickness of the mind. The spirit becomes sick from contact with
the enemy.
7. Explain what the kamikazes were, and where the name came from. (Ch. 23) –
(3 to 4 sentences)
Kamikazes were small suicide planes loaded with explosives used for the purpose
of diving into big targets such as battleships and aircraft carriers. Kamikaze was
referred to by the Japanese as the holy wind that always defends Japan.
8. Ned mentions that the Japanese army does not follow the “rules of modern
warfare”. List three examples that support Ned’s statement. (Ch. 23) –
(3 to 4 sentences)
 The Japanese believed that retreating, surrendering, and being captured in
a war was a great shame to the nation and their family.
 The Japanese felt that a soldier needed to die in banzai charges or kill
themselves rather than give up
 Anyone taken captive was scorned as a coward by the Japanese.
 American and British prisoners were treated badly by the Japanese. They
were forced into slave labor, beaten, and starved. Many died in these war
camps.
9. Allied Military leaders were worried about a full-scale invasion, so they looked
to other ways to defeat the Japanese? Name two of them. (Ch. 23)
(2 to 3 sentences)
 Blockades; food and fuel had to be imported onto the Japanese islands.
Their ships could no longer get into and out of Japan without being
attacked by American submarines.
 Bomb Japan’s cities and factories in hopes that they would surrender;
American planes bombed Tokyo on a daily basis.
10. What made Ned and his fellow Marines especially angry when they began
exploring the deserted caves of Iwo Jima? (Ch. 24) – 3 to 4 sentences
Stacked from floor to ceiling were thousands of boxes of canned goods. They
were just like the canned goods that the Navajos had sent to Japan as part of
the food drive to help the earthquake victims of Japan. These cases were
marked: U.S.A. FOOD RELIEF on the side of all the boxes. The government
had stolen these boxes
11. Before going into battle, Marines were given a big breakfast to eat. What was
Ned’s main reason for stashing his breakfast in his combat pack for later?
(Ch. 25)
 He was nervous about going into battle and was not yet hungry. He had
heard of Marines that ate the big breakfast then got in a boat that rocked
back and forth and got sick.
 Also, he heard it was better to take a bullet on an empty stomach then on a
full stomach.
 His main reason was that he figured he would get stuck in a foxhole and get
hungry later and want something to eat and it would be packed away in his
pack.