In the book, Fallen Angels, Ritchie survived a calendar in Nam. Give me examples of pain and sorrow in the book.

During the Vietnam War, the VC's guerrilla tactics allowed them to stay hidden from their enemies. As a result, many American soldiers started to feel unsure about whom they were fighting and why. The media was a big part of "selling" the Vietnam mission to the American public, despite the chaos and uncertainty on the ground. Initially, Perry believes that as an American soldier, he is supposed to be protecting the South Vietnamese civilians. However, this notion proves to be much more complicated than Perry had expected and he starts to see himself as a killer rather than a hero. During the squad's first patrol, each soldier fires his weapon, but not one of them even catches a glimpse of a Viet Cong soldier. However, during their brief face-to-face encounters with "charlie," Perry notes the youth of the young Vietnamese men and wonders about their families and their their motivations to go to war, while many of his superiors see simply view their bodies as marks of victory. Perry feels broken after his first point-blank kill, but Captain Stewart has no qualms about shooting even suspected VC and inflating his company's body count.