Paul Berlin
Paul is the main character in the novel, with an unknown age. He is however young and inexperienced and served in the Vietnam War. Berlin was assigned in the same battalion as Cacciato and when he ran away, Berlin was assigned to follow him with the rest of the battalion. In one part of the narrative, the unnamed narrator describes the journey Paul Berlin and the other take to Paris. On the road, Berlin falls in love with a woman named Sarkin and he becomes so smitten with her that he is ready to do anything he asks of him. It becomes clear however that Sarkin is only using Berlin for protection and when he can’t offer her what she needs, she runs away. Towards the end of the novel, it becomes clear that the first part of the story was imagined by Berlin, the person who actually killed Cacciato in Vietnam. Then, the battalion was transferred to an observation station near the sea where Berlin spent his time imagining how Cacciato would have been able to reach Paris.
Cacciato
Cacciato is the name of the soldier who the rest of the battalion follows from Vietnam to Paris. Cacciato is an American soldier who enrolled himself in the army and served in the Vietnam War. He is described as being a simple man, even mentally challenged who despite this manifests a type of wisdom unfound in the other soldiers. Cacciato keeps himself separated from the other soldiers and likes to spend his time alone. Cacciato appears briefly in the novel and almost every time the reader is left with the impression that he is a supernatural being. Towards the end of the novel, it is revealed that Cacciato was actually killed in Vietnam by Berlin.c
Jolly Chad
Jolly is a character the soldiers meet while they are in Delhi. There, Jolly works in a hotel as a host and entertainer for the soldiers. Almost immediately, Jolly tries to impress Corson and he falls in love with her. Despite being married, it is suggested that she sleeps around with people she thinks will help her get ahead in life. When the soldiers depart for Kabul, Jolly remains behind in Delhi.
Frenchie Tucker
Tucker was a soldier who served in the same battalion as Cacciato and Berlin. Tucker was ordered by Lieutenant Sidney Martin to clear out a tunnel but he was killed by a Vietnamese soldier who was in the tunnel and shot him through the nose. Doc tried to save Tucker but was unable to and the only thing he could do for him was give him painkillers.
Oscar Johnson
Oscar is a sergeant in the same battalion as Berlin and Cacciato and he is the one who takes over when Corson’s health begins to fail. Despite agreeing that the team is in danger for following Cacciato, he continues to pursue him to Paris. Oscar never liked Berlin because he thought that Berlin was not tough enough to be a soldier.
Billy Boy Watkins
Billy is a man who serves in the same battalion as Cacciato. Billy gets one of his feet blown up by a land mine but he is not killed by it. Instead, he dies because of a heart attack after he loses his leg.
Lieutenant Corson
Corson is the man who is in charge if the battalion where Berlin and Cacciato served. Corson became a lieutenant after Sidney was killed but he is not capable of leading the battalion. Corson is described as being a sickly old man, even senile at times, obsessed with catching Cacciato. Because of this, he insists on following him even though he knows that he is putting everyone’s life in danger. Towards the end of the novel, it is revealed that Corson protected Berlin and did not report the incident in which Berlin killed Cacciato. Instead, he told his superiors that Cacciato became a deserter.
Sarkin Aung Wan
Sarkin is a woman Berlin and the other soldiers meet in Laos while following Cacciato’s trail. Sarkin was born in Saigon and she left her hometown together with her two aunts, hoping to escape the war. The soldiers kill one of their buffaloes and then they agree to let the women travel together with them and to offer them protection. When they fall through a tunnel, Sarkin is the one who takes the soldiers back to the surface and then they travel together to Paris. Sarkin proves herself useful by translating for the soldiers but it becomes clear that she doesn’t have any type of feelings for Berlin. Sarkin ends up running away with Corson when Berlin refuses to settle down with her in Paris.
Stink Harris
Stink is a man who served in the same battalion as Cacciato and Berlin. Harris distinguished himself as a cruel man who enjoyed being violent. Harris is the one who is behind Marilyn’s murder and he is also the one who continues to shoot at the buffalo in Laos. Stink is also the one who frequently mentions that Cacciato was mentally challenged and he was the one who tripped over the bobby-trap left behind by Cacciato. Stink jumped into the sea when he thought that they will be arrested and he is never mentioned ever again.
Rudy Chassler
Rudy is a soldier assigned to the same battalion as Paul and Cacciato. Rudy spends his time playing ball just like the other soldiers when they find themselves in a village doing nothing. Rudy dies when he steps on a hidden mine and the other soldiers are secretly relieved that he died because his death was a welcomed distraction from the general sense of boredom the soldiers had to endure.
Harold Murphy
Harold is a soldier who served in the same battalion as Cacciato and Berlin and was sent to look after Cacciato with the rest of the squad. Harold is the soldier who carries the big rifle in the novel but he gives it up when the soldiers plan to go into Laos and search for Cacciato. Then, Harold decide to go on his own and he leaves in the middle of the night.
Captain Fahyi Rhallon
Captain Fahyi Rhallon is an Iranian officer who interrogates the American soldiers after he suspects them of being deserters. Captain Fahyi Rhallon is convinced by Doc that they are not and so the Captain lets them go.
Eddie Lazzutti
Eddie is among the soldiers who go to Paris with the rest of the battalion. Eddie is among the few who finish the trip.
Doc Peret
Doc is the battalion’s doctor but despite this he is never able to save the men injured in battle. Instead, all he can do is give them drugs to alleviate the pain and make their passing more pain-free.
Bernie Lynn
Bernie Lynn is the soldier who was sent to retrieve Tucker’s body from the tunnel. Lynn was also shot in the process and died shortly after because of his injuries. Just as in Tucker’s case, the only thing Doc was able to do for him was to give him painkillers.
Lieutenant Sidney Martin
Sidney Martin is the lieutenant who commands the battalion where Berlin and Cacciato are assigned to in the beginning. Sidney is a proud man, hated by the other soldiers because he insists that the soldier check every tunnel before destroying it with grenades. Because of this, many soldier died and it is hinted that Sidney was killed by the soldiers serving beneath him because they wanted to have another Lieutenant.
Ready Mix
Ready Mix is a soldier whose real name remains unknown. Ready is killed during a battle in the jungle and he is mentioned by Berlin the chapter 27.
Sergeant Ulam
Ulam is a sergeant in Afghanistan who arrests the Americans when he suspects that they are deserters.
