Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
“Lord, let us feel pity for Private Jenkins, and sorrow for ourselves, and all the angel warriors that fall. Let us fear death, but let it not live within us. Protect us, O Lord, and be merciful unto us. Amen.”
This passage is a quote said by Lieutenant Carroll. A little background to the situation, in the novel the first person just died, Jenkins, even though the war has gone on for a while, it was the first death, of a friend, acquaintance, and a warrior that the narrators has witnessed. This is the quote that gave this book an emotional side. It provided the feelings that everyone there is there together. It fit well into this novel because there was a background theme of racism and how it disappears on the battle fields. An example would be the setting, a time were there were strong feelings of racism, especially shown later when an experienced lieutenant took control of the squad and decided to rearrange the way that they designed the way in which they patrol, so that the two black people were more exposed. No matter how angry they were, they were still willing to sacrifice there lives on the battle field for each other putting aside previous aggression and racism. This is significant in the novel because it shows the bond they share in the battle field.
This quote stood out to me because the soldier that died was considered angel warriors, not just angels, and not just warriors, but angel warriors. That means that they had a spiritual bond as gods children and they were battling for survival. If I was called an angel, I would love that, if I was called a warrior, I would love that, however, if I was called an angel warrior it would mean that I did something, that I did my job here in this world and died as a hero. The diction of this book is picked carefully, like how they pray, the way they are set up on patrol, shows feelings that cannot be expressed by simple narration. Walter Dean Myers chooses his words carefully to convey the message of war and personal struggles, and the fact is that this quote by Lieutenant Carroll expresses the message that it does not matter who you are out there, you are an angel warrior once you arrive here on the battle field. This passage probably was the most important piece in this book because it showed the unity of everyone on the battle field. Moreover, it was the passage that stood out to me because of its diction and connotation.