After Finny's death, war (and the conspiracy Finny envisioned behind it) come finally to Devon. But Gene has learned from Finny, and from Finny's death, to take both in stride. The final chapter makes clear that Gene is ready to enter the wider world of the war and his own adulthood.
The arrival of a military unit at Devon is almost comic in its understatement, as months of sermons about high-risk service culminate in the headmaster's welcoming a Parachute Riggers' School — soldiers armed with sewing machines rather than machine guns. Still, the regulation uniforms, the maneuvers, the strident voice of the commander, form a sharp contrast with the scholarly, New England surroundings. Devon and the military really are meeting now, and the clash underscores the fact that the boys will be going off to war soon.
Ironically, the mission of the unit seems ideal — although a little late — for the tragedy that has occurred at Devon. Parachute riggers, after all, work to make falls safe for young men. The outcome of Finny's fall emphasizes the importance of their job, despite the domestic connotations of the sewing machines. The vision of thousands of Finnies falling to the ground and surviving brings an unexpectedly optimistic angle on the war.
Mr. Hadley, Brinker's father, also arrives, representing in his pink-cheeked "portliness" the fat and foolish old men that Finny once imagined as the conspirators of the fake war. Appropriately for the flesh and blood model of the boy's fantasy, Mr. Hadley speaks on only one subject — war service — and his remarks make clear that he sees young men as either adventurers — like him — or else worthless cowards. The insensitivity of his talk, his condescending bullying of Gene and Brinker, gives a human voice to Finny's fat old men in their stuffy clubs.
