Captain Black is one of the more despicable characters in the novel. He is vengeful, mean-spirited, envious, and sadistic. Black's joy overflows when Colonel Cathcart volunteers the men for the dangerous Bologna assignment: "Oh, boy! I can't wait to see those bastards' faces when they find out they're going to Bologna. Ha, ha ha! . . . Eat your livers, you bastards. This time you're really in for it." The Captain hasn't been this happy since Major Duluth was killed, briefly leaving open the position of squadron commander, which Black felt should be his despite the fact that he is not even on combat status. Instead, the job went to Major Major — primarily because Colonel Cathcart had one too many Majors in his outfit. Vengeance against Major Major precipitated Captain Black's Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade; he accused Major of being a Communist and then insisted that everyone sign numerous loyalty oaths — except for Major, who was not allowed to sign any, thus putting his loyalty in question.
Although the setting of the novel is World War II, it was written during the 1950s, a decade of political repression and Cold War paranoia regarding Communism. U.S. Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy, from Wisconsin, became a national figure as the infamous leader of an anti-Communist witch-hunt. (See "Historical Background" in the "Introduction to the Novel" for more on this topic.) The satirical treatment of the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade reflects Heller's contempt for McCarthy and his influence. McCarthy's investigations implied that people must be guilty if they were accused. In the novel, investigators maintain the same reasoning in Clevinger's trial and in the application of loyalty oaths. As Captain Black says, people who are loyal "would not mind signing all the loyalty oaths they had to." They need to sign more and more as the fervor mounts. Initially, Black orders that all combat personnel sign one loyalty oath to receive maps from the intelligence tent, another to get parachutes, and a third to qualify for a ride from the squadron to the airfield. Soon the men must sign oaths just to get their food at the mess hall. They must sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" to use the salt or pepper. They are so busy showing their patriotism that they hardly have time to fight the war. Heller seems to conclude that the best way to stop such a tide of venom is for each individual to take a stand against it. Major _______ de Coverley, recently returned from Rome, ends the crusade by simply refusing to sign a loyalty oath before being allowed to eat at the mess hall. "Gimme eat," he orders. Despite de Coverley's apparent absence of articulation, he is an impressive and respected figure with his majestic white hair and celluloid eye patch. The Great Big Siege of Bologna reminds Captain Black of the Loyalty Oath Crusade; he hasn't seen such fear in the squadron since those glory days (in the spring of 1944).
