The morning after Kiowa’s death, the platoon searches the area for his body. Lt. Cross watches his men as they search and thinks about the impact of Kiowa's death. Azar makes jokes about the style of Kiowa’s death, but Bowker warns him to stop. Mitchell Sanders and Norman Bowker eventually recover Kiowa’s rucksack, and they argue over who is responsible for Kiowa’s death; Sanders blames Lt. Cross, but Bowker disagrees. Meanwhile, Lt. Cross rehearses a letter he might write to Kiowa’s father, but his thoughts wander back to his own culpability because he chose that particular field on which to camp. Lt. Cross wades across the field to a soldier who is shaking and sobbing. The young soldier is sorry because he thinks he may have caused Kiowa’s death by accidentally signaling their presence to the enemy by switching on a flashlight. The soldier is searching for a photo of his girlfriend, and Lt. Cross feels pity for him.
Norman Bowker locates the corpse, and Mitchell Sanders warns Azar not to make any more jokes or crude comments. They finally dislodge the body from the muddy bottom of the field and are saddened and relieved, but they also felt a secret joy because they are alive. Azar feels some guilt over his earlier jokes.
Lt. Cross lets himself sink into the mud and floats while he revises the letter to Kiowa’s father in his mind. The upset soldier tries to confess his guilt to Lt. Cross, who does not listen, escaping the scene by remembering his life before the war.
