Nately has completed his seventy missions, but he insists on flying more so that he can stay near his lady love. He should realize that Colonel Cathcart will soon raise the number of required missions to eighty anyway. Yossarian begs Nately not to fly any more, but his efforts are in vain. Chief White Halfoat has died of pneumonia, as he vowed to do, and Yossarian hopes that Nately can take the chief’s place as an intelligence officer. Colonel Korn refuses the request; Nately must fly more missions. He doesn’t have to wait long. The next mission, Nately’s seventy-first, is an otherwise successful raid on La Spezia that ends tragically. Milo, meanwhile, has an apparent surge of patriotism and tells Cathcart that he wants to fly combat missions. To no one’s surprise, Milo allows himself to be talked out of the idea.
