In life, Kiowa is diligent and honest, introspective and
compassionate. He is practical, carrying moccasins in order to be
able to walk silently and helping his fellow soldiers to rationalize
their own unfortunate actions, especially O’Brien’s killing of a
young Vietnamese soldier. A Baptist and a Native American, he brings
a perspective different from that of his fellow soldiers to the
unfortunate events that befall the Alpha Company.
Kiowa’s death is symbolic of the senseless tragedy of
war. He dies in a gruesome way, drowning under the muck of a sewage
field about which his lieutenant, Jimmy Cross, has a bad feeling.
Kiowa’s entirely submerged body represents the transitory nature
of life and the horrifying suddenness with which it can be snatched
away. There is no dignity to Kiowa’s death; he becomes another casualty
in a war that strips men of their identity and turns them into statistics.
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