#4 Why Mike goes back to Vietnam

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2011)

The main reason why Mike went back to Vietnam is because he made the promise to Nick that he would go back. After going through everything with the Russian Roulette at the POW camp and being separated from each other; there was no way Mike could do that to Nick. You can definitely tell how strong their friendship is because Nick trusts Mike when they play Russian Roulette. The amount of trust that is needed to agree on something in a situation like that is unreal. Both of them easily could've been killed if Nick had not agreed to put in the extra bullets. When Mike finds out about Nick's whereabouts, he knows that he must go back to save his friend. Since Mike is familiar with the area and situation Nick is in, he knows Nick will soon be in trouble. When Nick sends the money from his winnings to Steve Mike knows that he is still alive and there is a chance to save him. I think that Mike also feels guilty that he couldn't do enough to get his friends to come back to America with him, especially Nick. Steve is one of his good friends but Mike and Nick clearly are closer. I think the fact that Mike goes back to America and is also living with Nick's girlfriend, Linda, puts some guilt on Mike. Mike also has feelings for Linda but will never try and get in the way of Linda and Nick because of his friendship with Nick. Even when Mike is in America living with Linda, he won't try to act on anything even though it's obvious that Linda is attracted to Mike. Mike is very loyal to his friends and he had one responsibility when he went to Vietnam and that was to make sure Nick, Steve, and himself come back alive. He feels as though he lost a friend when Nick isn't in America with him, even when he didn't know the status of Nick. When he ends up going back to Vietnam, they show how much Nick means to Mike because of the situation Mike puts himself in to save Nick's life. Mike could have died right there at the table but it was too late. Nick clearly isn't emotionally healthy but Mike tries so hard to fix that before Nick ends up leaving him.