Attention, all personnel! This episode contains the following tropes:
- Bearer of Bad News: Hawkeye, who is no stranger to losing patients in war, has the unfortunate task of telling a father face-to-face that his son has died.
- Father to His Men: Lieutenant Curtis Collins, who was (fatally) wounded taking out an enemy bunker to save his men.
- Hawkeye: "Curt was in a lot of pain, but the only thing that concerned him was his men. They thought he was pretty special too."
- Outliving One's Offspring: General Collins is devastated that his only son Curtis has died.
- The Chainsof Commanding: Discussed by General Collins who is painfully aware that every soldier who dies under his command is someone else's loved one.
- General Collins: "In this room they're pins. When they die out there... you can't feel the pain in here. When enough of them die... you just remove a pin. So many wars, campaigns, battles. Not enough time to give names to the dead. They just die by the numbers. I always knew that somewhere for every number... there was somebody to cry. But I never heard the crying in this room. They were always other men's sons."
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: General Collins believes this is what got his son killed.
- General Collins: "You may find this hard to believe, Pierce, but I never pushed Curt to make a career of the army. It's a tough, tough life. But he wanted to be like his old man. And I guess, when a boy sees the uniform with all its brass and ribbons, he... he doesn't see the dirt and blood that line it. And I'm sure he felt the way to make me proud was to do as I did, only better. And that's what got him killed."
