Under a War-Torn Sky

Lilly and Clayton Forester are Henry’s mother and father. They appear directly in the novel only in the last chapter, when Henry returns home. In all other contexts, they appear in Henry’s memories while he is in Europe.

There is a close bond between mother and son. Lilly is warm, optimistic, and affectionate. She and Henry have shared many hugs. When Henry was growing up, she taught him to help everyone he could, which is a lesson he takes seriously throughout the novel. She is very appreciative of the natural world, but she often looks worried due to the hard life on the farm and the strain of living with a difficult husband. She has a well-developed religious sense, which also influences Henry, who often says prayers for the safety of both himself and others.

Clayton is a difficult figure in Henry’s life and is often harshly critical of Henry. Henry refers to him as an “old jerk” (72) who has mocked his son as a “weakling” (125). Henry tried to win his father’s respect by joining the Air Corps, but Clayton criticized him for throwing away his college scholarship. Henry does, however, acknowledge that Clayton is a good farmer who kept his family from going hungry during the Depression. Sometimes Henry’s attitude softens and he realizes that his father was trying in his own way to help him face the hardness of life, and this has stood him in good stead during the war. When Henry returns home for Thanksgiving, he and Clayton share a warm hug, suggesting that father and son might now build a healthier relationship together.

Patsy is Henry’s longtime friend and love interest back in Virginia, where she lives on a neighboring farm. Patsy does not appear directly in the novel until the final chapter, but Henry often thinks of her during the narrative. He had kissed her the previous summer, just before graduation, and after that he developed a longing for her. She later wrote him a letter in which she talked about that kiss in very romantic fashion. His feelings for her continue to grow while he fights in the war. He is drawn to her beauty and feisty personality, calling her “a real spitfire” ( 7). He is reminded of Patsy when he meets Claudette, who has the same type of personality. When Henry gets home for Thanksgiving, Patsy is there, and he embraces and kisses her, which implies they have a romantic future together.

Billy White is a copilot of Battling Queen, a B-24 bomber plane. He is six months older than Henry but has been on fewer bombing missions. Billy comes from a wealthier family than Henry; he attended a fee-paying high school but was flunking out of college and decided to join up. He and Henry have an uneasy relationship: Billy likes to boast about his success with women and refers derisively to Henry as a “farm boy.” Henry replies in kind; their mutual taunting is good-natured but has an edge to it.

Billy’s plane explodes during the mission and he bails out. Henry, witnessing this, says a prayer for Billy’s safety, which shows Henry’s loyalty to all of his comrades. He and Henry meet up again later at the Resistance camp, and they learn to respect each other. Billy tells Henry about his family, explaining that his father was a commodities broker who died by suicide after the business crashed in the Depression. Henry helps Billy in the trek across the Pyrenees when he is too weak to go on, but Billy is shot and killed by a German soldier after their guide betrays them.

Madame Gaulloise is a member of the Resistance. She is an attractive, stylish, middle-aged woman with “glossy dark hair” (83) and “a generous, warm smile” (85). She helps Henry to get across the border from Switzerland to France, where she accommodates him for a week in her luxurious home before arranging for his further passage. German officers court her but she outwits them and keeps them at a distance, ensuring that they do not detect her activities, which include smuggling Americans like Henry out of Switzerland as well as hiding Jewish civilians fleeing from the Nazis. She tells Henry that she plays “a high-society coquette to disarm [her] enemy and keep [her]self a mystery” (91). This works with the German officers, since they think she is something she is not.

Madame is a cultured, refined woman who loves art and music. She plays the piano and paintings line the walls of her mansion. She knew Picasso and implies that at one time they were lovers. As he gets to know her, Henry enters a world of art and culture that he has never before encountered; he is fascinated by it and wants to learn more. Later, Madame is arrested by the Germans and is imprisoned in Lyon. Henry finds this out from the Gestapo officer, and he is horrified at the thought that Madame may now be “beaten down, filthy, starved” (218). However, it appears that she remains defiant under pressure, as the Nazis are struggling to get any information out of her.

Pierre is an eight-year-old French boy who lives with his mother and grandfather. His father is dead. When Henry is wandering the countryside, Pierre approaches him and leads him to safety in the family barn, well away from German patrols. He brings Henry food and they strike up a friendship.

Henry becomes very fond of the boy in the one month of their acquaintance, and they agree to help each other learn the language of the other. The boy knows all about the war and does everything he can to help the Resistance. When he and Henry are out checking the rabbit traps, they reach a three-pronged road sign. Pierre twists the signs so they point in the wrong direction in order to confuse the Germans. When the Germans arrest his mother, Pierre is sent to an abbey where the monks will look after him. Henry worries about the boy’s welfare but never manages to learn any more about what happened to him. Henry returns to Europe to find Pierre in the sequel to Under a War-Torn Sky.

Pierre’s mother, a widow, is devoted to caring for her young son on the family farm, where she lives with the boy’s grandfather. She is small and pretty, with dark eyes. Henry puts her age at 26 or 27. She is also a dedicated member of the Resistance, storing and distributing weapons and supplying food. She hides Henry at the farm for a month, despite the risk. When Henry goes out with Pierre to check the rabbit traps, she gives Henry a British Sten gun in case they run into German troops.

When the Germans discover her activities, they imprison her at a German garrison in Grenoble. Henry finds out later, from a member of the Resistance, that she revealed no names during her interrogation and is now in a prison for women at Ravensbrück in Berlin, where conditions are very bad. Henry fears for her future.

The unnamed Gestapo officer who interrogates Henry is cold-hearted, cruel, and ruthless. With a mouth that is “thin and twisted with hatred” (200), he gives a face to the despicable inhumanity of the Nazi regime. Having been educated at Cambridge University, he speaks perfect English, and he demands to know the names of Henry’s French contacts, especially Madame Gaulloise. He is sadistic and orders the torture of Henry. He also torments Henry by threatening to set his large dog on him, then later kills the dog as an act of further intimidation and cruelty. Henry shoots and kills the officer after grabbing his gun as they travel by car on the road to Lyon, where Henry was to be handed over to the Gestapo. The officer’s cruelty and bloodlust contrasts with the compassionate, humane values Henry represents.