Fallen Angels

by

Walter Dean Myers

Judy Duncan Character Analysis

Judy Duncan is a white nurse from Irving, Texas, who befriends Richie Perry on their flight from the United States to Vietnam. Initially assigned to the hospital at Chu Lai, where she visits Perry briefly following his first visit for combat injuries, she is later transferred to a field hospital, where she dies in an artillery attack.
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Judy Duncan Character Timeline in Fallen Angels

The timeline below shows where the character Judy Duncan appears in Fallen Angels. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1 
War, Trauma, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Race, Identity, and Belonging Theme Icon
...alarming reputation scared off any “Congs” that might otherwise have been lying in wait there, Judy Duncan and Richie Perry make small talk. He’s from New York and she’s from outside... (full context)
War, Trauma, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Perseverance and Heroism Theme Icon
Reality and Fiction Theme Icon
When they climb back onto the plane, Judy goes to sit with the other nurses who joined at Anchorage. Perry feels too nervous... (full context)
War, Trauma, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Reality and Fiction Theme Icon
...to send home to Mama and his younger brother Kenny. At breakfast in the morning, Judy tells Perry that when she was little, she wanted to grow up to be a... (full context)
War, Trauma, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Reality and Fiction Theme Icon
On the final leg of the trip, conversations get quieter. Shortly before they land, Judy wishes Perry good luck. And then Perry finds himself standing in hot, bright, muggy Vietnam.... (full context)
Chapter 6
Race, Identity, and Belonging Theme Icon
Reality and Fiction Theme Icon
...saving everyone else. Unfortunately, Perry can’t be the romantic lead: he doesn’t have a girlfriend, Judy the nurse is white, and movies about interracial love always end with the Black character... (full context)
Chapter 16
War, Trauma, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Perseverance and Heroism Theme Icon
One day, Perry wakes up to find Judy Duncan at his bedside. She recognized him on her rounds and wanted to say hi.... (full context)
Chapter 23
War, Trauma, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Reality and Fiction Theme Icon
...of their old squad. Perry pays a personnel sergeant a few dollars to look up Judy Duncan for him. (full context)
War, Trauma, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Race, Identity, and Belonging Theme Icon
...at the stack of silver caskets going with them. The personnel sergeant brings Perry bad news—Judy Duncan got transferred to a field hospital and died in an artillery attack there. He... (full context)