Loves takes courage as Tim O'Brien would say. O'Brien was a lover, not a fighter, many of the things that went on during Vietnam was affected by his haunting past and made him very emotional because of it. The love he felt for Linda all the years ago, dating back to the fourth grade was real. When Linda passed away he coulndt process it like it should of been, it was almost overlooked. Linda was strong, she never let anyone snatch her hat off her head and always kept a positive attitude, thats why he loved her so much. It was real love because the way he felt on the night of the date showed him. There was no real love in the novel, just obsession. Norman Bowker was obsessed with Sally and became even more when she became married. Jimmy Cross loved and hated Martha, she may be the reason that Ted Lavender died. Then there was Mark Fossie who sends away for his girlfriend to come stay with him during the war. The war allowed O'Brien to meet people he would eventually be able to call family, but like Linda a few of the would pass away also. Through-out the war he came to realize that everything he did in the war took courage, which no one had. If nobody had courage, there was no real love.
Linda was very young when she passed away but the love that she and O'Brien shared was priceless. He was never quite over her, and the only way for him to tell her story was to put her in his. O'Brien had no courage, he couldnt stand up to the her bully. Nor could he ever face things face to face in the war. Being a coward in the war affected him in may ways, since he was never able to cope with the death of Linda he wasnt able to deal with the tragedies of war. O'Brien was madly in love with Linda but he couldnt ever express is to her, he loved her so much he didnt talk to her. When he found out that Linda "kicked the bucket" he didnt know what to think. When he learned that she had passed away, he finaly understood that euphemism.