Sergeant Garrel
Sergeant Garrel is the officer who is initially responsible for the soldier in the last hour before the soldier’s execution. Garrel is referred to simply as ‘‘The Sergeant’’ in the printed play and is not named until the very end. Throughout the first scene, Garrel talks with the soldier about his desertion and about the factors that have caused the soldier to try to run away. Garrel has mixed feelings about the soldier. At several points in their conversation, Garrel tries to be tough. He is a company man and believes in doing what the army tells him to. He criticizes the soldier’s weak behavior, first when the soldier cries and then when the soldier tells him the particulars of his desertion. Garrel says that if the soldier had tried to run away from Garrel’s unit, the sergeant would have shot him immediately. However, Garrel does not hate the soldier; he just thinks the soldier is stupid for throwing away his life. In fact, when he is not criticizing the soldier’s actions, Garrel asks the soldier questions to try to figure out why the soldier decided to run away.

Father Murray
Father Murray is the officer who takes responsibility for the soldier during the last half hour before the soldier’s execution. Murray is referred to simply as ‘‘The Priest’’ in the printed play, although the soldier refers to him as ‘‘Father.’’ Although Murray is a priest, he is also a military captain, so he outranks Sergeant Murray. Because of this, Garrel agrees to leave the soldier unshackled while Murray and the soldier have their conversation. Throughout this conversation, which comprises the second scene of the play, Murray takes the soldier’s confession and gives him communion. Also, like the sergeant, the priest tries to ascertain why the soldier deserted his military unit. Although the soldier believes that murder of any kind is a mortal sin, Father Murray says that this is not true during war. Murray also criticizes the soldier for putting his fellow infantrymen in danger. Ultimately, however, Father Murray absolves the soldier of his sins and tells him to concentrate on the paradise that will follow his execution. Murray also asks the soldier to say a prayer for him once the soldier reaches heaven.

The Priest
See Father Murray

The Sergeant
See Sergeant Garrel

The Soldier
The unnamed soldier is executed for the crime of military desertion during World War II. Throughout the play, the soldier speaks with two officers, Sergeant Garrel and Father Murray. During these two conversations, the soldier reveals the reasons why he tried to run away from his military unit. The soldier, an ex-convict, had a rough childhood with alcoholic parents. He and his brother started stealing so that they could get something to eat and this developed into a regular career in crime. His brother ultimately went to prison for taking part in a fatal robbery while the soldier straightened up once he met his wife. Although they did not have much, the soldier and his wife both worked hard and were starting to make a good life together when the soldier got drafted. He tried to tell the military that he would not fight, but they did not listen. Ever since his brother’s imprisonment, however, he has been unable to carry a gun and when he is on the battlefield, he is unable to fight. In addition, the soldier is afraid of being killed in battle and leaving his wife alone.

The soldier is a Catholic who gives his last confession to a Catholic priest, Father Murray. During his conversation with...