Mellas and the other Marines of Bravo Company are overjoyed to see the arrival of Hawke with troop reinforcements and more ammunition, food, and water. Mellas helps Hawke dig his hole while the mortars from the NVA artillery positions begin to fall. Mellas asks Hawke about Mallory, and Hawke explains that he will face a court-martial and a stiff punishment.

That evening, the mortar siege ceases, and the men settle down in relief. With the arrival of platoons from Delta Company, it seems that the role of Bravo Company in the battle around Matterhorn has ended, and they expect to be pulled out the next day.

Back at base, however, the commanders are reluctant to give up their opportunity to take a piece out of a sizeable NVA regiment. Neitzel and Mulvaney realize that the NVA is shifting back north, away from the action. At VCB, Simpson and Blakely are furious that the battle hasn’t resulted in more enemy casualties. They incorrectly blame Fitch for the failure of the mission. Drinking bourbon, they decide to have Bravo Company lead one last offensive against the remaining NVA soldiers on Matterhorn. They believe that Bravo Company needs one last chance to show its pride.

Late that night, Mellas comes back from a reconnaissance and learns from Fitch about the new orders to take Matterhorn. Mellas is furious at the commanders, saying that Blakely and Simpson are insane for sending barely recovered Marines back into the heat of battle. One positive is that this time, they will have air support. Fighter planes are set to blanket the NVA position in bombs before Bravo Company goes on its assault.

Early in the morning, Mellas meets with the platoon and squad commanders to discuss the imminent assault. Two soldiers, Cortell and Jermain, ask to sit out the mission, and Mellas agrees. Mellas will lead one platoon and Goodwin and Hawke will lead the other two. The company marches off into the darkness toward the barbed-wire fences at the bottom of Matterhorn as Cortell and Jermain look on. After the Marines have left, Cortell and Jermain talk about God, and death, and what one is supposed to do when he has lost all sense of hope and meaning. Eventually they decide to rejoin their fellow soldiers and run to catch up to the advancing platoon.

Mellas and the other Marines hunker down at the bottom of Matterhorn and wait for the bombers to do their work. Eventually they hear the plains coursing across the sky. But because the fog is so thick and the planes are moving so quickly, they miss their targets and hit the wrong side of Matterhorn. Run after run, the bombs fall uselessly on stretches of jungle unoccupied by the NVA. Fitch tries to correct the bombers by radio, but it is useless. Mellas gets on the pilot’s frequency and excoriates them for putting his men in danger. Then the fog returns, and the planes cannot make any more runs. Mellas and his men will have to make their assault without the benefit of air support.