World War II in the Philippines
World War II in the Philippines is important to the story because Eddie served in the war there when he was younger. This is the place where Eddie was taken prisoner for months, and where he got his knee injury that altered his life forever. This also the scene of two of the lessons that Eddie learns while in heaven. One from his captain during the war and the other from Tala, the little Filipino girl he killed in a fire. Eddie was a changed person after he returned from the war mainly embittered about the loss of complete use of his knee.