Itchy is a stray kitten Matt’s squad adopts their first week in Baghdad. The first time their base is under fire, the soldiers panic, but Itchy doesn’t “even blink […] only a few weeks old, he was already a veteran” (38). Itchy’s familiarity with the sounds of violence shows just how completely war has permeated Iraq—gunfire and explosions have simply become part of the landscape.

While Itchy belongs to the entire squad, Matt takes particular care of him, with Charlene referring to him as “your mangy little pet” (143). Matt’s concern for Itchy, and the way he notices the surplus of stray animals throughout Baghdad, recalls his interactions with another sort of stray—the many homeless children who roam the city, like Ali. Unlike some of the other soldiers, Matt can’t ignore the damage war has caused to Iraq and its people. While Itchy survives and provides comfort for the soldiers, when it comes to the human strays, Matt’s caring nature has unfortunately tragic results.

Throughout Purple Heart, McCormick intersperses images that illustrate the way Americans have superimposed—sometimes literally—their own culture over the Iraqi one. Learning the hospital where he’s recuperating once belonged to Saddam, Matt notices the “curvy, mysterious alphabet of Arabic” (10)everywhere, while underneath are English signs written in Magic Marker.