Eddie's second person is his captain from the war. They were prisoners; they escaped; the captain ordered Eddie to shoot his leg so they could get away. Eddie thought he had killed him. The captain reveals that he died later from infection—and that his sacrifice, and Eddie's wound, saved the rest of the men. Sacrifice is part of life.
The captain says: "Sacrifice is a part of life. It's not something to be sorry about. It's something to aspire to." Eddie had carried the guilt of shooting him. But the captain chose to be shot so the others could escape. Losing something—even a leg, even a life—can mean saving others. Eddie's own wound ended his dream of leaving the pier—but it also kept him there, where he would one day save the little girl.