"Um." p.121
When asked by his new wife to share a story from World War II, Billy Pilgrim simply responds with "Um." This reveals some of the character of Billy Pilgrim. While he is open to share his experiences on Tralfamadore with an alien species, he is reluctant to reveal his war stories. This is most likely due to the emotional scarring he keeps hidden from losing great men like Edgar Derby. Dresden and all of the war certainly strained and stained Billy in ways he couldn't express. To keep it simple, he usually responds with "um". Billy seems so lost in his own world to determine present and what is going on in the real world. Not any different than most veterens and men, he internalizes his conflicts and they slowly eat at him.
"Um" is also a motif in that it is used every time Billy is asked a question about the war. I agree with your analasis too because Billy obviously does not want to talk about his war experiences.
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