Things they carried
They carried P-38 can
openers and heat tabs, watches and dog tags, insect
repellent, gum, cigarettes, Zippo lighters, salt tablets, compress
bandages,
ponchos, Kool-Aid, two or three canteens of water, iodine tablets,
sterno,
LRRP- rations, and C-rations stuffed in socks. They carried standard
fatigues, jungle boots, bush hats, flak jackets, and steel pots.
They carried the M-16
assault rifle. They carried trip flares and Claymore
mines, M-60 machine guns, the M-70 grenade launcher, M-14's, CAR-15's,
Stoners, Swedish K's, 66mm Laws, shotguns, .45 caliber pistols,
silencers,
the sound of bullets, rockets, and choppers, and sometimes the
sound of
silence. They carried C-4 plastic explosives, an assortment of
hand
grenades, PRC-25 radios, knives and machetes. Some carried napalm,
CBU's,
and large bombs; some risked their lives to rescue others.
Some escaped the fear,
but dealt with the death and damage. Some made very
hard decisions, and some just tried to survive. They carried malaria,
dysentery, ringworms, and leaches. They carried the land itself
as it
hardened on their boots.
They carried stationery,
pencils, and pictures of their loved ones - real
and imagined. They carried love for people in the real world,
and love for
one another. And sometimes they disguised that love: "Don't
mean nothin'!"
They carried memories!
For the most part,
they carried themselves with poise and a kind of dignity.
Now and then, there were times when panic set in, and people squealed,
or
wanted to, but couldn't; when they twitched and made moaning sounds
and
covered their heads and said "Dear God", and hugged
the earth and fired
their weapons blindly, and cringed and begged for the noise to
stop, and went wild
and made stupid promises to themselves and God and their parents,
hoping not to die.
They carried the traditions
of the United States military, and memories and
images of those who served before them. They carried grief, terror,
longing,
and their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear:
the
embarrassment of dishonor. They crawled into tunnels, walked point,
and
advanced under fire, so as not to die of embarrassment. They were
afraid of
dying, but too afraid to show it. They carried the emotional baggage
of men
and women who might die at any moment. They carried the weight
of the world,
and the weight of every free citizen of America.
THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER
Author Unknown
Remember them this Memorial
Day May 28th