The Things They Carried

[frisco-kid]

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 fatigues, jungle boots, bush hats, flak jackets and steel pots.

They carried the M-16, trip flares and Claymore mines, M-60 machine guns, the M-79 grenade launcher, M-14's, CAR-15's, Stoners, Swedish K's, 66 mm 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 with 25 foot whip antennas and their heavy batteries,
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 they carried each other.

Author
Tim O'Brien - 101st Airborne Division

[frisco-kid]

"And They Carried Each Other."

[DMZ-LT]

They died for each other

[82Rigger]

Superb post, Frisco. And I hope you won't mind my adding a little info.

The picture you posted was taken by combat photographer Henri Huet. Mr. Huet was killed by hostile fire in Laos in 1971.

The soldier with the bandage on his face was a combat medic with the 1st Cavalry Division. Though sightless and seriously injured, HE CONTINUED TO GIVE MEDICAL AID TO HIS COMRADES BY FEELING WITH HIS HANDS and with information from nearby soldiers who could see.

Again, GREAT POST!

[Packo]

Wow!

Can't say much more. Thanks Kid for the post.....and thanks Rig for explaining the picture. Great stuff.

Pack

[formergrunt70]

great post here! Now that just about says it all! Thanks

[frisco-kid]

I found the picture in a gallery of pictures taken by combat photographers who had been killed by hostile fire. I'll try to find the URL again and post it. There were some very powerful ones. This one reminded me of the poem that I've had printed up for a long time.

Again, thanks, Bro.

[frisco-kid]

http://www.pieceuniquegallery.com/index.html

[Robert Ryan]

Nice tribute to us grunts Frisco- thank you.