The Things They Carried....

TShooters
Member
Posts: 122
(5/9/01 12:10:38 am)
| Del All The Things They Carried....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 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. The 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 explo-
sives, 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.


THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER


Author Unknown
Remember the Vietnam Veteran

Copr6
Senior Chief Moderator III
Posts: 136
(5/9/01 6:36:33 am)
| Del Re: The Things They Carried....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amen

Misterstan
Moderator
Posts: 115
(5/9/01 8:07:50 am)
| Del Re: The Things They Carried....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I second that emotion.

Stan Lambert
St. Clair Shores, Michigan

Indybear57
Moderator
Posts: 270
(5/9/01 9:11:00 am)
| Del
ezSupporter
Re: The Things They Carried....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ditto the above. Thanks.

donbrails
Member
Posts: 39
(5/9/01 8:02:42 pm)
| Del carried
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a random thought.
Good God, I am typing this through tears.
Thanks,
Don

dap22
Senior Chief Moderator II
Posts: 478
(5/9/01 8:09:57 pm)
| Del Re: carried
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hear ya Don.......same emotion.

homer4
Moderator
Posts: 525
(5/9/01 10:56:25 pm)
| Del Re: carried
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a great post Sharon! Would like to meet that Author.
...and two hard boiled eggs.

TShooters
Member
Posts: 126
(5/10/01 10:01:43 am)
| Del Re: carried
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the guys on another area attributed that to Tim O'Brien, who has a book by the same name. I bet it's well worth reading.

Sharon