The Things they Carried
... of the equipment the soldiers had to carry. “ Among the necessities or near necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tablets, wrist watches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of kool-aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. Together these items weighed between fifteen and twenty pounds, depending on a man’s habits or rate of metabolism” (O’Brien 304). These plus many other items such as the soldier’s weapons (ranging from five pounds to thirty-five pounds), ammunition, sleeping gear, change of clothes, radios, mine detectors, grenades, high explosives, boots, magazines, letters, pictures and many other military and personal items. With all of these things added together a soldier could easily have been carrying over sixty or seventy pounds with him everywhere he went. There were mental hardships as well, ones of great pressure in some circumstances. These might have ranged from having a worrisome wife at home, having the lives of comrades in a leader’s hands, having a friend or relative die, watching a fellow soldier die in their arms or a variety of other life changing situations. “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (O’Brien 311). “The second we were hit, I looked to my left and saw Greg Kuehl, a fellow soldier who was the assistant gunner on the M-60. He ran towards me. His fatigues had been burned away, and he held his arms outstretched. He ran towards my position, in shock and fear, stumbling up the hill. I stuck out my foot and tripped him, trying to avoid touching his burning skin. I held Greg down to prevent him from getting up and running off into the jungle and certain death. I called for the Medic, who was busy attending other burned victims” (Hill 882 page 7). Anyone would have a life impact in any situation along these lines. Emotions also came into effect for many soldiers. Whether the emotions came from worrying if their wife had cheated on or left them, they were being...