RLC
05-27-2001, 10:25 PM
They carried...
A memorial Day message I received.
Things to ponder this upcoming Memorial Day, May 28th.
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.
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-79
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.
THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER
Author Unknown
Remember them this Memorial Day May 28th
A memorial Day message I received.
Things to ponder this upcoming Memorial Day, May 28th.
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.
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-79
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.
THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER
Author Unknown
Remember them this Memorial Day May 28th