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 rifles.

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.