The Things They Carried Stuff P38 Can Opener

The Things They Carried Stuff

P-38 Can Opener • Among the necessities or near necessities were P-38 can openers…(219).

Payment Certificates

C-Rations

Canteens “and two or three canteens of water” (225)

Poncho and Liner • A must have for its usefulness as a shelter or ground sheet. It is really hot and sweaty to use as a rain garment. Users often ended up as wet inside the poncho as they would have been without it.

Henr y Dobb ins thou ght abou t it. Yeah, well, he finall y said. I don't see no mora l. Ther e it is, man. Fuck off. They carri ed USO stati oner y and penci ls and pens. They carri ed Stern o, safet y pins, trip flares, signa l flares, spool s of wire, razor blade s, chew ing tobac co, liber ated joss sticks and statu ettes of the sniffi ng Budd ha, candl es, greas e penci ls, The Stars and Strip es, finge rnail clipp ers, Psy Ops leafle ts, bush hats, bolos, and much more. Twic e a week, when the resup ply chop pers came in, they carri ed hot chow in gree n Mer mite cans and large canv as bags filled with iced beer and soda pop. They carri ed plasti c wate r conta iners, each with a two gallo n capac ity. Mitc hell Sand ers carri ed a set of starc hed tiger fatig ues for speci al occas ions. Henr y Dobb ins carri ed Black Flag insec ticide. Dave Jense n carri ed empt y sand bags that could be filled at night for adde d prote ction. Lee Strun k carri ed tanni ng lotio n. Some thing s they carri ed in com mon. Takin g turns, they carri ed the big PRC 77 scra mble r radio, whic h weig hed thirt y poun ds with its batte ry. They share d the weig ht of mem ory. They took up what other s could no longe r bear, Often, they carri ed each other, the woun ded or weak. They carri ed infect ions. They carri ed chess sets, bask etbal ls, Vietn ames e Engli sh dictio narie s, insig nia of rank, Bronz e Stars and Purpl e Hear ts, plasti c cards impri nted with the Code of Cond uct. They carri ed disea ses, amon g them mala ria and dyse ntery. They carri ed lice and ring wor m and leech es and padd y algae and vario us rots and mold s. They carri ed the land itself. Vietn am, the place, the sod a powd ery oran gered dust that cover ed their boots and fatig ues and faces. They carri ed the sky. The whol e atmo spher e, they carri ed it, the humi dity, the mons oons, the stink of fungu s and deca y, all of it, they carri ed gravi ty. They move d like mule s. By dayli ght they took snipe r fire, at night they were mort ared, but it was not battl e, it was just the endle ss marc h, villag Acronyms • • SOP=Standard Operating Procedure SOP standard operating procedure RTO radio and telephone operator M&M joking term for medical supplies KIA killed in action AOs areas of operation Sin loi Sorry

Flak Jacket

Jungle Boots

M-16 Gas Operated Assault Rifle

M-79 Grenade Launcher

M-79 Grenade Launcher Ammo—single round weighed 10 ounces. Ted Lavender…carried 34 rounds when he was shot and killed

M-60—”In addition to the three standard weapons—the M-60, the M-16 and M 79…”

“Every third or fourth man carried a Claymore antipersonnel mine…”

They all carried fragmentation grenades, fourteen ounces each

“They all carried at least one M-18 colored smoke grenade—twenty-four ounces” (223).

“Some carried CS or teargas grenades” (223).

At home

As an RTO, Mitchell Sanders carried the PRC-25 radio, a killer, twenty six pounds with its battery.

Infantrymen

To blow the tunnels, they carried one-pound blocks of pentrite high explosives four blocks to a man, sixtyeight pounds in all.

Questions 1. What does seeing the stuff make you think about the story? 2. Could you picture how much they carried before seeing the images? 3. Do you think the American infantrymen had to carry too much stuff?