Vets...What did you carry???

[jinx]

P-38 hanging from the dog tags. An Ek knife my Dad carried in WWII along with a Buck knife. If the CO allowed it we could carry a personal side arm. I carried my Model 19{and still do}. M60 machine gun on my Huey. Was issued an M16 but rarely used it as my main gun was the M60. A cross given me by my girl friend at the time. Still have it around my neck, but the girl sent a Dear John about 2 months in country. Picked a new gal when I got home and have been married to her ever since.
And the spoon. My sister would send me cookies. If and when they caught up to me, they would be nothing but a box of crumbs. Had to use the spoon to eat the cookies.

 

[C Broad Arrow]

Browning Hi-Power, Boy Scout Knife (had since I was a cub), can opener, hockey stick tape, fire starter.

 

[29aholic]

I read a book by a General (cant remember the book or the General's name) one thing he always carried was a spoon. I guess you can eat anything with a spoon, and in a real pinch I guess you could dig a hole.

 

[OFT II]

I read a book by a General (cant remember the book or the General's name) one thing he always carried was a spoon. I guess you can eat anything with a spoon, and in a real pinch I guess you could dig a hole.

I believe that was General Joseph (Vinegar Joe) Stilwell. You could eat about any C ration with just a spoon so that made good sense. Not a lot of difference in size between the mess spoon and the e tool either.

 

[Cyrano]

In Vietnam I carried a 4" Buck knife, and a Swiss Army Knife. Used the tools on the SAK more than anything else. Also carried a Kodak Retina 2a rangefinder camera; nice and flat, fitted in any pocket of the fatigue uniform. I took over 10 rolls of film while in RVN.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Like so many vets here I still carry my P-38 on my key ring. It's part of me also dated Jan. 1951. I think I'll will it to my son. Opened a bunch of rations plus a lot of beer cans.

 

[Kinman]

While I was in boot camp we were all going through grenade training...Heres grenade, Take grenade, Pull Pin, Throw Grenade. We did the first few throws with dummies, worked up to concussion grenades then finally the big day, we are throwing live frags at targets out in the field. Each of us got into a pit where there were boxes of grenades and a drill sergeant. They called for ready on the line and commence throwing grenades. It is still very vivid in my memory due to what happened. I seem to remember there being about six pits and we were to throw our grenades in order, I was down the line about 4 or 5. I remember we had to assume a semi covered position down in the hole. I could hear the D.I.s down the line giving the orders then a boom outside, getting progressively louder. Now its the guy right next to me and I clearly hear the D.I. Heres Grenade, Take Grenade, Pull-Pin, Throw Grenade, Throw Grenade, THROW GRENADE, there is a very brief pause and a very loud, earth shaking BOOM, dirt rains down. My D.I. says ON YOUR FEET, I get up and not 10 feet outside my pit is a smoking hole, my D.I. says "See if you can get yours a little further away from here". Heres Grenade, Take Grenade, Pull-Pin, Throw Grenade...I threw that sumbitch way out there. I carried that grenade pin all the way throw the service, attached to my first issued P-38 can opener and a small PROTO screwdriver that was little more than a small round handle and blade that was given to me by a PROTO tool dealer, I still carry the screwdriver it was all in the black when I got it, it is nearly all polished today.
My mother gave me a very nice St. Christopher medal on a silver chain, I wore it until one fine day I while body surfing at China Beach, RVN...Yes there really was a China Beach but I never saw a round-eyed nurse, I was riding in on a really neat wave, back arched, feet pointed, best wave I ever caught over there and the beach ended so sharply that before I could come to my senses and realize I was getting dumped, the wave broke and slammed me right onto the beach so hard it tore the medal off my chest...it was a great wave.

 

[John F.]

The 3rd P-38 that came my way in Basic (I was a slow learner) on my dog tags, M16A1, Gerber Folding Sportsman II pocket knife, lensatic compass, small roll of commo wire for making lean-to's when possible, laminated photo of my folks, and on my LBE, the GI wire cutters/case dated 1942 that my grandfather used in combat throughout WWII.

When Stateside in the field, several quarters wrapped tightly in paper in the water-purification tablet pocket of my canteen pouch, in case I ever got near a pay phone, so I could call my wife. (Hey, it happened a couple of times!) The near-useless GI angle-head flashlight with red filter. Small "Esbit" pocket folding stove I got for about $1.50 in the PX in Augsburg, Germany. Said to be a copy of the stoves issued to German soldiers in WWII, and still a very light, small and useful piece of gear!!

Like everyone else, a spare C-rat spoon at all times in the field...

I wore the dog tags and P-38 for many years after I got out of the service -- old habits die hard, and I figured if I got in a wreck and was turned into a crispy critter, the dog tags would be helpful to somebody. Finally retired the original P-38 for safe-keeping after I almost lost it, but still carry one every day on my key chain, plus a dog tag.

When I got out, I kept my canteen/cup/cover, and the quarters are still there, almost 30 years later, untouched -- although pay-phones have about become extinct. Still have the Wife (32 years and counting!), Gerber and Esbit. Wish I had kept some commo wire. It was strong as hell and always useful. It just now occurs to me that the Army probably doesn't use field phones (TA-312) any more, and hasn't for years... I saw so many miles of it over the years, it never occurred to me that it might ever become extinct!

John
Army Intelligence
Germany and 5th Infantry Div. (Red Devils), Ft. Polk, LA
1977-84

 

[peyton]

If the statue of limitations is over I will admit having an AK-47 with me whenever I traveled in Iraq (the army did not want to trust contractors with guns). Glad to say I never shot a bullet out of it!! I carried it in an Folding chair bag and passed it to my replacement who actually got to shoot it all the time on the range. Sadly, it got passed back into the system when he left country. Beside the AK I always had a benchmade switch blade knife with me.