The pictures below have been taken from various sources in my digital collection, many of which are posted elsewhere on this site, or in a related "Zing" album. All pictures shown are in some way related to the United States military and honor those men and women who have served for their country. Click on any of the small thumbnail images to view a full size photo. Then use you browser's "back" button to return to this page.


Soldiers & Sailors Cemetery	Soldiers & Sailors Cemetery	Soldiers & Sailors Cemetery	Soldiers & Sailors Cemetery

Erie Civil War Monument - Perry Sq.	Words on back of preceeding monument	Soldiers & Sailors Cemetery	Soldiers & Sailors Cemetery

Waterford Cemetery	Michael Hare Story	Waterford Memorial	Desert Storm Memorial

Fairview Cemetery Memorial	Captain C. V. Gridley	Captain C. V. Gridley	Another military Gridley

Korean War Dead - Erie County	Waterford Cemetery	Edinboro Cemetery Memorial	Lakeside Cemetery Memorial

Gen Strong Vincent	Gen Strong Vincent	Gen Strong Vincent	Gen Strong Vincent

Vietnam War Dead- Erie County	Vietnam War Dead- Erie County	Vietnam War Dead- Erie County	Vietnam War Dead- Erie County

Vietnam War Memorial-Courthouse	Waterford - DAR Memorial	Waterford - DAR Memorial	Waterford - DAR Memorial

WWII Memorial	WWII Memorial	WWII Memorial	WWII Memorial

Anthony Wayne	African-American in Battle of Lake Erie	Flagship Niagara	Armory - 6th & Parade

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-14s, CAR-15s, Stoners, Swedish Ks, 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, CBUs 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.


Rev War	Rev War	SAR	DAR	313MGB

Vietnam	Vietnam	Vietnam	WW II	WWII-China-Burma

WW II - Submarine	GAR (Civil War)	Unique 1776	War of 1812	American Legion Aux

US Veteran	Civil War - Union	Cuba & VFW	Cuba	PA Veteran

Korean War	Marine Corp League	Marine Corp League	Gold Star Father	Gold Star Mother

This page has been designed by and is being maintained by Bill Klauk and all images are property of Bill Klauk