Just imagine being out in dense forests, hearing the bombs and shots being fired in the not too far off distance. Being far away from home and knowing that anyone could die at any moment if they are not careful is a very frightening thought. Anything that can take the soldier's mind off of the war and take them away is a comfort to them. When a soldier carries with him something from home, at a down time, he or she can take whatever it is and suddenly be someplace else. Soldiers like to carry with them something special so they can take their mind off of the horrors of the war that they are in. In the short story, "The Things They Carried," by Tim O'Brien, the author tells the story of some soldiers in the Vietnam War. The novel is not about the war itself, but it is about the soldiers and what they carry with them mentally and physically. A lieutenant carries with him his love for a woman and then the guilt of losing one of his soldiers,while others carry with them special items from home and from family members. All the soldiers carry with them something different so that they can take their minds off of the war and take them someplace else that they would rather be.
             First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is at the ripe age of twenty four. He carries with him his love of a woman, named Martha, that does not love him back. "To carry something was to hump it, as when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps." Cross has saved all of the letters that she has sent to him and he cherishes the two pictures of her. She once sent him a pebble as a good luck charm. When he and his soldiers were walking to their next destination, he keeps the pebble in his mouth and thinks about her. Thinking about her is Cross's way of getting him mentally out of the war and getting him to a place that he would much rather be: with Martha. Carrying Martha was not a problem for Cross until one of his soldiers dies of a bull...