COMBAT..vs...WAR.

I was wading through some of the boxes of stuff I have in storage and I came across my old footlocker and see-wee bag. (duffel bag to you non-airborne types)...
I discovered all sorts of items that I had not remembered in years, maybe decades...I found a couple pair of my old boots...jungle boots still with mud from
you-know-where caked on the soles...ancient OD wool socks that we wore...(for those who wore socks, some didn't), OD undershirts and boxers...barely used because no one wore underwear in the bush, it was too hot for that (boxers size 30...that'll never happen again)...OD towels that you carried to keep your face/head dry in the bush (as if you could be dry) And on and on through memories from a few pictures and letters and other such emphenera as a young soldier will accumulate...

Then it hit me...My socks, boots, shorts, towels, dog tags et al all have more time in combat that John Kerry does...I remember old SSG Ashton telling me on day one...
War is hell, but Combat is a motherfucker...I guess Johnny-boy had a war.