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of escape. He carried peaches in heavy syrup, which he spooned over pound cake. This desert was an escape back to his mother's kitchen. When he ate it, he could imagine he was home. Dave Jensen carried hygiene products because they made him feel like he was back home or on R and R in Sydney, from whence he stole the soap. Ted Lavender needed to escape pain in the war. He carried tranquilizers because he wanted to escape the pain of an injury. He also carried six or seven ounces of marijuana in order to escape the mental and emotional pain of war. Michell Sanders carried condoms because he used sex to escape the harsh realities of war and the encroachment of death. Norman Bowker carried a diary because he would write to escape and purge himself of the atrocities that surrounded him. Rat Kiley escaped war through his imagination. He carried comic books in order to escape the realities of war by entering a fantasy realm. These fantasy worlds served as a reminder of his home and youth, which he left behind. Kiowa carried a Bible because he used his strong religious background to escape the horrors of war through spirituality. The Bible also was a means of escape back to his home. It was a present from his father in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and it reminded Kiowa of his father and his hometown and his family's basic beliefs. His Bible took him home in his imagination.

The entire platoon carried an illusion of safety. Just as their imaginations protected them mentally and emotionally by taking them away from the war, so did they expect it to protect them physically. The weaponry they carried was an illusion of safety. All of the different kinds of weapons that they carried did not protect Ted Lavender from getting shot. They carried it, however, with the belief that they could protect themselves with it. Yet once again, this belief is only protecting their minds. It merely provides an escape from the fear of sudden death. Kiowa carries moccasins, for silence, as his personal illusion of safety. The moccasins will not make him silent, unfortunately, because of the noise incurred by all of his gear. Dave Jensen carried night vision vitamins that were high in carotene. Again, the vitamins will not greatly improve his vision in the dense darkness of the Vietnamese jungle. Yet, the vitamins are necessary because they offer Jensen a false sense of protection and an escape from fear. Lee Strunk carried a sling shot because he would never run out of ammo. This is a ridiculous

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