They carried "tons" of things.

When I first opened The Things They Carried, only the technicalties and excruciating detial of the Vietnam War were prevalent.  List after list of pieces of equipment, sentimental items, good luck charms, and explosives helped me to immediately relate the title to the information presented.  The soldiers literally carried pounds and pounds of things. I came to see, however, that more than the physical baggage, the soldiers "humped" extreme emotional baggage.  Although introduced in an odd way, Tim O'Brian presents the Vietnam War as an experience for a soldier that can never be matched.  I don't know much about the Vietnam War besides the history book facts, but just the first few pages of this novel have put the level of detriment and emotional distress the war brought to the soldiers into perspective.  As described in the book, the war was a different world for the soldiers completely isolated and exiled from all that was "normal".  Normal for the soldiers is constant, undeniable fear and also pride.  I feel that this novel is going to aim to uncover the reality of war that normals citizins are religiously shielded from.  It is the raw report.  It reallly helps me to take more interest in the condition of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq now.  I want to ensure that my friends over seas know that there is a world far different from the one their in now waiting for their return.  Tim O'Brian expresses in his first few pages that the things they carry, are far more incredulous than heavy weapons and ammunition.