A lot of the photographs that I took were in non-combative situations, but that wasn't true for the atmosphere all of the time. I was fighting in a war and I needed to have weapons and gear that would help protect me, my unit, and civilians. These items potentially saved my life and kept me alive during these harsh times and conditions. Below you will find pictures of common items that we used during the war. |
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 Photo #0045 Digging trenches was a big part of a soldier’s duties during WWI. Trench warfare was used because soldiers in couldn’t run straight across a battlefield. New technologies like minefields, barbed wire, and long range artillery made crossing a battlefield a deadly proposition. Soldiers ran out of one trench and hoped to get over to the next one safely. Unfortunately, many times that wasn’t the case. The bags we have also a new invention developed during WWI. Poison gas had become a big threat to soldiers in combat.
 Photo #0013
In this photo I am carrying my haversack and pack carrier on my back. The haversack held personal items like cooking utensils and a knife and fork. The pack carrier held my bayonet and an entrenching tool, which is a fancy way to say shovel. Attached to the belt of the pack was a blanket roll and maybe some extra items of clothing. These packs were similar to backpacks used today. You can see that my rifle has a long knife attached to the end of it. This is called a bayonet and it was used in close quarter combat. With the bayonet attached, my rifle was almost as tall as me. |
 Photo #0003 Here I am holding the actual gas mask. The gas mask case held the mask, the filter box, and a tube that connected them.
 Photo #0004 This is a Howitzer, a large cannon-style gun that we used to defend our unit during the war. |
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