Tough Schlitz

(Copyright Mel Steinhauer all rights reserved) Walking on patrols through the rice paddies, villages and rivers during the Vietnam War was hard work.... more

by Mel Steinhauer

Title

Tough Schlitz

Artist

Mel Steinhauer

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

(Copyright Mel Steinhauer all rights reserved) Walking on patrols through the rice paddies, villages and rivers during the Vietnam War was hard work. With a load of heavy gear on your back in the hot sun, a guy gets pretty thirsty. This is where I learned a gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds. I would give most of that to my Army Scout Dog, whose black fur really soaked up heat from the sun. Our squad could run out of water fast so it was often necessary to request more from the main base. They would fly it out to us by helicopter, but sometimes due to water shortages or lack of containers they would bring us cases of warm sodas or beer. These old cans did not have pop-tops, so we used our bayonets to punch a drinking hole. There was even a variety of beers available like Budweiser, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Carling Black Label and Stroh's. But for us poor grunts out humping the boonies, life was like a box of chocolates. We never knew what we were gong to get. When you're thirsty you will drink just about anything, but when you are out of cold beer ... Tough Schlitz.

I created this image from my original photograph taken on location by adding digital enhancements, textures or other effects. These effects and image details will become more visible by clicking inside the green magnifier square as the cursor is placed over the image.

Uploaded

November 16th, 2011