One of the peculiarities of a front line soldier’s life throughout the history of increasingly intense warfare is the heightened susceptibility to superstition and the supernatural, expressed through a plethora of different talismans, charms and other curious oddities. One might think of the strange British Touch Wud [wood] charms of World War I, the lucky rabbit feet worn by American soldiers in Vietnam or Japanese charm pouches worn during World War II. It is a common occurrence across all civilizations to feel shielded by the pretense of spiritual protection, as fleeting and illusory as it may seem. When the flesh is at its most vulnerable, man seeks different ways to somewhat dampen the fear for the imminent threat of death and disfigurement.
