Water

"Water, water everywhere! But not a drop to drink."

We carried the water we drank. A gallon of water a day. I carried two canteens hanging on D-rings from the bottom of my ruck sack and two more strapped tightly to the back. By mid afternoon, the two lower canteens were empty; and I would exchange them for the reserves.

The water that the army filtered from the river was clear and drinkable, but it tasted like swimming pool water. Some of us tried to hide the taste with Cool-Aid. I found that the best flavors to overcome the chlorine taste were lemon or tea. If we had to get water from any other source, we had to put iodine tablets in it to make it save to drink. There was nothing that could cover up that taste!

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