The military is viewed as the force that keeps America safe. Everyone views the duties and actions of the military differently whether it be through personal experiences or photos and stories told by those who once served. Some of America's greatest moments have been captured through photos or videos: the taking down of the Berlin Wall, women saying goodbye to their husbands as they leave for war. Certain images can be interpreted in many different ways. In the photo by Alan Taylor, he uses realism, icons, and contrast to depict the cruelity of World War II. 

War is often viewed as a necessary evil, but no one wants to know the consequences taking place, people dying and whole towns being destroyed. In this image, there are soldiers trapped in a trench who are in the middle of a firefight with their enemy,and the soldiers look exhausted, dirty, and scared of what lies ahead.  While some soldiers are jumping over the trench to get to the enemy, there are several soldiers crouched down in the middle of the trench that are not firing or even attempting to shoot back at the enemy while looking intimidated and fearful. This depicts how some are willing to go head first into the battle, but some are not ready for the blood and gore that are intertwined with war. People also forget that in order to win the battle, the enemy must be killed, while this photo does not show anyone being shot or killed, it is implied that those soldiers jumping over the trench are heading to kill their enemy. It shows how misconstrued some photos make the war seem because they may capture action but not action shots. Being entrenched the soldiers do not have any safe exits because if they jump out they can get shot at or if they travel to the end of the trench, they could end up behind enemy lines. The soldiers are sweaty and exhausted from fighting and is obvious from the way the soldiers in the trench are wiping their foreheads with their forearms. The soldiers are also compacted together like hotdogs in the packaging because they do not have any free space to move once everyone is in the trench or if there are dead bodies piled up inside the trench. The soldiers are wearing the heavy combat uniforms that everyone knows about. The reality of war is not very glamorous, but its rewards greatly outway the 

A gun is a identifiable item that everyone from ages four to ninety-four know about. It has become a well known icon for war and everything that it entails. A gun is not just a gun in the eyes of a soldier, it is a means to survival, a ray of hope to stay alive, or an extension of themselves. Just a person with a the gun does not make him a solider, but having a uniform and a code to fight by makes them a solider. Every solider has a helmet that protects their head and in this photo it can make someone a target. The helmet is the only thing the enemy can most likely see therefore, that is the only thing that they can shoot at. On the other hand, the solider jumping over the trench could be viewed as a icon for his bravery and willingness to jump into battle dispite the deadly ramifications lying on the other side. It is not just objects that ca be construed as icons and in this case, the men themselves are an icon for freedom and hope of winning the war and finally ending the harsh war. Everything a solider carries with them neans something to them making it an icon whether it be a photo of a loved one hidden in their pouch or a grenade on their belt in times of battle. While this men are icons to everyone, their lives are nothing like the lives that they left behind.

The differences between being a brave solider and a civilian are depicted by the sharp constrast in their clothes and attitude. No one back home is carrying a gun to battle, but rather sitting in front of a television watching the daily news about what is actually going on in the war. The soliders jumping over the trench are the ones fighting and protecting their homeland despite the imminent threat of death around every building or trench, while some of them are hiding in the trenches to avoid the death that they know lies on the other side of the dirt wall. The horrible events witnessed by these soldiers will forever change them in a way that makes them different compared to the soldiers hiding in the trench. Most men do not jump over trenches or cower inside of a trench. The chosen filter for the photo, black and white, shows how this picture was taken back when there was not colored photography out in the battle field and the constrast to todays technology. The filter also constrasts severity of the job depicted because not everyone in the photo is fulfilling their duties to their country. The constrast between the two different types of soliders shows how at odds the soldiers are with their duty to their country or their ability to stay alive for a few more hours.

 Alan Taylor's photo shows how gruesome war is, and the toll that it can take on a solider. The high probably of death faced everyday in hopes of saving and serving their own country with pride and honor. The icons formed from such bravery, and the hope that it instills upon the masses. The harsh reality that life as a solider is not for the weak of heart. And most of all, that war is not a subject to be taken lightly due to just how real the pain is felt by the soliders, the houses burnt down by fires, the killing of an enemy to save a fellow solidier, and the loss of a family member by the dropping of bombs. War is not just a passage in a textbook. It is felt everyday all around the world by every race, religion, and sex. 

