Almost all soldiers in 'Nam carried Zippos around with them. More than just lighters, they were personal items that often became something of good-luck charms to the chain-smoking servicemen in the war. Soldiers weren't technically allowed to modify the exteriors of their uniforms, so they carved messages of hope, violence, and, occassionally, of wanting people to kiss their asses, into the faces of their lighters. You can find a gallery of them [here](http://twistedsifter.com/2013/02/soldiers-engraved-zippo-lighters-from-vietnam-war/).

Looking at them now, almost four decades later, I was struck by how similar the feelings on those Zippos are to the sentiments of soldiers I've spoken with who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I decided to illustrate those recurring themes in wartime thinking and the progression of time through technology by recreating the same phrases (sub "Vietnam" for "Iraq" and "Afghanistan") on cell phones for a series called "War Phones."

My friend Connor, who served in the Laghman Province in Afghanistan, agreed with the idea behind the series, and told me that when things get too bad a soldier's final defense is his sense of humor. He asked me to make one final phone with the army's PR-friendly mantra when going into a new country: "Winning Hearts and Minds." The reality on the ground, he told me, is quite a different story.

Photography: [Henry Hargreaves](http://henryhargreaves.com/)

Prop stylist: [Nicole Heffron](http://www.nicoleheffron.com/)

During the Vietnam nearly all US soldier carried a Zippo lighter. As the soldiers were initially forbidden from modifying the exterior of their uniform they would use engrave their lighters to express their feelings and sentiments.

Looking at the original lighters it seemed nothing had really changed from what I was hearing was the current feelings of soldiers fighting in the modern day wars. I decided to recreate these Vietnam Zippos with the same sayings (sub Vietnam fro Iraq, Afghanistan), but update the Zippos to phones. Showing the progression of time through technology and what I imagined may be now the soldiers close personal possession, but moral wise nothing has changed and again history repeats itself not learning any lessons for it's past.

After speaking with my buddy Connor who served in the Laghman Province in Afghanistan he reiterated this by telling me it was as if they were in the worst place on earth and they 'had accepted their fate as being damned to an eternity in hell like it was a joke.' When things are so bad the final defense you had was your sense of humor. He requested I do one final phone with what had become the new slogan of the army 'hearts and minds,' but the reality couldn't be further from this he told me...



Photography by Henry Hargreaves

Prop Styling Nicole Heffron

War Phones

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Photo

During the Vietnam War, nearly all US soldiers carried a Zippo lighter. As the soldiers were initially forbidden from modifying the exteriors of their uniforms, they would use engrave their lighters to express their feelings and sentiments.

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Henry Hargreaves's Photos of Cell Phones Engraved with Military Messages

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Henry Hargreaves's Photos of Cell Phones Engraved with Military Messages

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