List symbols used in these tales. How do they enrich the stories?

The soldiers in Vietnam carry different loads. O’Brien lists the things the soldiers carry - both physical and emotional, all have symbolism. The basic military goods and personal items: provisions, ammunition, and special ponchos that they may be wrapped in if they die-all of these represent the tools of war. Most men "hump" or carried items of emotional symbolism. One wears his girlfriend’s stockings around his neck, another carries a bible, another carries a slingshot, another comic books, another condoms. Cross carries letters from a gray-eyed English literature student named Martha. He is in love with her, but he is obsessed with whether or not she is a virgin.