Charms from the World Wars

Soldier's Lucky Charm

I look at photos of my grandfather in his Army uniform-wrapped leggings, tunic coat, broad-brimmed campaign hat- and I wonder what the world was like in the early part of the of the 20th century. Not much from that period in his life remains; a few fading photos, three menus from his time as a cook in the Army, his discharge card,  a few very fragile ribbons with religious medals tacked on them and a handful of fragmented stories which I have reconstructed from memory. He's been dead for nearly 30 years, and I am about to enter my sixth decade. Memory of those stories from long ago have begun to fade, so I occasionally do Google searches to fill in the historical fragments in his stories.

The Great War, WWI was fought between 1914 and 1918; Pop was eight years old. His father, a Roman Catholic,served in the Italian Army as an engineer (technically, he was a stone mason). He also repaired shoes and boots, actually making enough money to immigrate to America through France. I still have his Cobbler's hammer. Those who fought this war-the first to introduce chemical agents as a weapon and where many soldiers spent extended periods in muddy trenches-developed a sweeping and impressive tally of physical injuries, mental illness and other associated disease. Many got through the horrors of the trenches by their religious faith and carried good luck charms and items of sentimental value concealed in a pocket.

Photo of a  Himmelsbrief via Google

Many of these were photos of loved ones blessed by priests, holy cards ( a small card bearing the likeness of a patron saint), religious medals cheaply made and mass produced. The medals were worn on chains around the neck or tied with a ribbon and attached to the clothing with a safety pin; some were 'third degree' relics, that is, the medal and ribbon were touched to a first degree relic - bones or other body parts or clothing of a particular saint- to be sanctified, or they were simply sprinkled with holy water or prayed over by a member of the clergy. These were popular with members of the service of all faiths, not just Roman Catholics.

Another popular charm was the Himmelsbrief, or "Letter from Heaven", a protective device purported to have been written by angels or God Himself ,consisting of prayers and other sacred text, hex signs and other religious symbols printed on parchment or good quality paper. The Himmelsbrief originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch and came from the Pow Wow spiritual tradition and was usually framed and hung in a place of honor in the home, but when World War I became a reality, soldiers began to carry them ( or a similar charm on paper) into battle. My father had one, a gift from his PA Dutch/Irish-German mother. I saw it years ago and wish I had it.

Some enlisted men carried small toys as charms. The toy often represented an element of the soldier's job during the war. The Butterick Pattern Company offered instructions on making bundoos, handmade charms reflecting a magickal protective intention for the soldier to carry with him.

These charms were a form of sympathetic magic, as were the pictures of skulls, Grim Reapers and other death imagery seen on airplanes, trucks and tanks during WWI. The more menacing the image, the better to instill fear in the enemy.

The practice of carrying good luck charms into battle continued into WWII and beyond. Many soldiers stationed in Iraq carry some form of lucky charm, whether it be from religious devotion or simply superstition. The charms are a comfort and a reminder of something larger, that perhaps life and death are not a matter of Fate alone.

The one that I know is the third light about lighting 3 cigarettes from one match or lighter. The theory was that enemy snipers were drawn, at night time, to the flash of light of striking a match and lighting of the first cigarette, lighting the second cigarette allowed the sniper to get set and if a third was lit it gave time for the sniper to aim and to shoot. Even now, people far too young to have been around then still believe in the superstition even if they don't know what it means. (Cited from: http://www.militarian.com/threads/superstitions-from-ww1.6844/)

The one that I know is the third light about lighting 3 cigarettes from one match or lighter. The theory was that enemy snipers were drawn, at night time, to the flash of light of striking a match and lighting of the first cigarette, lighting the second cigarette allowed the sniper to get set and if a third was lit it gave time for the sniper to aim and to shoot. Even now, people far too young to have been around then still believe in the superstition even if they don't know what it means. (Cited from: http://www.militarian.com/threads/superstitions-from-ww1.6844/)

The one that I know is the third light about lighting 3 cigarettes from one match or lighter. The theory was that enemy snipers were drawn, at night time, to the flash of light of striking a match and lighting of the first cigarette, lighting the second cigarette allowed the sniper to get set and if a third was lit it gave time for the sniper to aim and to shoot. Even now, people far too young to have been around then still believe in the superstition even if they don't know what it means. (Cited from: http://www.militarian.com/threads/superstitions-from-ww1.6844/)

he one that I know is the third light about lighting 3 cigarettes from one match or lighter. The theory was that enemy snipers were drawn, at night time, to the flash of light of striking a match and lighting of the first cigarette, lighting the second cigarette allowed the sniper to get set and if a third was lit it gave time for the sniper to aim and to shoot. Even now, people far too young to have been around then still believe in the superstition even if they don't know what it means. (Cited from: http://www.militarian.com/threads/superstitions-from-ww1.6844/)