dumb question

[UsedM1]

I know this is a really stupid question but say a soldier was killed in battle, would a soldier (maybe the one that was standing next to him) take his spare ammo or ciggarettes or anything else valuable, or would he leave that stuff alone out of respect. sorry if I wasted your time asking such a dumb question.

[WE_STAND_ALONE]

probably depends on the situation...Omaha beach..strip him if ammo,weapons.

they probably left personal stuff alone out of respect.

[narcoleptus]

Its not a dumb question.
Didnt they take dog tags and personal stuff for identification, unless the bodies were going to be recovered later?

[Zippis]

Ammo was taken for sure, bread and cigarettes.. Personal stuff, such as watch or wallet (that's pretty much of the personal stuff any reasonable man would carry on the battlefield) were left alone. If it was impossible to recover the body (while retreating or on a mission behind enemy lines) the personal stuff would have been stripped and sent to the mourning family (as there was no body to bring home).

Of course, different nations had different points of view. Russians couldn't have cared less for their dead. Still, as Russians advanced on the Finnish front, they were amazed as there seemed to be only a few Finnish bodies despite the heavy fighting just half an hour ago.. Finns took their dead with them..