[ex-snook]

"But, if you watch war movies in general, I never cease to be amazed at how well-groomed and clean the characters look. Maybe they get a smudge of dirt or two on their faces, for effect, but that's all. :-) "

I don't know any women who would live in dirt for weeks at a time. Maybe it's not your grandpa's army any more but it's not for parades either. Dirt is what the infantry is all about.

[wbill]

Yup. Dad inherited a couple of pics from Grandpa, now displayed on his office wall...

One is of his unit's encampment during the Bulge - a bunch of pup tents, mostly buried in snow. The other is of Grandpa and his XO, grinning for the camera, with snow up to their waists.

I'm not sure which would be more miserable to live in, mud or snow. Probably by that point, it didn't much matter to them.