Fighting for your country on the front lines is not often very fun but occasionally even soldiers in the armed forces take a little time out to laugh and relax.

This impressive collection of over 58,000 dog tags hangs from the ceiling of the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago.
 

The World War 1 Christmas Truce occurred in 1914 and refers to a series of unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front between parties of German and British soldiers. Throughout this week, soldiers exchanged seasonal greetings, songs and even gifts with their enemies.

Vintage photographs of cats being mascots for soldiers in various armed conflicts around the world.

Can you locate two soldiers hiding in this picture?

A HULC exoskeleton is designed to help dismounted soldiers carry heavy combat loads for extended periods of time without increasing the stress on their body. The hydraulic-powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton helps to transfer loads up to 200 lbs (90.7 kg) to the ground through powered titanium legs without loss of mobility.

Defend your base at all costs! Save up money by mowing down enemy soldiers to buy bigger and better guns! Make sure you save up for the tank levels. By then, your pistol will be almost useless. Take advantage of other weapons while you reload your more powerful guns. Good luck, and happy shooting! 

Check out these vintage black and white photos of young boys of World War II.

Tattoos for the US military are almost considered a rite of passage. A tattoo parlor is one of the first places that a soldier or sailor looks for when that check into a new base. These are some fine examples of US military tattoos.

Some soldiers fill the void left by being away from their families with pets.

These men and women made the conscious decision to learn how to detonate and disarm bombs and these pictures show them in action. It’s an awful job but I suppose someone has to do it.

These dramatic and never seen before pictures of US soldiers training, resting, and on the battlefield along with other war related scenarios were all banned from publication in the United States. It seems that the censors did not want to show any weakness, give away any trade secrets or potentially embarrass the US. Protocol has not changed very much in the intervening years, but the soldiers’ outfits certainly have.

American soldier was feasted and flattered by French women.

This is a series of photos taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry. It is sad to see children whose destiny was to take guns and fight instead of playing with toys. These children are robbed of the most wonderful time in their lives – their childhood…