Phrases written by Vietnam War soldiers are recorded on cell phones.

At a time when the United States was waging war with Vietnam, virtually all soldiers carry Zippos, which are lighters that became true personal items over time. Since the soldiers were not allowed to make changes to their uniforms, they customized their own lighters, striking them and recording various messages, whether hopeful, disillusioned or pure hate.

Photographer Henry Hargreaves saw images of lighters from nearly 40 years after they were originally tagged by their owners. Impressed by the power of these phrases, Hargreaves decided to recreate them in more modern and commonplace items today: mobile phones. He said he was surprised to talk to soldiers who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as their feelings were the same as the men who served decades ago in Vietnam.

Therefore, as the themes appeared to be recurring and timeless, Hargreaves recreated the expressions on various types of cell phones. The series of photos was called “War Phones” and brought together the key phrases of the Zippos lighters found by the photographer. Connor, a friend of Hargreaves who served in Afghanistan, said that when things get ugly in the field, a sense of humor is a soldier's last protection. Check out some of the images from the “War Phones” series below: