War Correspondents and Their Mementos of Conflict

As I’ve been reading about the Middle East I have come across a consistency with war correspondents: the majority of them take mementos from their surrounding area that will be remembered as a part of history. 

Today I was reading about how a reporter had actually taken a piece of the downed helicopter at Osama bin Laden's compound just recently. Likewise, another reporter was wandering around the bazaars and markets of Baghdad and came across boxing puppets in the form of Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush, and other political figures.  

Veteran war correspondent Lindsey Hilsum keeps a bullet from Abu Ghraib, two marbles from Fallujah, and now a button from a fallen government soldier in Libya as good luck. She further states that she likes to be where the action and the history are. 

I guess some people just want to capture their own little pieces of history and war correspondents have the best opportunity for it.

~Ray