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Friday, August 7, 2015

American History 101: Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny.

A premise that pushed America forward in the mid-19th century before the Civil War.

No nation ever existed without some sense of national destiny or purpose.

Manifest Destiny was a phrase used by leaders and politicians in the 1840s to explain continental expansion by the United States. It helped to revitalize an American sense of "mission" or national destiny for individual Americans.

The people of the United States felt it was their mission to extend the "boundaries of freedom" to others by imparting their idealism and belief in democratic institutions to those who were capable of self-government. It excluded those people who were perceived as being incapable of self-government, such as Native American people and those of non-European origin.

But there were other forces and political agendas at work as well. As the population of the original 13 Colonies grew and the U.S. economy developed, the desire and attempts to expand into new land increased. For many colonists, land represented potential income, wealth, self-sufficiency and freedom. Expansion into the western frontiers offered opportunities for self-advancement.

To understand Manifest Destiny, it's important to understand the United States' need and desire to expand. The following points illustrate some of the economic, social and political pressures promoting U.S. expansion:

The United States was experiencing a periodic high birth rate and increases in population due to immigration. And because agriculture provided the primary economic structure, large families to work the farms were considered an asset. The U.S. population grew from more than five millon in 1800 to more than 23 million by mid-century. Thus, there was a need to expand into new territories to accommodate this rapid growth. It's estimated that nearly 4,000,000 Americans moved to western territories between 1820 and 1850.
The United States suffered two economic depressions — one in 1818 and a second in 1839. These crises drove some people to seek their living in frontier areas.
Frontier land was inexpensive or, in some cases, free.
Expansion into frontier areas opened opportunities for new commerce and individual self-advancement.
Land ownership was associated with wealth and tied to self-sufficiency, political power and independent "self-rule."
Maritime merchants saw an opportunity to expand and promote new commerce by building West Coast ports leading to increased trade with countries in the Pacific.

Beginning in the early 19th century with Jefferson'd acquisition of the Louisiana Territory, and the subsequent push of the Native Americans off their land, the push for the United States to expand westward was something that the country needed during this period in order to accomplish the goals set forth almost forty years earlier. And, as with earlier pushes west, this period of "Manifest Destiny" would push the United States into conflict -- and soon war -- with Mexico.

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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working towards a Masters Degree in American History at American Public University. He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom. He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon.

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Thursday, August 6, 2015

History 101: Nazi Experimentation and Planned Parenthood

Warning: this BLOG post gets a little political, if you are easily offended then move on. This post requires you to be able to think and not be narrow minded.

History is one of those funny things... people hear things, or someone teaches them something in school and they make a lot of assumptions based on that little tidbit of information and forget some absolute truths about the world. One of those absolute truths is that: history happened and is not changeable. Great, right? Well... another absolute truth is that: history is written by the victor.

Whoa. What does that mean? In a nutshell, the history you learn in school may or may not be actually what happened on a granular level. The big picture is usually fairly accurate like... The Allied powers were victorious in World War II... the colonies won the Revolutionary War.... An Allied Coalition led by the United States invaded Iraq and Kuwait in 1990... these things are true enough. However, we are also told that whomever lost was irrevocably bad or evil... as an example, Great Britain fought to hold the American colonies and tried to beat them into submission for a time. However, there came a point in the war when the King looked at the overall value of the colonies to Great Britain and decided that he was going to stop sending everything and the kitchen sink to North America to hold the land. Yes... it is true. While it is irrevocably true that the camp at Valley Forge and the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse was a turning point of the war and that Washington and his men are heroes -- it is also true that in the last 12-18 months of the war the Colonial Army was not fighting the same Great Britain they did initially. And this leads me into the point of this BLOG -- we were taught that the Holocaust was 100% bad and evil, and that no good came from it. Please do not misunderstand me at all: the Holocaust was an atrocity in human history that is unrivaled in its callous disregard for human life. However, one must also recognize that there were scientific and medical discoveries that came from this disregard of human life.

What did I just say? Did I just justify the Holocaust? No, I did not. What I did was recognize that there were positive things that came out of torturing and murdering innocent people. And -- let me be clear -- I am not saying that the ends justify the means. So... why am I writing this BLOG at all? This is why...

The comedienne and actress Sarah Silverman tweeted a justification for Planned Parenthood's practice of selling parts of aborted babies. I am not here to debate the breadth and scope of this practice, but it is been proven to be true many times over so don't bother posting that it is a creation of the conservative spin doctors - it isn't. In addition, I am not posting this to debate whether or not an unborn baby is a human or not. This post is not here to allow you to sleep better at night knowing you are for "women's rights" because you justify the slaughter of human babies by calling them a fetus. Different words don't change reality. Accept that, for the purposes of this BLOG post, unborn babies are unborn babies.

So, Sarah says, "Abortion is still legal in the great U.S of A. It would be insane not to use fetal tissue 4 science & education in such cases" with the hashtag to support Planned Parenthood. I won't type it, because I do not support them and don't want someone to accidentally think I do. This sounds reasonable if the babies had donated their lives to science voluntarily, but they did not. So we move on to Ben Shapiro's reply, "Killing Jews was legal in Nazi Germany. It would have been insane not to use their skin for lamps." Ouch... right? Last night I tweeted something similar in support of Shapiro's tweet saying, "Based on a tweet I just read, I think @benshapiro is my new hero... the lamp thing... boom." I tweeted that because the honesty and brutality of what Ben Shapiro was suggesting was so dead on in relation to Sarah Silverman's tweet, that I just had to say something... even something as silly as that. Little did I know that I'd be bombarded overnight with hundreds of replies, favorites and retweets -- and even a couple of new followers. Great... but there were a few detractors from what Ben had said, and my response to it. One in particular suggested that the analogy was not apt. That, "Comparing saving countless lives to making an inanimate object out of Skin?" was not comparable. Well, on the surface I agree. The making a lamp out of human skin is not an apt comparison to the ability to use fetal tissue to potentially save lives in the future someday. So let's break this down a little...

First, in Nazi Germany people were taken against their will -- and with their voiced objections -- and taken to work and death camps based on how well the Nazis thought they could produce for the cause. When these people could no longer produce, they were either killed or left to die. Many died of disease and starvation on their own, too. But remember, these evaluations were done as they got off the trains -- people were sized up, separated and congregated based on quick evaluations. This included those with obvious physical issues, deformities, things that made them unique or mental disabilities. Many of these people were marched directly to their deaths, but in some cases these people were taken and used for medical testing. And then there were the children... so many children were kept in the Nazi camps for no other reason then to test on them until they ultimately died. All of this was legal, against their stated will -- at gun point. Planned Parenthood offers many services to their clients, one of which is the practice of legal abortions. This ends the development of a human life before it is born, they then take the non-living baby and sell it in parts to various people. Let's assume for the sake of this post that they are all medical and/or scientific testing. This is all legal -- and the baby never has a chance to voice its objection to being killed, or used for scientific purposes.

Nazis Experimenting on Children

Second, we certainly cannot argue against the pros that come from scientific research. Without it we would have no cure for polio, smallpox, yellow fever, malaria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis... the list goes on. So in that, Silverman has a valid point. Where her point falls apart is that it is a human being that is being murdered and tested on without their consent. And in this country, you cannot consent to being killed (see the euthanasia laws across the country) -- so since you cannot give consent to being murdered, the entire operation falls apart before it begins. And to bring this all back around to Shapiro's comment about a lampshade made from the skin of a murdered Jew during World War II. First, I'd like to state for the record, that this remains more of a rumor than a fact. To the best of my knowledge (and feel free to correct me) no proof of this exists. Once in a while, one pops up -- and gets tested -- and ends up being sheep intestine or some other animal skin. However, the rumor persists that the Nazi masterminds made a few lampshades out of the skin of murdered Jews. This comparison to Planned Parenthood selling baby parts for research is obviously slightly off-kilter. But it is not out of hand to compare the Nazi doctors and scientists to Planned Parenthood. In fact, there is a direct correlation. Because as the Nazis identified people as being medical testing subjects, they did -- in fact - perform medical tests on them... without sedation... while they were awake... often killing them. This went for the old, middle aged, children and babies. The Nazi testing was carried out for three different reasons. First, they did experimentation aimed at facilitating the survival of Axis military personnel. The second area was aimed at developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods for injuries and illnesses which German military and occupation personnel encountered in the field. And lastly, they tested and experimented sought to advance the racial and idealogical tenets of the Nazi worldview. What this meant was that they were doing anything that was necessary to keep their interests moving forward. But out of this, came many advances and cures that we use today. In fact, several of the diseases that I listed were cured by Nazi doctors as a direct result of the unethical testing and experimentation done during World War II. Here is a partial list of the scientific good that came from the unethical practices in Nazi Germany:

Determining maximum altitude for pressurization levels for parachute jumpers
Treatments for hypothermia
Different methods for making seawater drinkable
New methods for performing bone grafting
New sulfar based drugs (sulfonamide group are antibacterials that inhibit the growth of many bacteria)
Cure and treatment for malaria
Cure and treatment for typhus
Cure and treatment for tuberculosis
Cure and treatment for typhoid fever
Cure and treatment for yellow fever
Cure and treatment for infectious hepatitis

And this is just a partial listing... there were other positive medical and scientific advances. There were many tests on how to counter the impact of phosgene and mustard gas attacks -- if you know what these things do, you know how brutal all of this testing must have been.

In the end, the comparison Ben Shapiro made was partially for shock value, but made the apt correlation between Nazi medical testing and research and American medical testing and research. And, one can extrapolate the idea that if you are at peace with what Planned Parenthood is doing, then you must also be at peace with what Nazi Germany did. I have no problem with people who donate their bodies to science upon their natural death. However, you simply cannot refer to abortion as a natural death. And, as I stated above, if you are an abortion supporter under the guise of women's rights -- and that helps you sleep at night -- then this post will be irrelevant to you in a factual sense because you dismissed the premise from the get-go. But... reality is what it is whether you choose to accept it or not... and abortion ends a life just as it has begun. And the sale of tissue from a non-living human who did not consent to the test is immoral and wrong, whether it was done legally by Nazi Germany or legally by Planned Parenthood in the United States.

One should never look to what is legal to determine morality. Murdering Jews was legal... murdering Africans in America was legal... slavery was legal... Blacks in America were deemed not-human, in fact, the United States Supreme Court held in the Dred Scott decision that blacks were not human in the same way as whites and that they never would be, women could not legally own property in America and so on and so on... laws change based on who is in power, just like teachable history changes... morality does not.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

American History 101: Washington Square Park in Philadelphia

Philadelphia has been much in the news lately, and not for a good reason... sorry HitchBOT. But no matter what the City of Brotherly Love does to hitchhiking robots, it is certainly one of the most historic cities in the United States. Everyone knows about Benjamin Franklin, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell... but what about the city itself? The architecture and design? These are very historic -- and they have a story!

In 1682, Philadelphia was founded by William Penn as the capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. It was initially designed to be a city that was easy to traverse, with roads that travel in a straight pattern from north to south and east to west. It was designed with the idea that residents would be separated by open space that would increase their quality of life, and help prevent the spread of fires. The early plans had the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers as city boundaries that contained five large, square parks. Four in the corners, and one in the center. These parks no longer represent the corners of the city, but they hold a great deal of the history of the city. This post is about one of those parks, Washington Square park.

Northeast entrance to Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park sits in between the posh Society Hill and Washington Square West neighborhoods. It was initially designated as the southeast corner of the city, and sits at 6.4 acres in size. And as such, has seen a great deal of history that pre-dates the Revolutionary War. In the 18th century, the park was known for being grazed by the local animals within the city. But more-so, it was one of the main burial sites for the African community of Philadelphia, and as a potter's field. A potter's field is an area that is used for pauper's graves. And to continue the tradition, during the American Revolution, it was used as a burial ground for local citizens and Colonial soldiers.

After the Revolutionary War, the city was hit with a serious Yellow Fever epidemic. Between August 1 and November 9, 1793 over 5,000 people are listed as having died of Yellow Fever. This represents over 10% of the population of the city, making it one of the worst epidemics in the history of the United States. And another 20,000 people fled Philadelphia before the frost of late October killed off the mosquitos and put a halt to the spread of the disease. In 1793, with nowhere else to bury them, victims of the epidemic were interred in what is now known as Washington Square Park.

In the years after Yellow Fever, the square was used to hold cattle markets and camp meetings until about 1815 when the city went through a maturation, and the neighborhoods surrounding the park became a bit wealthier. In 1825, the park was officially named Washington Square Park in honor of the founding father of the nation. Initially, a monument to George Washington was proposed, but never built. It does serve as the framework for the current monument in the park.

At one time, between the end of the Civil War and mid-20th century, the area around the park served as a hot bed for publishing companies. Companies such as Curtis Publishing Company, J.B. Lippincott, W.B. Saunders, Lea & Febiger, the Farm Journal and George T. Bisel Company. The Bisel Company is the sole remaining publisher on the square, and has been there since 1872. In addition, when the Walnut Street Prison was across the street, the side that faced 6th Street was known as "Lawyers Row".

In 1954, the Washington Square Planning Committee finally acted on the idea of a statue in the park. But instead of a simple statue of George Washington, they designed and built a monument. The monument was dedicated to all of the unknown dead soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War and designated the "Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier." It includes a bronze cast of Houdon's statue of George Washington in front of a wall that reads:

Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness.
In unmarked graves within this square lie thousands of unknown soldiers of Washington's army who died of wounds and sickness during the Revolutionary War.

The independence and liberty you possess are a work of the joint councils and joint efforts or common dangers, suffering and success. -- Washington's Farewell Address, Sept. 17, 1796

The Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier

The Tomb includes remains which were disinterred, after archeological examination, from within the park when it was a cemetary. The remains are that of a soldier, although it is unknown if the soldier was Colonial or British. There were so many buried in Washington Square over the decades, it is unknown exactly how many bodies remain buried beneath the square and the much newer surrounding neighborhoods. Even today, bodies are unearthed occasionally during construction or maintenance projects.

One more historical note about Washington Square Park, there is a sycamore tree that was planted in 1975 from seeds that were carried to the moon by astronaut Stuart Roosa on Apollo 14. It is called The Moon Tree. Today, the park is part of the National Park Service and attached to the Independence National Historic Park.

Washington Square Park is also prominently featured in my novel, Philadelphia Story.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

American History 101: Origins of American Slang from the War

“All service men whether in khaki, blue, or field green are speaking a fresh and vigorous tongue these days, one all their own. What does this new language imply? Some might say: ‘Not much.’ But perhaps they don’t know their history. The new language means a lot. It indicates that all men are united by the words they speak. So the welding value of a fighter’s jargon is nothing to sneeze at.”
—Fighting Talk, by Francis Raymond Meyer, 1942

G.I. Janes

War invariably births a culture all its own, and with it, a new language. Men are thrown together in close-knit, often boring, sometimes dangerous situations, and the slang they beget is both a product, and a reinforcer, of their camaraderie. Wartime slang creates an “us” vs. “them” dynamic — where them is not only the enemy, but the civilian population back home who cannot fully access the world of the fighting man.

Because of its scale, no war inspired more new slang than World War II. Thousands of new words and phrases were birthed during the Big One, and getting acquainted with them offers a fascinating and often humorous soldier’s-eye-view of the conflict.

Paul Dickson, author of War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases Since the Civil War, writes that “wars create great bodies of language that sound as different as do a musket, a M-1, and a Patriot missile.” Yet while the color changes, the subjects that come in for the slang-treatment are fairly timeless: the hardship of missing a girl back home, the risks of mingling with women on the front, the necessity of facing death (often with gallows humor), and of course, the terrible food. Men with jobs far from the action, as well as those in the field who don’t contribute to the esprit de corps — self-important egoists, suck-ups, lazy loafers, and conversational narcissists — earn an abundance of nicknames as well. Finally, chaplains have long been on the receiving end of both ribbing and affection, garnering for themselves a slew of both teasing and endearing monikers.

Below you’ll find just a sampling of the colorful slang used during WWII. Some of the words were around in previous wars, but were revived and popularized during the Big One. Others were brand new phrases, born on the European and Pacific fronts. A good portion of the slang made its way into civilian culture, and continues to be used today, particularly among Greatest Generation grandparents, and even their children. Some of the slang is of course salty fare, and includes terms now considered derogatory -- but keep in mind the time and conditions in which these fantastically artistic use of the language were created!

World War II Slang From the Front

Ack-Ack. Anti-aircraft fire.
Admiral of the Swiss Navy. A self-important person.
Ammo. Ammunition.
All-Out. With full vigor, determination, or enthusiasm.
Armed to the Teeth. Well equipped with firearms; alert; fully prepared; awake to danger.
Armored Cow. Canned milk. Variations: Armored Heifer; Canned Cow.
Army Banjo. Shovel.
Army Chicken. Franks and beans.
Army Strawberries. Prunes.
Asparagus Stick. A submarine’s periscope.
Asthma. The company wit, so-called because he’s full of wheezes (jokes).
AWOL. Absence without official leave.
Awkward Squad. Men who require extra instruction at drill.
Axle Grease. Butter.
BAM. A “broad-assed Marine” (i.e., a female Marine).
Baby. Mustard; from its resemblance to that which comes out of the hind end of an infant.
B-ache/bellyache. To complain.
Bags of Mystery. Sausages.
Bail Out. Parachute jump from plane; by extension, to get out of a situation like a date.
Baptized by Fire. To have been under enemy fire for the first time; to have received one’s first wounds.
Bath Tub. Motorcycle sidecar.
Battery Acid. Artificial lemonade powder included in K-rations — considered undrinkable and regularly discarded or used as cleaning solution.
Battle Breakfast. A Navy term referring to the heavy breakfast of steak and eggs commonly given to sailors and Marines on the morning of a combat operation.
Battle Watch. To do one’s best under difficult circumstances.
Bayonet Course. Hospital treatment for venereal diseases. “Bayonet” refers to the male member.
Beachhead. A beach where invading forces land; a fortified position on a beach.
Beat Your Gums. To talk a lot about something. Variations: Gumming; Jawing; Chin Music.
Become a Gold Star in Mom’s Window. A gentle way of saying killed in action.
Bedpan Commando. Medical corpsman.
Behavior Report. Letter to a girl back home.
Belly Cousin. A man who has slept with a woman you slept with.
Bite the Dust. Killed or wounded.
Blanket Drill. A nap.
Blind Flying. A date with a girl you have never seen.
Blister Foot. Infantryman.
Blister Mechanic. Hospital corpsman.
Blow It Out Your Barracks Bag! Shut up! Go to Hell!
Body Snatcher. Stretcher bearer.
Bone. To study.
Borrowed Brass. False courage inspired by drugs or drink. Variations: Bought Guts; Drugstore Nerve.
Bottled Sunshine. Beer.
Broad With a Heat Wave. Passionate woman; women with a venereal disease.
Broad With a Load of Lettuce. A woman of wealth.
Broad With Canned Goods. A virgin.
Brown-noser. Ass-kisser. To curry favor, or “boot-lick.” Variation: Brownie.
Brush-Off Club. Men in the armed forces who have been dumped by their girlfriends. Variation: The Ex-Darling Club.
BTO. Big Time Operator — someone who thinks he’s important.
Buck Private. The lowest rank in the Army.
Bug Juice. Insect repellent.
Bunk Lizard. A lazy solider with a sloth-like attraction to his bed. Variation: Sack Rat.
Burn and Turn. Game of blackjack.
Canned Morale. A movie.
Cash in One’s Chips. To die.
Cast-Iron Bathtub. Battleship.
Cast the Last Anchor. To die.
Cat’s Beer. Milk.
Chair-Borne Infantry. Desk workers.
Chatterbox. Machine gun.
Check Out. To be killed; to die.
Chicken Berry. An egg.
Chicken Shit. The G.I.’s name for service regulations and the seemingly endless make-work chores. Sometimes abbreviated as C.S.
Chow Hound. Men who always wind up at the head of the mess line.
Table Muscle. Fat.
Cit. A civilian; from “citizen”
Civvies. Civilian clothing.
Coffee Cooler. One who seeks easy jobs; a loafer.
Collision Mats. Pancakes or waffles.
Completely Cheesed. Bored to an extreme.
Cooking With Gas. Having become wise to something.
Cool as a Cucumber. Alert and aware; self-possessed; calm.
Cool Hand. One who is cool as a cucumber.
Corner Turner. A deserter.
Cracked Egg. A silly or stupid person.
Crumb Up. To get a haircut, shoeshine, freshly pressed shirt, etc., in preparation for an inspection.
Cupid’s Itch. Any venereal disease.
Dad. The oldest member of a group.
Dead Battery. An irritable or gloomy person; a pessimist.
Dead Nuts On. Fond of; in love with.
Dear John. A letter from one’s wife or sweetheart informing one that the relationship is over.
Devil Beater. Chaplain.
Devil Dogs of the Sea. The Marines.
Devil’s Piano. A machine gun.
Devil’s Voice. A bugle call.
Dirty Gertie of Bizerte. A promiscuous woman.
Do a Hitch. To serve an enlistment.
Do One’s Bit. To serve in the military in time of war; to engage in war work.
Dogface. Infantryman.
Dog Food. Corned beef hash.
Dog Show. Foot inspection.
Dog Tags. Two metal identification tags worn around the neck, one to be collected and one to be left with the body after death.
Do-Re-Mi. Money.
Downhill. The second half of an army enlistment.
Duck Soup. An easy task.
Dude Up. To dress in one’s best uniform.
Eager Beaver. A soldier is so anxious to impress his superiors that he volunteers for every job that’s offered, or otherwise displays unusual diligence.
Eagle Day. Payday; also known as “the day the eagle shits.” A reference to the American eagle that appears on some coins.
Ear Beater. A person who doesn’t let you get a word in edgewise.
Egg in Your Beer. Too much of a good thing.
Eight Ball. A solider who gets into trouble so much that he’s a liability to his unit; from the old notion that it is bad luck to be behind the eight ball in pocket billiards.
Eisenhower Jacket. A short, fitted, belted jacket of the type made popular by General Dwight D. Eisenhower during the war.
Emily Posters. Naval cadets; so-called because they were given a condensed edition of an etiquette book by Emily Post.
File 13. Wastebasket.
Flak. Abbreviated form of German word Fliegerabwehrkanone, or “pilot warding-off cannon” (anti-aircraft fire).
Flyboy. A glamorous pilot (usually used ironically).
FUBAR. Fouled (or fucked) up beyond all recognition.
Garbage Catcher. A metal mess tray with eight depressions in which food is served.
Gasoline Cowboy. Member of the armored division (usually a tank driver).
Gertrude. An office clerk.
Get-Alongs. Legs.
Get Cracking. To get started; to get into the air. Borrowed from the British RAF.
G.I. Government Issue; an enlisted soldier. “Being G.I.” means doing only what is authorized and not wishing to take any risks.
Gibson Girl. A hand-cranked radio transmitter included in aircraft life rafts; so-called because of its wasp-waisted shape, reminiscent of the beautiful, idealized women drawn by Charles D. Gibson.
G.I. Jane. A member of the Women’s Army Corps. Variations: G.I. Jill and G.I Josephine
G.I. Jesus. Chaplain.
G.I. Joe. A soldier.
Gink. A stupid person.
Ginkus. A contrivance; a thingumajig.
Give It the Deep Six. Forget it; keep it a secret. From older naval slang for burial at sea, which was known as “the deep six,” probably from the custom of burying people six feet underground.
Good-Time Charley. A person given to carousing; a generous person.
Grandma Gear. Low gear.
Gravel Agitator. Infantryman.
Guardhouse/Barracks Lawyer. A person who knows little but talks much about regulations, military law, and “soldier’s rights.”
Ham That Didn’t Pass Its Physical. Spam, the "meat" which was served to soldiers up to 2-3 times per day.
Hashburner. Cook.
Hangar Warrior. An airplane mechanic who boasts about what he would do if he were a pilot.
Haywire. Used to describe a piece of equipment that was not behaving itself, or an event that took a bad turn. Derived from the use of haywire (baling wire) to make farm repairs.
Hubba, Hubba! An exclamation of approbation, thrill, or enthusiasm by a man for a woman.
Jane. A Woman.
Jane-Crazy. Over fond of women.
Jap. Japanese person; anything Japanese.
Jawbreakers. Army biscuits.
Jeep. A small, low, khaki-colored car in general use in the Army.
Jeepable. Impassable except by a jeep (said of a rough road).
Jerry. A German; anything German.
Joe. Coffee.
“Joe Blow” Biography. A short biographical article featuring a fighting man, written for publication in a hometown newspaper.
Juice. Electricity.
Juice Jerker. Electrician.
Just Sweating Member. Pending or prospective member of the Brush-Off Club; he doesn’t know where the hell he stands but the mail doesn’t bring in “Sugar Reports” any longer.
Khaki-Whacky. A woman overly fond of men in uniform.
Knucklebuster. Crescent wrench.
Kraut. A German; from “sauerkraut.”
Latrine Rumors. Unfounded reports
Lay an Egg. Drop a bomb.
Looseners. Prunes.
Low on Amps and Voltage. Lacking ambition and ideas.
Mae West. An inflatable life jacket that fit around the neck and down the chest, and bulged the chest when inflated. -- named for the singer who bore the same name and was known for her small waist and large bust.
Maggie’s Drawers. Red flag used on the rifle range to indicate a miss; as in, “He fired a full clip but all he got was Maggie’s drawers.”
Mickey Mouse Movies. Instructional films on personal hygiene.
Mickey Mouse Rules. Petty rules, regulations, and red tape.
Million Dollar Wound. A wound that took a soldier out of combat, and even perhaps back to the US for treatment, but did not permanently cripple or maim him.
Misery Pipe. Bugle.
Moo Juice. Milk.
Monkey Clothes. Full dress uniform.
Mousetrap. Submarine.
Mud Eater. Infantryman.
Ninety-Day Wonder. An officer who holds a commission by virtue of having attended a three-months course direct from civilian life.
Nip. A Japanese person. Short for “Nippon” — a reading of the Japanese word for Japan.
Nut Buster. Mechanic.
O.A.O. One-and-only (as in “one-and-only-girl”).
Padre. The chaplain.
Paragraph Trooper. A member of the “Chair-Borne Infantry.”
Pecker Checker. A medical person who checks for evidence of venereal disease.
Peep (Son of a Jeep). Bantam car, used in organizations in which jeep is applied to larger vehicles.
Penguin. Air Force service member who doesn’t fly.
Pep Tire. A doughnut.
Pig Snout. A gas mask.
Pineapple. A hand grenade.
Pinup. A picture of a woman for a soldier to pin up on the wall of his quarters.
Podunk. A soldier’s hometown.
Pocket lettuce. Paper money.
Popsey/Popsie. Girlfriend.
Popsicle. Motorcycle.
P.S. Man. One with previous military experience; one with a previous term of enlistment.
Put That in Your Mess Kit! Think it over.
Ratzy. A German; a blend of “rat” and “Nazi.”
Reg’lar. Regular; first-rate; excellent; a regular soldier.
Retread. A veteran of World War I fighting in World War II.
Ribbon Happy. Dazzled by one’s own decorations.
Rock-Happy. Bored, especially on the rocky islands and atolls of the Pacific.
Roger! Expression used instead of okay or right.
Rootin’, Tootin’ Son of a Gun. An energetic person.
Rookie. A recruit.
Royal Order of Whale Bangers. An “exclusive” club open only to airmen who have mistakenly dropped depth charges on whales, supposing them to be enemy submarines.
Sandpaper the Anchor. To do unnecessary work.
Saltwater Cowboy. Marine.
Sea Dust. Salt.
See the Chaplain. Stop grousing; resign yourself to an unpleasant situation. In other words, I don’t care about your problem. Go tell someone who’s paid to care.
Serum. Intoxicating beverages.
Shack Man. Married man.
Shingles. Toast.
Shit on a Shingle. Chipped or creamed beef on toast. Abbreviated as S.O.S.
Short Arm. Penis.
Short Circuit Between the Ear Phones. Mental lapse.
Shrapnel. Grape-Nuts.
Shutters. Sleeping pills.
Side Arms. Cream and sugar for coffee.
Sin Buster. Chaplain.
Six-and-Twenty Tootsie. A girl who makes a flying cadet so heedless of time that he returns late from weekend leave, thereby incurring six demerits and twenty punishment tours.
Sky Scout. Chaplain.
Snafu. Situation normal, all fouled (or fucked) up.
Snore Sack. Sleeping Bag.
S.O.L. Shit out of luck; often sanitized as “sure out of luck” or “soldier out of luck.”
Son of Mars. A soldier.
Soul Aviator. Chaplain.
Soup. Clouds, rain, and most of all, fog.
Spud Duty. Kitchen police (K.P.) assignment (i.e., peeling potatoes).
Spuds with the Bark On. Unpeeled potatoes.
Stinkeroo. Poor in quality; low grade.
Stripe-Happy. A soldier too eager for promotion.
Sugar Report. A letter from a girl.
Suicide Squad. Those who operate a machine gun under fire.
Superman Drawers. Woolen underwear.
Superman Suit. Long, one-piece government-issue underwear.
Swacked. Intoxicated.
Sweat Something Out. Wait a long time for something.
That’s All She Wrote. That’s all; a customary cry of the company mail clerk at the end of the mail call.
That’s for the Birds. Nonsense, drivel, irrelevant matter.
Thousand-Yard-Stare. Name given to the look of a man with a combat-harrowed psyche.
Tiger Meat. Beef.
Tin Pickle. A torpedo or submarine.
T.N.T. Today, not tomorrow.
Torpedo Figure. A woman with a good figure.
Tough Row of Buttons to Shine. A hard job.
T.S. Tough situation! Tough shit! In other words, don’t be discouraged because of hard luck.
T.S. Slip. When a soldier’s complaints become unbearable, his listeners frequently tell him to fill out a “T.S. Slip” and send it to the chaplain.
Uncle Sam’s Party. Payday.
U.S.O. Commando. Hometown hero.
Valley Forge. Temporary tent city in cold weather.
Walkie-Talkie. Portable radio receiving and sending apparatus. Variations: Handie-Talkie, and Spam Can Radio, after its similarity to a can of Spam.
Walrus. One who cannot swim.
Wash Out. To be eliminated from flight training.
Wilco. Will comply. This radio code was used throughout the services and taken up by civilians. “Roger — wilco,” means “Okay — I’ll do it.”
Zombie. A soldier falling in the lowest category in the Army classification test.

-- terms taken from Paul Dickson's War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases Since the Civil War, and Gordon Rottman's FUBAR: Soldier Slang of WWII.

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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working a Master Degree in American History at American Public University. He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom. He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon.

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