An entertaining book detailing the military slang of World War II.
The soldier slang of World War II was as colourful as it was evocative. It could be insulting, pessimistic, witty, and even defeatist. From 'spam bashers' to 'passion wagons' and 'roof pigs' to 'Hell's Ladies,' the World War II fighting man was never short of words to describe the people and events in his life.
FUBAR: F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition takes a frank look at the British, Commonwealth, American, German, Japanese and Russian slang used by the men on the ground, and shows how, even in the heat of battle, they somehow managed to retain their sense of humour, black though it might have been.
Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969-70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments before retiring after 26 years. He was a Special Operations Forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas.
Acknowledgments
Author's Note
Introduction
Phonetic Alphabets
PART I GI and Gyrene Jargon - US Army and Marine Corps Slang
PART II Tommy, Aussie, Canuck, and Kiwi Talk - British Commonwealth Army Slang
PART III Landserdeutsch - German Army Slang
Appendix 1 Imperial Japanese Army Slang
Appendix 2 Red Army Slang
Appendix 3 Armored Fighting Vehicles Nicknames
Appendix 4 What Did Germany's Enemies Call Them?
Abbreviations
Select Bibliography