DOCSLIB.ORG

Dysfunctional Veterans," Stolen Valor, and the Social Groups of Post-War Soldiers

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Dysfunctional Veterans, You’re Welcome for My Service: “Dysfunctional Veterans," Stolen Valor, and the Social Groups of Post-War Soldiers by Caleb Bielby, B.A. A Thesis In History Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved Dr. Randy McBee Chair of Committee Dr. Gretchen Adams Col. Dave Lewis Mark Sheridan Dean of the Graduate School August, 2019 Copyright 2019, Caleb Bielby Texas Tech University, Caleb Bielby, August 2019 Acknowledgements For helping me along my path of research and writing, I would like to thank my committee of Dr. Randy McBee, Dr. Gretchen Adams, and Col. Dave Lewis. Dr. McBee offered me the flexibility for my research to find its own path and the direction to keep it grounded and relevant in the field of social history. Dr. Adams has helped shape my research interests in a profound way while always being a supportive advisor throughout my undergraduate and graduate schooling and continuously offering exceptional insight into the field of memorialization. Col. Lewis has provided unparalleled understanding regarding the shape of the modern veteran community and developments made in the realm of psychiatric treatment and assistance for returning veterans. As this thesis is my stepping-stone into the world of education, I believe that Dr. Richard Verrone and Dr. Gary Bell deserve a special mention. Dr. Verrone has had a tremendous influence on the way I look at a teacher’s role in relation to their students and without seeing him consistently practice a student-first mindset I doubt that I would be half as prepared to walk into a classroom as I am today. Dr. Bell has also given me continuous encouragement and helped shape my instincts in the teaching of history and the philosophy of teaching as a craft. Finally, this thesis would not have been possible without the veterans who volunteered not only their time but their experiences so that I may gain a more complete understanding of what they each endured. Without their openness and candor, this research could not have become what it is today. I hope that I have been able to do their experiences justice in this short amount of space. ii Texas Tech University, Caleb Bielby, August 2019 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vi Chapter I- Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Background and further readings .................................................................................... 4 In support of oral histories and personal accounts: My case-study sources.................... 8 Chapter II- Cucumbers and Pickles .............................................................................. 13 Whose voice do you listen to?....................................................................................... 14 What is the infantry/combat arms? Why does it matter? .............................................. 18 What are grunts like?..................................................................................................... 26 What is the modern battlefield? .................................................................................... 27 What is combat really like? ........................................................................................... 31 What is it that bonds combat veterans or fellow combat arms soldiers? ...................... 33 The mental health crisis of veterans .............................................................................. 34 Why the discrepancy between perception and reality? ................................................. 39 Closing thoughts ............................................................................................................ 42 Chapter III- Commemorating Combat ........................................................................ 44 Analyzing soldier-produced digital memorabilia in the War on Terror........................ 46 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 48 The Pre-YouTube Era ................................................................................................... 50 The Age of Viral Videos ............................................................................................... 58 When the fight turns ugly .............................................................................................. 63 When the fight gets funny ............................................................................................. 67 Getting the “joke”.......................................................................................................... 69 Civilian videos about the War on Terror ....................................................................... 72 Closing thoughts ............................................................................................................ 74 Chapter IV- You’re Welcome for My Service ............................................................. 78 What has remained the same? ....................................................................................... 82 Did you kill anyone? ..................................................................................................... 92 iii Texas Tech University, Caleb Bielby, August 2019 What makes War on Terror vets different? ................................................................... 93 What is it like to be a GWoT veteran? .......................................................................... 96 Dysfunctional Veterans ............................................................................................... 103 The funny and positive veterans.................................................................................. 108 Seeking help after the military .................................................................................... 116 Do non-veterans find a place in veteran culture? ........................................................ 120 Stolen Valor: Civilians forcing themselves into veteran culture................................. 124 What is Stolen Valor? ................................................................................................. 126 What does Stolen Valor reflect? .................................................................................. 128 Chapter V- Conclusion ................................................................................................. 133 Veteran Monologues ................................................................................................... 136 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 145 Books:.......................................................................................................................... 145 Articles: ....................................................................................................................... 147 Web Articles:............................................................................................................... 149 Images: ........................................................................................................................ 152 Videos: ........................................................................................................................ 152 Oral History Interviews: .............................................................................................. 156 Appendix A .................................................................................................................... 159 Oral History Interview Agreement Sample:................................................................ 159 Appendix B .................................................................................................................... 160 Oral History Interview Questions: .............................................................................. 160 iv Texas Tech University, Caleb Bielby, August 2019 Abstract In the aftermath of any war, returning veterans have always had to find their place in society. Contrasted against the experience of World War II and Vietnam veterans, it will be shown that not only have War on Terror veterans taken a very active role in shaping their own culture but that many veterans also take an active role in shaping the narrative of their wartime experience. This analysis of veteran culture from the War on Terror serves to add knowledge to the historical fields of memory, war and society, and cultural history. Briefly discussing the experience of combat as described by many veterans from World War II, Vietnam, and the War on Terror- it is imperative to establish the reality of military life and engaging in battle. War on Terror veterans are shown to differ from previous generations as they take an active role in memorializing their own wartime experiences. Proving themselves very adept at adopting a digital medium rather than physical space for such memorials, War on Terror veterans take agency in shaping the ways in
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sample File This Page Intentionally Left Blank
    The Comic Art of War Sample file This page intentionally left blank Sample file The Comic Art of War A Critical Study of Military Cartoons, 1805–2014, with a Guide to Artists Christina M. Knopf Sample file McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Knopf, Christina M., 1980– The comic art of war : a critical study of military cartoons, 1805–2014, with a guide to artists / Christina M. Knopf. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-9835-2 (softcover : acid free paper) ISBN 978-1-4766-2081-7 (ebook) ♾ 1. War—Caricatures and cartoons. 2. Soldiers—Caricatures and cartoons. 3. MilitarySample life—Caricatures file and cartoons. I. Title. U20.K58 2015 355.0022'2—dc23 2015024596 BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE © 2015 Christina M. Knopf. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. On the cover: COMPANY DIS-MISSED! by Abian A. “Wally” Wallgren which appeared in the final World War I issue of Stars and Stripes (vol. 2 no. 19: p. 7) on June 18, 1919. It features the artist dismissing his models, or characters, from duty at the end of the war. Printed in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com Acknowledgments It is said that writing is a solitary activity.
    [Show full text]
  • Generation Kill and the New Screen Combat Magdalena Yüksel and Colleen Kennedy-Karpat
    15 Generation Kill and the New Screen Combat Magdalena Yüksel and Colleen Kennedy-Karpat No one could accuse the American cultural industries of giving the Iraq War the silent treatment. Between the 24-hour news cycle and fictionalized enter- tainment, war narratives have played a significant and evolving role in the media landscape since the declaration of war in 2003. Iraq War films, on the whole, have failed to impress audiences and critics, with notable exceptions like Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker (2008), which won the Oscar for Best Picture, and her follow-up Zero Dark Thirty (2012), which tripled its budget in worldwide box office intake.1 Television, however, has fared better as a vehicle for profitable, war-inspired entertainment, which is perhaps best exemplified by the nine seasons of Fox’s 24 (2001–2010). Situated squarely between these two formats lies the television miniseries, combining seriality with the closed narrative of feature filmmaking to bring to the small screen— and, probably more significantly, to the DVD market—a time-limited story that cultivates a broader and deeper narrative development than a single film, yet maintains a coherent thematic and creative agenda. As a pioneer in both the miniseries format and the more nebulous category of quality television, HBO has taken fresh approaches to representing combat as it unfolds in the twenty-first century.2 These innovations build on yet also depart from the precedent set by Band of Brothers (2001), Steven Spielberg’s WWII project that established HBO’s interest in war-themed miniseries, and the subsequent companion project, The Pacific (2010).3 Stylistically, both Band of Brothers and The Pacific depict WWII combat in ways that recall Spielberg’s blockbuster Saving Private Ryan (1998).
    [Show full text]
  • Lonely Places, Dangerous Ground
    Introduction Nicholas Ray and the Potential of Cinema Culture STEVEN RYBIN AND WILL SCHEIBEL THE DIRECTOR OF CLASSIC FILMS SUCH AS They Live by Night, In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, Rebel Without a Cause, and Bigger Than Life, among others, Nicholas Ray was the “cause célèbre of the auteur theory,” as critic Andrew Sarris once put it (107).1 But unlike his senior colleagues in Hollywood such as Alfred Hitchcock or Howard Hawks, he remained a director at the margins of the American studio system. So too has he remained at the margins of academic film scholarship. Many fine schol‑ arly works on Ray, of course, have been published, ranging from Geoff Andrew’s important auteur study The Films of Nicholas Ray: The Poet of Nightfall and Bernard Eisenschitz’s authoritative biography Nicholas Ray: An American Journey (both first published in English in 1991 and 1993, respectively) to books on individual films by Ray, such as Dana Polan’s 1993 monograph on In a Lonely Place and J. David Slocum’s 2005 col‑ lection of essays on Rebel Without a Cause. In 2011, the year of his centennial, the restoration of his final film,We Can’t Go Home Again, by his widow and collaborator Susan Ray, signaled renewed interest in the director, as did the publication of a new biography, Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director, by Patrick McGilligan. Yet what Nicholas Ray’s films tell us about Classical Hollywood cinema, what it was and will continue to be, is far from certain. 1 © 2014 State University of New York Press, Albany 2 Steven Rybin and Will Scheibel After all, what most powerfully characterizes Ray’s films is not only what they are—products both of Hollywood’s studio and genre systems—but also what they might be.
    [Show full text]
  • Diasporic Vietnamese Remembrance
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles “The line between life and death in the high seas is very thin, almost invisible”: Diasporic Vietnamese Remembrance A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Asian American Studies by Tiểu-Khê Lê 2015 © Copyright by Tiểu-Khê Lê 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS “The line between life and death in the high seas is very thin, almost invisible”: Diasporic Vietnamese Remembrance By Tiểu-Khê Lê Master of Arts in Asian American Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor Thu-huong Nguyen-vo, Chair This project investigates the ways in which Vietnamese American modes of remembering support, unsettle, resist, refuse, and/or shape dominant western narratives that consolidate the Vietnam War, and the Vietnamese diaspora, into a single story of a masculine, militaristic, heteropatriarchial, and completed struggle between North and U.S.-backed South Vietnam. The first section explores how the design, construction, and everyday interactions with two Vietnam War monuments in Orange County, California’s Little Saigon intervenes in the two monuments’ attempts at consolidating western empire with Vietnamese bodily representation. The second section examines An-My Le’s photography series, Small Wars, which centers on how circulation of media footage and film shape western narrative of the Vietnam War. Queer readings, theories of heterotopic space, ethnography, landscape theory, and transhistoricism are some guiding frameworks to this thesis. ii The Thesis of Tieu-Khe Le is approved. Victor Bascara Kyungwon Hong Thu-huong Nguyen-vo, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2015 iii DEDICATION to anyone who has found themselves lost at sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Blue Water Navy Communications Toolkit
    BLUE WATER NAVY COMMUNICATIONS TOOLKIT The Blue Water Navy Communications Toolkit This Blue Water Navy Communications Toolkit supports the effort to raise awareness and understanding of Public Law 116-23: Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veteran Act of 2019 and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) updated policy for processing claims of Vietnam War Veterans, and their dependents and survivors, related to presumptive exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange. Certain aspects of the VA Home Loan process were also affected by this legislation and are likewise explained within the enclosed resources. This toolkit is a guidebook to understanding the criteria for service connection based on VA’s revised policy. It outlines how Veterans, survivors and dependents can access potential benefits associated with military service. Veterans Affairs’ primary goal is to inform Veterans, their dependents, survivors, key internal and external stakeholders, and others by ensuring the proactive dissemination and delivery of educational materials about the change in VA policy. VA also wants to ensure effective com- munication with eligible Blue Water Navy Veterans and their family members regarding the revised process for submitting disability compensation claims related to herbicide exposure during their Vietnam War service. This Communications Toolkit consists of the following documents: Factsheet – A one-page overview. 101 Presentation – An in-depth explanation, with examples and detailed information. FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions Poster – A printable resource to raise awareness and provide a url address. Fraud Flyer – A printable resource to inform Veterans about avoiding scams. Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act 2019 Law Extends Benefits for Eligible Veterans Public Law 116-23, (Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act 2019) Public Law 116-23, (Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act 2019) was signed into law on June 25, 2019 and takes effect January 1, 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019
    PUBLIC LAW 116–23—JUNE 25, 2019 BLUE WATER NAVY VIETNAM VETERANS ACT OF 2019 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:12 Sep 30, 2019 Jkt 089139 PO 00023 Frm 00001 Fmt 6579 Sfmt 6579 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL023.116 PUBL023 dkrause on DSKBC28HB2PROD with PUBLAWS 133 STAT. 966 PUBLIC LAW 116–23—JUNE 25, 2019 Public Law 116–23 116th Congress An Act To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the June 25, 2019 exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, [H.R. 299] and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Blue Water Navy the United States of America in Congress assembled, Vietnam Veterans Act SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. of 2019. 38 USC 101 note. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019’’. SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF PRESUMPTIONS OF EXPOSURE FOR VET- ERANS WHO SERVED IN VICINITY OF REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM. (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1116 the following new section: 38 USC 1116A. ‘‘§ 1116A. Presumptions of service connection for veterans who served offshore of the Republic of Vietnam Time period. ‘‘(a) SERVICE CONNECTION.—For the purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title, a disease covered by section 1116 of this title becoming manifest as specified in that section in a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served offshore of the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Times
    The MultiCultural Center’s Cultural Times Spring Semester 2003 Humboldt State University The MultiCultural Center’s Staff Paris Adkins Lindsey Allen Kerry Bailey Rebecca Breksa Ivonne Castillo Wendy Y Castillon Paula Cedillo Chris Cook Marie Kristina Cox Hoang Dinh Solana Foo Enika K.Franco Elizabeth Jimenez Antonette (Toni) I. Jones Daeng Khoupradit, Alexis Lewis Hazel E.Lodevico Adriana Lopez Thanh Luong Nicholas I Mathis Brandon McQuien Juan Mendez Aunjelique Meraz Daniela Molina Rishi Nakra Nam Nguyen Tyler Paik-Nicely Miacah Pugh, Alex V Robinson Denia Sanabria Marcee Stamps Reginald Thomas II Isaac Too Pata Vang, Massey Verletta John Volk, Janine Wolfe, Precious Yamaguchi Editor’s Note Sometimes the most challenging experiences we face turn out to be the most rewarding. It is the struggle that we are encountered when we take action to overcome the adversities in life, the internal conflict of our own abilities to accomplish our goals and all that we learn about ourselves along the way that create personal as well as social achievements. Sometimes we can be accomplishing more than we even know, by doing things such as participating in activism or causes we believe in, vol- unteering, going to school to educate ourselves or even actions that are often very important but easily overlooked like being a good parent, a generous friend or being a loving partner, that all help build identity, self-worth and help the people around us. The ways we can improve the lives of others and ourselves is endless. With every goal that is accomplished, a new goal lies not far ahead and here at the MultiCultural Center, we have experienced a semester full of achievements made by students that have brought cultural unity and education within our campus as we are constantly seeking ways to make improvements while still having fun at the same time! The events created by students, faculty and members of the community for Black History Month, Q- Fest, Celebración Latina and the MultiCultural Center’s annual Diversity Conference are shown throughout the newsletter.
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Record-House. 1581
    ·- 1893. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1581 The reading of the bill was resumed at line 6, on page 84. Branch, at Marion, Ind., page 93, line 6, after the word " con­ . , The next amendmentof the Committee on Appropriations was, struction," to insert "and repairs;" so as to read: under the head of" National Home· for Disabled Volunteer Sol­ For construction and repairs, includin~ the same objects spo.:J ified under diers," in the appropriation for the Central Branch, at Dayton, this head tor the Central Branch, IS:20,264.55. Ohio, page 85, line 7, to reduce the appropriationfor subsistence The amendment was agreed to. from $319,610 to $317,000. The next amendment was, on page 93, line 16, to change the The amendment was agreed to. total of the appropriations for the Marion Branch, at Marion, The next amendment was, on page 85, line 14, under the head Ind., from $2,353,163.89 to $2,360,663-89. of "National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers." to reduce The amendment was agreed to. the expenditure for clothing at the Central Branch; at Dayton, The next amendment was, on page 93, under the head of ' ' State Ohio, from $76,800 to $74,000. or Territo rial homes,'' line 22, after the word " eigh ty-eig :) t," to The amendment was agreed to. strike out "each;" so as to read: The next amendment was, on page 86, line 17, after the words For continuing aid to State or Territorial homes for the support o! dis­ 11 For construction " to insert " and repairs," and in line 22, bs­ abled volunteer soldiers in conformity with the act approved August Z7, fore the word'; cents," to strike out "sixty-five thousand one 1888, $575,000.
    [Show full text]
  • Texas Review's Gordian Review
    The Gordian Review Volume 2 2017 The Gordian Review Volume 2, 2017 Texas Review Press Huntsville, TX Copyright 2017 Texas Review Press, Sam Houston State University Department of English. ISSN 2474-6789. The Gordian Review volunteer staff: Editor in Chief: Julian Kindred Poetry Editor: Mike Hilbig Fiction Editor: Elizabeth Evans Nonfiction Editor: Timothy Bardin Cover Design: Julian Kindred All images were found, copyright-free, on Shutterstock.com. For those graduate students interesting in having their work published, please submit through The Gordian Review web- site (gordianreview.org) or via the Texas Review Press website (texasreviewpress.org). Only work by current or recently graduated graduate students (Masters or PhD level) will be considered for publication. If you have any questions, the staff can be contacted by email at [email protected]. Contents 15 “Nightsweats” Fiction by James Stewart III 1 “A Defiant Act” 16 “Counting Syllables” Poetry by Sherry Tippey Nonfiction by Cat Hubka 4 “Echocardiogram” 17 “Missed Connections” 5 “Ants Reappear Like Snowbirds” 6 “Bedtime Story” Poetry by Alex Wells Shapiro 6 “Simulacrum” 21 “Feralizing” 7 “Cat Nap” 21 “Plugging” 22 “Duratins” 23 “Opening” Nonfiction by Rebekah D. Jerabek 7 “Of Daughters” 23 “Desiccating” Poetry by Kirsten Shu-ying Chen Acknowledgements 14 “Astronimical dawn” 15 “Brainstem” Author Biographies A Defiant Act by James Stewart III father walks to the back of the family mini-van balancing four ice cream cones in his two hands. He’s holding them away from hisA body so they don’t drip onto his stained jeans in the midsummer heat. He somehow manages to open the back hatch of the van while balancing the treats.
    [Show full text]
  • The Butt of the Joke? Laughter and Potency in the Becoming of Good Soldiers
    The Butt of the Joke? The Butt of the Joke? Laughter and Potency in the Becoming of Good Soldiers Beate Sløk-Andersen Copenhagen Business School Denmark Abstract In the Danish military, laughter plays a key role in the process of becoming a good soldier. Along with the strictness of hierarchy and discipline, a perhaps surprisingly widespread use of humor is essential in the social interaction, as the author observed during a participatory fieldwork among conscripted soldiers in the army. Unfolding the wider context and affective flows in this use of humor, however, the article suggests that the humorous tune (Ahmed 2014a) that is established among the soldiers concurrently has severe consequences as it not only polices soldiers’ sexuality and ‘wrong’ ways for men to be close, but also entangles in the ‘making’ of good, potent soldiers. Humor is therefore argued to be a very serious matter that can cast soldiers as either insiders or outsiders to the military profession. Keywords: military, humor, attunement, affects, military service, potency, sexuality uring a four-month-long participatory fieldwork amongst soldiers serving in the Danish army, I experienced how laughter permeated everyday life and caused momentary breaks from the seriousness that came with being Dembedded in a quite hierarchal structure. Even the sergeants who were supposed to discipline the young soldiers were keen on lightening the atmosphere by telling jokes or encouraging others to do so. Humor appeared to make military service more fun: it lightened the mood and supported social bonds among soldiers which also made the tough times more bearable. However, I also observed how humor took part in ‘making’ of military professionals; how seemingly innocent comments or actions that were “just a joke” took part in establishing otherwise unspoken limitations and norms for how to be a good soldier.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Lt. Nathaniel Fick Leads a Band of Brothers in His Memoir of The
    OCTOBER 22 2005 SAN DIEGO DOWNTOWN NEWS BOOKS IRAQ Young Men and Fire Marine Lt. Nathaniel Fick leads a band of brothers in his memoir of the Iraq War By JASON WATKINS sion of Iraq, breaching the south- DOWNTOWN NEWS ern border with Kuwait sometime in the morning hours of March 21, he most striking evi- 2003, then crossing the Euphrates dence of Nathaniel Fick’s and Tigris rivers and eventually abilities as a world-class arriving in Baghdad just as the military mind comes not statue of Saddam was being top- from his Dartmouth edu- pled by U.S. troops. Tcation nor his reverence for Marine Their journey was chronicled in Corps history nor even the bulk of Evan Wright’s acclaimed book, the decisions he made in battle, but “Generation Kill,” and in his three- rather from the single fact that he part series that appeared in Rolling returned home from war with the Stone, but Wright’s account is same number of men he left with. strictly that of an embedded Fick makes only passing mention reporter while Fick’s was written of this in his newly published book, by the man who was making the “One Bullet Away: The Making of a decisions. (In a sense, Fick’s telling Marine Officer,” in which he of the same story proves how dif- recounts his journey from Ivy ferently an event is viewed by each League upperclassman through observer.) Officer Candidate School to the bat- One of the book’s many virtues is tlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
    [Show full text]
  • Newfolk NDF: Military Speech
    Newfolk NDF: Military Speech New Directions in Folklore 7 2003 Newfolk :: NDF :: Archive :: Issue 7 Military Speech Carol Burke When freshmen, or "plebes," at the U.S. Naval Academy finish their summer basic training, they trade in their "dixie cups" (sailor hats) for "covers" (officer hats) and begin the toughest year in their careers, a year in which "flamers" "ream them out" in front of their peers for minor infractions. Those who receive the harshest abuse are the "shit screens"; those who ingratiate themselves with upperclassmen, the "smacks." In World War II, a pilot would rev up his "coffee grinder" (plane engine) and, with permission of the "madhouse (control tower), take off toward his target, where he would either "hang out the laundry" (drop parachutists), lay a few "eggs" (bombs), or make a "split S" (combat maneuver) and then hightail it from the "junior prom" (hot mission), "flak happy" (suffering from combat fatigue), hoping to get home without a "panting virgin" or a "ruptured duck" (injured plane). Members of the military, like other occupational groups, maintain their own informal vocabulary, one that serves to distinguish them from civilians, to add humor to what is often a tedious job, to relieve anxiety when the tension of war replaces the tedium of peace, and to express their frustration with the hierarchical institution of which they are a small part. In their close-knit communities they pass along inherited and often humorous turns of speech while simultaneously coining new colorful expressions that comment on the particular experiences of their unit. Some of these never make their way out of basic training, some flourish only during a particular mission, while still others become firmly established in a unit's lexicon and foster a sense of exclusivity.
    [Show full text]