2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Mar 12, 2006 4:00:43 GMT -5
Okay here's a few more for you. What are they referring to with these WW2 military expressions:
Front leaning rest position KP GMC Short arm inspection CnC GHQ Strictly from hunger Close enough for government work coffin sticks 3 squares and a cot Indian country
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Post by gunfreak on Mar 12, 2006 5:26:15 GMT -5
3 squares and a cot=brig? or mabye Hospital coffin sticks=potato macher?
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Post by spitfire740 on Mar 12, 2006 12:05:42 GMT -5
CnC = Commander and Chief
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Post by mauser98k on Mar 12, 2006 13:33:30 GMT -5
GMC=truck? close enough for government work=On leave?/weekend pass? Indian country=with the 2nd infantry division? KP=kitchen patrol my guesses!
-mauser
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Post by Go4Broke on Mar 12, 2006 16:47:53 GMT -5
Short Arm Inspection - VD Check? Coffin Sticks - Gliders?
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Mar 13, 2006 15:16:31 GMT -5
So far you've gotten: KP (Kitchen Police), CnC (Commander in Chief) 3 squares and a cot (Military Service for many young men following the depression was a big step up, For my father his uniform was the first new set of clothing he'd ever had) GHQ (general Headquarters) and my favorite: Short arm inspection (VD Check) Nice job Go For Broke!
That still leaves Front leaning Rest Strictly from Hunger, Close enough for government work, Indian Country (An expression started by the 2nd Armored division) and one that may surprise you: Coffin sticks. or sometimes called coffin nails.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Mar 13, 2006 21:02:03 GMT -5
Okay everyone is close enough that I'll tip my hand on the remainders. Helmutt is right it should be CinC? GMC stood for Gun Motor Carriage. Original Tank Destroyers were Half Tracks with AT guns mounted on them. Even the later M-10 and M-36s were often called GMCs so they wouldn't be treated as tanks. (it didn't work as they all too often were treated as tanks and their thin armor and open tops made them extremely vulnerable)
"Strictly from hunger" came from the depression but was an expression used widely in the Army in WW2, it meant what we would today refer to as something that was "Mickey moused" (Thrown together out of desperation that wasn't expected to last.) Indian country was the area between the rapid armored thrusts of a US armored force and the main elements that had to catch up. An armored Battalion might advance 15 miles into enemy lines and the area behind them would be full of usually scattered squads platoons and companies of enemy soldiers who reacted much like bands of roving indians. At night armored columns literally circled the wagons of half tracks and tanks until main division Infantry units caught up and secured lines to their front. (incidently normally tanks on a front line would be withdrawn at night to well behind the lines as they were quite vulnerable to night infantry attacks.) Coffin sticks were indeed ciagrettes. Even in the 40s common sense dictated that smoking really wasn't going to be good for your health. One of the reasons it caught on so completely throughout the world. (along with the fact that it is so adictive) is that soldiers who otherwise knew better, figured they weren't probably going to survive the war anyway. It also was glamorized in films and advertising.
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savoy6
Private 1st Class
Posts: 428
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Post by savoy6 on Mar 14, 2006 12:20:41 GMT -5
that, and the fact they came with everything from K-rats to red cross packages....
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