By Grant Justis, ’14
3A – Third Army.
40 M.M. – Forty Millimeter cannon – an anti-aircraft cannon with a 40mm barrel.
88’s – German Flak 8.8-centimeter Flak cannons. It saw both anti-tank, and anti-aircraft use. Its enormous shells fragmented on impact and created a large area of deadly shrapnel.
ACK-ACK – Anti-Aircraft fire. Nickname made by soldiers based on the sound the cannons made when firing.
B. Btry – Shortened from B. Battery, the battery to which Goetz was assigned.
B.C.– Battalion Commander.
B.E. – Most likely, Battalion executive officer or battalion exec.
Bn – Battalion.
BSO – Base Supply Officer.
Btry HQRS – Battery Headquarters.
Burp Guns – Most likely, MP-40 submachine guns, nicknamed burp guns because of their distinctive sound while firing.
Buzz Bombs – The V-1 Flying bomb, nicknamed the buzz bomb for the sound it made, or German Vergeltungswaffe. It was a pulsejet powered predecessor of the cruise missile.
C rations – The type C rations was canned, pre-cooked, and meant to be given out when Type A (fresh food) or type B (unprepared food, to be made as in a mess hall) could not reach troops. K and D rations are both survival rations, last longer, and require no cooking.
C.P. – Command Post.
C47 – Douglas C-47 Skytrain (or Dakota) a transport airplane meant to move large amounts of men or materiel.
CIC – Combat Information Center.
D-Day – June 6th, 1944. This was the day when Allied forces launched a massive invasion of German-occupied France on the Normandy coast by sea and by air. Paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines prior to the amphibious beach assault.
E.T.O. – European Theater of Operations.
F.A. – Field Artillery.
F.H. Bivouacs – Field Headquarters tents.
Fire Unit – also known as a fire team, is a small infantry unit composed of approximately four men.
F.U. 4 – Field Unit 4.
F.W. 190 – Focke-Wulf 190. a German single seat single engine fighter.
Fortresses– Most likely, the Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress.” It was a four-engine heavy bomber.
G2 – Ground Intelligence.
Gliders – In the Second World War, gliders were used as an alternative (and alongside) parachute troops to deliver men and materiel to the battlefield. They came in many varieties but were made of light materials (like wood) and were disposable.
Grease Guns – M-3 submachine guns, nicknamed grease guns.
LST and Victory Ships – LST is Landing Ship, Tank (designed to hit beaches and offload armor through front opening doors) and Victory Ships were cargo ships hastily constructed to replace the many cargo ships destroyed by German U-boats earlier in the war.
M.G. Emplacements – Machine Gun Emplacements.
M/R – Most likely, Maintenance/Requests.
M51 – When combined with a trailer, the M45 quadmount was called the M51; it was a four barreled .50 caliber anti-aircraft gun.
Marshalling Area – Designated area for amassing troops prior to movement or offensive.
Me 109 – Messerschmitt Bf 109, German fighter aircraft.
MP – Military Police.
P47 – Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. A large single piston engine fighter, carrying four .50 caliber machine guns per wing.
PBM – A Martin PBM Mariner, a flying boat. Gull winged, capable of landing in water.
PFC – Private First Class.
Pill Boxes – concrete guard posts, usually with loopholes through which weapons can be fired.
PW – Prisoner of War.
PWE – Prisoner of war encampments.
PX dinner – Post Exchange dinner. Soldiers could opt to purchase better food from the post exchange; it is essentially a commissary.
Rn. – Most likely, Radio and Navigation
S.A. fire – Surface to Air fire.
S.P. guns – Self propelled guns-such as the howitzer or preacher.
S-2 -Security Officer.
Snafued– A common military acronym, Situation Normal All F**ked Up. In this case, taken as a stand-alone word with an -ed added to mean to see if the soldier had messed up.
SOP – Standard Operating Procedure.
Sub Chaser – Small maneuverable boats, usually of varying designs, assigned to “chase” (meaning surround and destroy or cause to surface) submarines. These were generally part of large convoys to protect the large and loud transport ships.
TAC – Tactical Allied Command.
VCG (in superscript) – Véhicule de Combat du Genie- Armored engineer vehicles.