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YANK :
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the world's first international news and entertainment magazine,
subtitled "the voice of the enlisted man"; being staffed by and
published for U.S. Army EMs and NCOs, as endorsed by Chief of
Staff George C. Marshall. Printed (1942-46) rotogravure 24-page
11" X 14" saddlestitch format that sold for five-cents a copy;
featuring articles, letters, stories, poems, cartoons, photos,
and a full-page pin-up picture. Although edited and censored for
wartime distribution, it was considered a necessary "safety
valve" against combat tensions and the PARTY LINE of officialdom;
hence some images and expressions from YANK were used by the
enemy to demonstrate American decadence. YANK often shared
resources with STARS AND STRIPES, but they weren't in competition
... YANK published more features and less news in 21 theater
editions. See SAD SACK, JOURNAL. [nb: "Army Times", "Navy Times",
"Air Force Times", "Marine Gazette", and other service-oriented
newspapers are proprietary publications, just as "Army",
"Leatherneck", "Sea Power", "Air Power", "National Guard",
"Legion", "VFW", and other quasi-military magazines are
proprietary publications of their respective professional or
veteran associations, which are neither endorsed nor sponsored by
the military]
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YANK 'n' BANK :
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aviator's rhyming slang for maneuvering aircraft; see BANK, JINK,
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, DOGFIGHT, AEROBATICS; compare ANGLES 'n'
DANGLES.
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YANKEE :
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slang for a native or citizen of the USA, being any American,
especially a soldier (eg: "Billy Yank") or other national
representative; see GI JOE, DOUGHBOY, GRUNT, UGLY AMERICAN,
POLITICIAN, PORK BARREL, BELTWAY BANDIT, CIVILIAN [nb: non-Dutch
YANKEEs were identified as "John Cheese" in early America;
compare UNCLE SAM]. [nb: American YANKEEs have been characterized
in the past as being "Overpaid, over-sexed, and over here!", but
are more recently being described as "Overpaid, over-equipped,
and over-confident!"]
Also, the NICKNAME of the 26th Infantry Division.
Also, the word assigned to represent the letter "Y" in the
international phonetic alphabet; at various times in different
spelling schemes, it has also been acrophonetically represented
as Yoke. See ALPHABET SOUP, PHONETIC ALPHABET. [v: Alphabet Codes &
Signal Flags]
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YANKEE SAMURAI :
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NICKNAME for members of the 306th Language Detachment; composed
of Nisei and Sansei, who underwent MILS training, and who then
served as translators in the Southwest Pacific and CBI theaters
during WWII. See SACO, OSS.
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YANKEE STATION :
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designation for the Carrier Task Force situated north of the DMZ
off-shore of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. See DIXIE STATION,
TONKIN GULF YACHT CLUB, FLOAT.
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YARD :
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affectionate slang for MONTAGNARD (mountain people), who are the
non-Chinese ethnic peoples inhabiting the CENTRAL HIGHLANDS of
INDOCHINA, who primarily comprised the Civilian Irregular Defense
Group (CIDG); see BODE, HMONG, NUNG, STRIKER, RF/PF, LITTLE BROWN
BROTHER, LITTLE PEOPLE, INDIG, BAJARHAKO, FULRO, WHITE ELEPHANT.
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YARDARM :
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either end of a center-mounted SPAR or yard. In modern vessels,
the place where flags and pennants are often attached. See STICK;
compare BOOM.
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YARDBIRD :
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informal designation for a recruit or trainee; see CRUIT, BOOT,
MAGGOT, SLICK SLEEVE, EM [nb: it's a well established fact that a
good Drill Sergeant will take the raw material of a civilian and
turn him into a soldier in the same way that he would take a
tangled mess of steel wool and knit it into a tank!]. Also, any
incompetent or fumbling person; see DUD, TURD, DEADHEAD,
GOLDBRICK, POGUE, HORSE MARINE. Also, any convict detained in a
military STOCKADE or prison; a jailbird, con, or prisoner [nb:
persons incarcerated for violations of the UCMJ are regulated by
military law and custom, but are denied the privileges thereof,
such as saluting].
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YAW :
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the rotation of a ship, aircraft, or missile about its vertical
axis so as to cause its longitudinal axis to deviate from the
heading or flight line in its horizontal plane; the existence of
an Angle between the longitudinal axis of a projectile at any
moment and the tangent to the trajectory in the corresponding
point of flight of the projectile. The deviating motion or axial
oscillation of a vessel or projectile from its straight course or
stable attitude; see PITCH, ROLL, HEAVE, ATHWART, CRAB, ATTITUDE
ADJUSTMENT. Also, one of the lesions or eruptions of the
infectious tropical disease "yaws", being a singular
back-formation from the plural; also called "frambesia". See
JUNGLE ROT.
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YEAR ZERO :
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socio-political objective of revolutionary Khmer, denoting
messianic movements rather than retrograde; that instead
of a reversion to the beginning of time, the new beginning at
YEAR ZERO was like the communist paradise, with only the perfect
true-believers advancing into the Promised Land. The movements
had isolation and purity in common, but one was regressive and
the other was progressive. Neither one was a fit habitat for
imperfect people, hence the Cambodian holocaust! See ANGKOR WAT,
KHMER ROUGE.
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YELLOW BIRD :
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operational name of a clandestine "underground railroad" rescue
network established to evacuate Mainland Chinese dissidents
seeking escape from Red China (PRC) after the 1989 Tiananmen
Square MASSACRE, by a cooperative arrangement of CIA-supplied
disguises with Tong smuggling practices, which spared thousands
of lives, resettling these refugees outside the communist bloc.
See E&E, BRIGHT LIGHT, SAFE, BLOOD CHIT, IRC, DP, BOAT
PEOPLE. [nb: the Japanese "yakuza" is a secret society of
racketeers, equivalent to the Italian mafia/maffia and Chinese
tong/triad, meaning 'good-for-nothing', as derived from the
losing hand (ie: 8,9,3) in a card game; cf: "dead man's hand" of
aces and eights, held by James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok (2 Aug
1876)]
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YELLOW BRICK ROAD :
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slang reference for the prominent spur of the HO CHI MINH TRAIL
network that delivered PAVN soldiers and materiel to the DaNang
area of ICTZ, the most northerly zone in South Vietnam.
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YELLOWCAKE :
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a processed oxide of uranium #U3O8, being the raw material for
fuel elements in nuclear reactors; see CBR, HAZMAT, COCKTAIL,
SOUP, HOT GREASE, HEAVY WATER, SCRAM, TOMB, NUKE, GROUND ZERO.
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YELLOW DOG :
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any craven, contemptible, or despicable person, race, or nation,
especially the American assessment of Asian troops, which
stereotype was disproven, and disbelieved by ADVISORs. See WHITE
MICE, PAPER TIGER, RICE CHRISTIAN, WHITE ELEPHANT, ARMY
CHRISTIAN.
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YELLOW JACK :
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slang for Yellow Fever; see FOUO, BONE BREAK FEVER, CHIKUNGUNYA,
MALARIA, CORK. Also, a yellow flag signaling quarantine. Also, a
yellow flag or marker used as a warning or caution, since
displaced by a (Zebra-) striped panel or red marker; see RED
FLAG, BLACK FLAG, WHITE FLAG. Also, a Caribbean food fish.
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YELLOWLEG :
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air or armored cavalryman or TANKER, from the old cavalry branch
yellow-colored stripe running down the outside of pant legs; the
mounted rifles (designated green) and dragoons (designated
orange) are historically distinct but have merged in the modern
army. See ARM, TRACK, TANK, ACR, CAV, AIR CAV, AM, AMBL,
AIRMOBILE, HELIBORNE, AIR ASSAULT, AA, SLICK, MECH, PONY SOLDIER,
DRAGOON, LONG KNIFE, KILL RING.
[nb: the last U.S. Army horse-mounted cavalry attack was not the
1916 Pershing campaign into Mexico, but the 1942 defense of
Manilla against Imperial Japanese occupation]
[nb: a scrap of largely blue and red tartan, with the thread
count falling in sevens, entitled "The 7th Cavalry Tartan",
appears in a Scottish pattern book of the 19th century, which
researchers now conclude was a design commissioned by George
Armstrong Custer for outfitting a regimental marching band of
pipers and drummers, which order was interrupted by the 1876
Battle of the Little Bighorn]
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YELLOW RAIN :
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powdery yellow deposits containing a fungal toxin (tricothecene)
identified in SouthEast Asia; alleged by some to be a chemical
weapon, and by others to be contaminated bee excrement. See CBR,
COCKTAIL, HAZMAT.
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YELLOW RIBBON :
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Gadsden snake
as yellow ribbon
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a yellow-colored ribbon displayed by veterans and civilians as a
symbol of solidarity with troops serving in a combat zone, with
political hostages, and other patriotic expressions; probably
derived from 19th century marching song: "She Wore A Yellow
Ribbon". See SHOW THE FLAG, COLORS, LITMUS TEST, V-CAMPAIGN,
WINTER SOLDIER, HALF-MAST, MOURNING BAND.
[nb: the popular song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak
Tree", written by Russell Brown and Irwin Levine, and variously
performed by Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton, Harry Connick, and other
singers, is about an ex-convict who's released from prison in
hopes of returning home ... it has absolutely nothing to do with
honorable servicemembers returning home from a combat zone, not
even with POWs released from captivity, but this song was widely
played after the GULF WAR to show "support for the troops",
perhaps because traditional songs were too patriotic, and no new
patriotic songs were written (and released) until after the 9/11
2001 TERRORIST incident]
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YELLOW SHEET :
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a docket of particular criminal investigations or accusations,
arrests and convictions, a "rap sheet" or booking docket; being
prosecutorial background material for extenuation or mitigation
in sentencing [v: mittimus] during a court martial. Compare
ARTICLE 15; see UCMJ, BOARD OF INQUIRY, CAPTAIN'S MAST, ROCKS 'n'
SHOALS, DRUMHEAD.
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YEN :
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the basic monetary unit of currency in Japan, as originally
derived from Chinese YUAN (circular / round); see LEGAL TENDER.
Also, an Americanism for desire, want, fancy, appetite, urge,
yearning, longing, hankering, pining, aching; adapted from
Chinese dialect for craving or addiction.
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YIPPIE :
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politically active HIPPIES who attempted to impose the
countercultural tenets of the 1962 "Port Huron Statement" upon
the greater society, along with other radical groups, like the
Action Faction, Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), Weathermen, and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS);
the acronym derived from Youth International Party. See NEW MOBE,
NCC, FIFTH COLUMN, BLACK BLOC, BULLSHITVIK, BY ANY MEANS
NECESSARY, PROTESTOR, APOCALYPSE. [cf: yuppie (young urban
professional); yeppie (young educated professional); buppie
(black upwardly-mobile professional); fuppie (female
upwardly-mobile professional); guppie (gay urban professional)]
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YO-HO POLE :
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a flexible bamboo carrying yoke, sized about 5' long with a
diameter from 3" to 1", as used to transport heavy loads by human
labor in Burma (Myanmar); so called by Allied prisoners in POW
camps during WWII. See DUMMY STICK.
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YOUNG LIONS :
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enthusiastic and fierce young servicemen who seek glory, by
analogy with untested beasts, but probably related to lionize,
for deserving accolades; the reference to a "pride of young
lions" has the double meaning of a proud corps, also known as
"New Breed", "New Centurions", or "Young Turks"; compare
MOSSBACK, OLD BREED, MAVERICK, see BOOTSTRAP. Also, one of the
many designations (eg: Tiger Battalion, Leopard Brigade, etc) for
BABY BRIGADE units in foreign MILITIAs composed of male and
female children or adolescents specifically recruited and trained
for a suicidal zeitgeist or psychopathic nihilism.
[nb: an objective of military indoctrination is to discern those
trainees who are intuitively aggressive combatants; since anyone
can be taught to shoot or swim or fly, it's crucial to identify
those with inherent "fighting spirit", because nobody can teach
"guts"!] [nb: "An army of asses led by a lion is preferable to an
army of lions led by an ass."]
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YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND :
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a leadership style that attempts to exemplify the suitability for
command of lieutenants and other aspiring deputies for the
edification of the chief or ultimate authority, who is often
aloof or remote ... the high-handed practices of the Bataan Gang
seeking to anticipate and appease the "genius" of General Douglas
("El Supremo") MacArthur is a case in point. The misfeasance or
maladministration of henchmen or wheeler-dealers on behalf of
vest-pocket despots and double-breasted tyrants is not new (eg:
"Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" said of Thomas
Becket by Henry II); it's seemingly endemic to the social
dynamics of hierarchical associations, as evinced by military and
religious organizations, academic and governmental institutions,
all of which allege a higher calling to a nobler service. See
BRASS-COLLAR, MARTINET, BRASS EAR, HIGHER, BROWN NOSER, KHAKI
MAFIA, MILICRAT, LDR, NATIONAL SECURITY, PARTY LINE, POLITICIAN.
[nb: the exact statement is disputed, and even the Latin
quotation recorded by Edward Grim varies: "What sluggards, what
cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their
allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome
priest." or "What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished
and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated
with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?"; however, the
four knights (Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Moreville, William de
Tracy, and Richard le Breton), who sought to curry favor with the
king by assassinating the archbishop of Canterbury on 29 December
1170, fell into disgrace for their (mis)deed, but later, during
the Revolt of 1173, the king performed a public act of penance,
which absolved him of all responsibility]
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Y SI :
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MONTAGNARD term for medic, corpsman, physician. See Bac Si, DOC,
BABY DOC, BONE CUTTER, SAWBONES.
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YUAN :
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the basic monetary unit of currency in China, as derived from
circular or round ("chin yuan"); compare YEN; see TAEL, SYCEE,
RENMINBI, LEGAL TENDER.
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