Navy Lingo & a Visit to the WWII Memorial
Douglas Karr, Petty Officer Second Class, United States Navy Veteran
Most people don’t realize that they utilize lingo from sailors on a daily basis. I wanted to share some of the more common sayings that you might use but didn’t even know came from ol’ salts!
Are you pooped out? The aft deck of old ships was also called the poop deck. When a huge wave hit the boat, it often washed the sailors violently to the back… pooping them out!
Feeling under the weather? The further you’re up on a boat, the more it sways. Getting below decks and closer to the waterline was something you’d do if you were feeling sea sick.
Gotta gotta footloose? Had nothing to do with Kevin Bacon. The foot was the bottom of a sail and if it wasn’t secured, the sail would flap wildly in the wind… footloose.
Are you groggy? Grog was the combination of Rum and water that was rationed to sailors (originally by British Admiral Vernon – Old Grogham, himself). Groggy was how a sailor felt after a drinking too much of the swill.
Got a clean bill of health? When ships used to leave, they used to have to get certified that the sailors, food, animals and other cargo carried neither disease nor infection. The ships were given an actual paper called the ‘bill of health’.
Due for an overhaul? Dragging ropes for sails would chafe the ropes, wearing them out. Before the days of pulleys, sailors had to climb up and haul the ropes over the sails.
Don’t let the cat out of the bag! In the British Navy, whipping was the punishment for a sailor getting into serious trouble. The cat o’ nine tails was a whip that was kept in a leather bag. Letting the cat out of the bag wasn’t good news!
Feeling like you’re in the doldrums? The doldrums is a part of the ocean near the equator that’s characterized by little wind and waves… getting caught in the doldrums could strand a ship for quite a while.
You passed with flying colors! Colors is the word used for your ship’s flag. All ships fly colors to let other ships know their country of origin. So… as you went by one another, you passed with flying colors. Showing your true colors is another term… ships would sometimes disguise themselves by flying another country’s flags.
It’s pretty surprising how many terms we use every day that were started by sailors!
In other news: Bob Dole – now 86 years old; can you believe it? – was in D.C. over the weekend for an appearance on ABC TV. Dole, a World War II vet, also made a visit to the World War II Memorial.
Visitors were a bit surprised to see Dole looking a bit frail, but despite his age, Dole got out of his vehicle and strolled around the Memorial, greeting fellow veterans, 108 of which were flown to D.C. from South Carolina. Twenty-nine were in wheelchairs, several carried oxygen tanks, and others required assistance while walking around the Memorial site.
Dole patiently greeted each veteran, shaking their hands and taking pictures. Dole, who was injured during WWII and permanently lost use of his right arm, spent several years lobbying for the construction of a WWII memorial in the Senate.
As a passionate crusader for his fellow veterans, Dole works with Honor Flight Network, which transports WWII vets to D.C. just to visit the World War II Memorial. Dole is always there to greet them, unless he is ill – and when he is unavailable, his wife, Elizabeth, travels to the Memorial in her husband’s place, greeting the men who served alongside her husband.
About 3,000 vets are expected to fly to D.C. to visit the Memorial this September.
“I’m going to be in town,” Dole said, “if I’m in good health.”
After greeting the 108 veterans, Dole thanked them for their service and took a group photo. He made sure to position himself appropriately when taking pictures with the veterans in wheelchairs, and made jokes about the ages of his fellow veterans. After saying “What are you, about 75?” to one wheelchair-bound veteran, Dole was surprised to learn that his fellow comrade was actually 90. A vet standing nearby, leaning on his cane for support, spoke up and told the crowd that he is 94.
Many of the vets present at the Memorial this past weekend said that they felt a bond with Dole. “I’ve been knowing him for a long time,” said veteran Edward Hutto, who joined the Navy when he was just 17 and was visiting D.C. for the very first time.
“Of course, I’ve never met him before,” he said.
Dole feels passionate about bringing WWII vets to the Memorial. “We can’t wait too long,” he said. “The average age [of WWII veterans] is 84 or 85.” According to the Honor Flight Network, 800 vets will visit D.C. this year.
If you ask Dole whether or not the veterans who visit the Memorial appreciate his work, he’ll mention a letter that he received from a veteran living in Ohio. The man wrote:
“I truly felt like a ‘hero for a day.’ This came at a time for me, for the past 3 years, I had been having a very difficult time emotionally and my self esteem was at rock bottom. [Dole’s talk] boosted my self esteem to where I think maybe I really did make a difference.”