FYI — For Your Information

Hello cyber-friends. This post is proof how much your comments affect what I blog about. I like comments (hint, hint). I also love chatting about what interests YOU.

A few days ago I shared the stories my veteran friends sent me about where they were V-E day (Victory in Europe). You can read that post here.

Gina commented: “I always wondered with those DAYS were all about. D Day, VE Day. You need to do a post JUST on all those abbreviations.”

So I thought I would.

But first I wanted to share a little about my experiences. If you haven’t read the story about how I got the idea for “From Dust and Ashes” you have to read it. Then, you really, truly understand how God led me down this road of historical novels.

What I didn’t tell you in that story was how totally clueless I previous was concerning WWII.

For example, I had no clue what year the U.S. got involved. Or who we were fighting exactly. I knew about the bad Nazis and some thing about the Japanese–because of Pearl Harbor. But I had no idea why we got involved and when. (I seriously cannot remember studying any of this in school. Yikes!)

So honestly, when I started researching for From Dust and Ashes, it was like opening up a whole new world for me. A world I’ve sinse fallen in love with!

Only a few months after I got the idea for From Dust and Ashes, I attended the reunion of the veterans of the 11th Armored Division. Well, of course, these guys knew a little more than me about the war (smile). And they talked in acronyms and slang. Every sentence was filled with them.

So what did I do? I taped the interviews, nodded and smiled like I knew what they were talking about, and went back and looked up the meaning for their words!

So, Gina, I know exactly what you were talking about!

Here are a few basic WWII acronyms and terminology to get you started. You can read more here or here. (These are great resources if you write for this time period!)

C.O. Commanding Officer

D-Day The first day of any military operation, specifically the day OVERLORD was launched; variations include “A-Day”, “”X-Day”, etc.

H.Q. Headquarters

J-series — American term for group of Japanese codes (e.g.: “JN-25”)

MIA Missing in Action

O.S.S. Office of Strategic Services

P.O.W. Prisoner of War

Pathfinder — An aircraft with a specially trained crew, carrying dropping zone/landing zone marking teams, target markers, or navigational aids. It preceded the main force to the dropping zone/landing zone, or target.

Recon Reconnaissance

VE-Day Victory in Europe

VJ-Day Victory in Japan (also sometimes referred to as VP-Day Victory in the Pacific)

WASP Women Airforce Service Pilots

Waffen-SS — Combat arm of the SS, in effect a partial duplication of the German Army

Other websites you might like:

Glossary of German Military Terms and Abbreviations –
Glossary containing hundreds of German terms related to the armed forces of Germany during the WWII era, covering the Heer, Waffen-SS, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Auxiliary and Foreign units.

Navajo Code Talkers’ Dictionary –
A dictionary of the words used by the Navajo Code Talkers to transmit information.

Dictionary of Military Terms and Abbreviations –
A military site containing rank insignia, medals, ribbons, images, and information on the United States’ Armed Forces.

Do you have a question for Tricia Goyer? Leave it in the Comment section.