Fubar ─ Soldier Slang of World War II

FUBAR is a detailed survey of the slang of WWII as used and evolved by US, German, and Commonwealth fighting men and women. It lists hundreds of these distinctive and evocative words with their definitions and origins, but and also includes contemporary cartoons and images, transporting the reader back through the decades into the world of the WWII warrior.

Humorous, sarcastic, sober, pessimistic, fatalistic, defiant, or defeatist, slang is an important part of every soldier's vocabulary. These words were so ingrained into the soldier's vocabulary that their use was continued by a new generation of soldiers, and by the end of the war some terms had even passed into standard everyday usage.

Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969–70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments until retiring after 26 years. He was a Special Operations Forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas.