Soldiers often slap on crinkled, fully brimmed ‘boonie” hats during hot weather.  Why did the hat pick up this unusual name?

Troops in the Philippines during the Spanish-Americal War in the late 1800s sometimes called forest the “boondocks” or “boonies”, derived from a Filipino word for mountains.

During the Vietnam War, soldiers referred to hilly jungles as “boonies” and their headgear as “boonie” hats, said Walter H. Bradford, an expert at the U.S Army Center for Military History.

I hope my friends and customers who served with honor during the Vietnam War era enjoy reading this short article.

Ever wonder why these few notes are so much a part of military life?

While the British have had a similar bugle call, “Last Post”, for more than 100 years, “Taps” is an all-American tradition dating back to the Civil War.

While its exact origin is blurred by time and controversy, “Taps” is widely believed to be a revision of “extinguish lights”, an Army bugle call that signaled the end of the day.

BG Daniel Butterfield, a former first sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient and future major general who would serve as chief of staff of the Army of the Potomac, is believed to have penned “Taps” with the help of his unit’s bugler while commanding a brigade at Harrison’s Landing, Va, during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862.

Butterfield’s revision proved so popular that “Taps” soon was adopted by other units, some of them Confederate.

A tradition dating back to early records of military courtesies holds that men-at-arms crossing each other’s path would raise their right hand to show they were unarmed.  The junior would raise first.

But probably the predecessor of the modern salute is the custom of  juniors removing their headgear in the presence of superiors.  In the British army, the custom became a simple grasp of the visor.

The British soldiers’ salute with palm out is distinct from the American palm-down salute.  The folklore says the palm-down signifies having lost a war.  But more likely, Americans adopted the British navy’s salute: sailors saluted officers with palm down because it was undignified to show a dirty hand to an officer.

The quick answer is to keep the sun out of their eyes.  But the current campaign hat is an adaptation of the old Montana peak hat from the World War I era.  That hat came into use in 1911 but was discontinued in 1942.

In 1964, the hat made a proud comeback, being introduced as the new symbol of a drill sergeant.  In 1972, the drill sergeant hat for women was introduced, with the design based on the Australian bush hat.

The Army says the hat keeps a tradition alive–to connect the past, present and future of the Army.

Maybe so.  But also it’s just a good way to let recruits know that when they see a campaign hat they should stand up straight, get hands out of pockets and stop lollygagging.

Beginning in World War II, the P-38 was standard issue in every box of rations.  Veterans carried it to Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East and with elegant simplicity, indestructibility and versatility, it was treasured by soldiers.

In 1942, the U.S. Army Substistence Research Laboratory in Chicago was presented with the challenge of creating an opener small enough to carry in the pocket.  Moreover, it couldn’t break, rust, need sharpening or polishing.  It took the lab 30 days to invent what was originally dubbed “Opener, Can, Hand, Folding.”   U.S. Army Colonel Renita Menyhert once called it “The Patron Saint of Army Inventions.”

The J.W. Speaker Corp.of Germantown, Wisconsin, was one of the first companies to manufacture the P-38 and it produced millions.  The company’s founder, J.W. Speaker, actually improved the design by adding tabs for the hinge, which held the blade securely open or closed as needed.  J.W. passed away in 1960 nd his son Jack Speaker took over.  “The first contract I bid on was a Department of Defense solicitation for 10 million P-38s, with a rider for 10 million more,” Jack Speaks says.  “The bid was about $12 per thousand.”  He estimates that between 1960 and the late ’80s, his company made around 50 million P-38s.

Luther Hanson, curator at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum in Fort Lee, Va., estimates that “750 million P-38s were produced for WWII” and “at least a billion” from Vietnam to the present.

Beginning with the Gulf War, the P-38 was phased out.  Today, the Speaker Corp. manufactures electrical lighting components for vehicles,but still has about 100,000 P-38s in stock.  You can purchase one at most Army surplus stores for about $1.00.

One story goes that it stemmed from the Vietnam War, because the Vietnamese word for “yes” sounds like ”u-ah”.

Another story is that, in 1841, soldiers attempted to make peace with the Seminole Indians in Florida by hosting a banquet.  During a round of toasts, famed Seminole chief Coacoochee is claimed to have grunted, “hooah!”  That was morphed into today’s utterance.

The most prevalent and most logical explanation is that “hooah” is the phonetic translation of the acronym HUA, which stands for “heard, understood,acknowledged.” 

This phrase is reported to have originated from the British in the late 1800s in Afghanistan.  In the U.S. Army, it is now frequently used as affirmative to a question or statement.

To this day, if I hear anyone utter this word it brings back a flood of great memories.  Hopefully, this short article will bring back good memories for you also.

If there is anything you wish to see, please let me know.

Still Proudly Serving,

Greg