The United States Military has always tried to find ways to seem more intimidating by using psychological warfare. One of the most well-known stories from WWII is the use of Ghost Armies near German lines. The Allies used giant inflatable vehicles to make their military seem larger and crazy enough... It worked! During the Vietnam War, we saw more of these tactics being used. One of the most well-known from this time period is the naming of American aircraft. In 1969 it became Army Regulation to assign names of "Indian terms and names of American Indian tribes and chiefs". The U.S. Military worked with a name list provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to name aircraft like "UH-1H Iroquois" (AKA the Huey), the Shawnee Workhorse, the CH-47 Chinook and the CH-54 Tarhe. A lesser-known story from the Vietnam war is Death Cards. Death Cards can be found to this day in the United States Military but they aren't what you are probably thinking.
During the Vietnam War, soldiers would hear stories and urban legends while deployed. One of these stories was built around playing cards. It was believed by U.S. Soldier
s that the Vietnamese feared the Spade symbol. Upon hearing this story many regiments began adopting Spades and made them symbols of the regiments. By the end of the Vietnam War though most soldiers had learned that this urban legend was false, the tradition had already been developed and adopted by different groups within the 101st Airborne Division. Today the club is worn by the 327th Infantry Regiment, which is most well known for its Waco gliders during WWII. The Diamond is worn by the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. The 501st has been active since 1942 and has the very memorable "Geronimo!" as its motto. The spade is worn by the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. And because it is Valentine's day, and the heart is worn by the 502nd Infantry Regiment.
So we hope you are getting something better than Death Cards this Valentine's Day
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