A look at how combat, culture, and military tradition influenced soldiers&’ language in Vietnam from the award-winning, USA Today–bestselling author. The slang, or unique vocabulary, of the soldiers and marines serving in Vietnam, was a mishmash of words and phrases whose origins reached back to the Korean War, World War II, and even earlier. Additionally, it was influenced by the United States&’ rapidly changing protest culture, ideological and poetical doctrine, ethical and cultural conflicts, racialism, and drug culture. This &“slanguage&” was rendered even more complex by the Pidgin Vietnamese-English spoken by Americans and Vietnamese alike. But perhaps most importantly, it reflected the soldiers&’ actual daily lives, played out in the jungles, swamps, and hills of Vietnam.