Did you have a nick name?

[Jeff L]

When I was watching Band of Brothers, I wondered how "Shifty", "Popeye" got their nick names. What was yours and how did you get it?

[Michael Tompkins]

I was called "AAK" at Delta Battery. ("All American Kid" 'cause I had such a baby face and stayed squeaky-clean) and "Gumby" at the 503rd 'cause I was thin and flexible. Mike

[dave]

My nick name is what I use on the forum (why I do not capital it). I was in service and met a bunch of guys and we ran around for 8-9 months. Lot of bar hopping, one of the group seemed drunk all the time, could not remember my first name. He called me Dave and when I finally called him on it he said 'well your last name is Davis, right?' And so it stuck! Saw the guy 20-30 years later in a resturant in Chicago and went over to say hello. I had the name right but he did not remember me or several of the names of the group I mentioned. Guess he was drunk all the time!!

[alibi]

At the time I was on active duty there was a major league baseball player with the same last name that went by the nickname "Doc" so a few people called me "Doc" (we were military police, not medics - that are all universally called "Doc" because of their function)

The First Sergeant of the cavalry troop in which I was the XO (and later when we were assigned to the Division G-4 shop) frequently called me "Daiwie", which I believe is a Vietnamese term of respect, at least I hope it was! I never heard him use the term on anyone else.

[Ron James]

My last name being James I quickly picked up the nick name " Jessie" , because I was more or less the front man for my friends, when ever a difficult task needed to be done it was always " go get the James gang ". Meant faster promotion for all of us but it got old after a while. For the rest of my career, I could arrive at a new station and with in days I was being called Jessie. In fact quite a few people thought that was my legal name

[Dan Shapiro]

"Crash" for short. "Crash and Burn" when being formal.

Not much to do in off hours during the winter months in Germany. So I wandered down to the crafts shop and ended up buying a balsa wood, gas-powered F4U Corsair. Spent about 3 months slowly putting it together.

Came the spring and the snow melted. Saturday morning half the barracks was watching as I took it off for the first (and last) time. Made about 12 loops, when suddenly a puff of smoke came from the cowling area. Then more smoke. Then A LOT OF SMOKE. Then flames. The plane pitched upwards, then slowly fell over on it's back and nose dived into the ground.

I got a standing ovation and a nick name.

[Hap Rocketto]

"The First Sergeant of the cavalry troop in which I was the XO (and later when we were assigned to the Division G-4 shop) frequently called me "Daiwie", which I believe is a Vietnamese term of respect, at least I hope it was! I never heard him use the term on anyone else."

I presume you were a captain at the time as "Dai Uy" is captain in Vietnamese.

[SteveC]

I got two nick-names in basic training, first was "Dead" 'cause I slept quite soundly on my back with my hands folded on my chest. Then, some of the guys started calling me "Prof" or "Professor" because of those ugly black RPG glasses the Army issued. Don't recall being called anything but my last name or "Steve" at duty stations... Well, perhaps a curse word or two from time to time...

[Griff Murphey]

A lot of the platoon leaders and captains in BLT 1-4 called me "Combat Dentist" - presumably a tip of the hat for winning the 3rd Mar Div rifle and pistol intrmural, not for actually engaging IN combat!

My college ROTC rifle team coach~'68 was an Army Captain, had Texas plates "Dai Uy" on his Vette; liked to be called that. Wound up being so addressed myself, by Vietnamese refugees in '75, due to Naval LT RR tracks.

[phil441]

I never had a nick name (that I knew of) but when stationed at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina in the early '60's we had a fellow in the barracks known as Bear. He was a heavy set fellow who on Friday evening, would drag up a case or two of beer next to his bunk and spend the entire weekend drinking beer and watching a B/W TV or sleeping (hibernating).
It wasn't until I left the AF that I realized I didn't know his real name. He was just.... Bear......