A couple of examples of black-GI slang influenced by German

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated Tue, 27 Jul 2004 02:14:18 -0400,
Wilson Gray <hwgray at EARTHLINK.NET> writes inter alia:

>  the "Unites States Colored Troops," to revive a term
>  from the Civil War

In 1970 or 1971 I checked out a book from the library of Fort Myer, Virginia.
 Stamped inside the front cover was the notice "For the use of colored troops
at Fort Sill".  The book was "Paul Revere and the World He Lived In" by
Esther Forbes, which had a first hardcover edition of 1942, so it appears that the
expression "colored troops" (I don't remember if it were capitalized) was
still in official use, at least by Army librarians, during World War II.

(I remember this notice due to the irony of juxtaposing the iconic Paul
Revere with segregated libraries.)

>  Black generals
>  finally *commanded,* instead of merely acting as the adjutants - a
>  military term meaning approximately "manservants" - of white generals.

Are you sure you mean "adjutant" and not "aide de camp"?  "Adjutant" among
other things is an official position, the chief administrative officer of a
unit, and the average officer who holds such a title and position is too busy with
paperwork to have time to be a general's flunky.  The duties of an "aide"
however vary from general to general and frequently involves being a manservant.
(A riddle I once heard:  What's the difference between an aide and a chief of
staff?  The aide also fixes coffee.)

              - James A. Landau