killing people and breaking things

[David A. Daniel]

My Navy ROTC instructor said this (about the Navy) in 1967. It was, like,
the first day of class and he had asked "What is the Navy for?" He was
getting all sorts of predictably cute answers like "defend freedom", "defend
the constitution", etc. He finally said, yes, yes, yes, but that's not what
the Navy does. The Navy kills people and breaks things. So, September, 1967.
Unfortunately I no longer have my notes or you could have it in writing. ;)
But it must be in writing somewhere.
DAD


I'm writing an article about the military use of "kinetic", as discussed =
here a few times. A friend who has served in the Army defined it as =
"killing people and breaking things", which I've since learned is a =
common summary of the purpose of an army. The earliest I've found this =
phrase attested is from 1977, via Google Books:

  Armies kill people and break things; therefore, their commitment =
involves serious questions as to who will be killed, what will be =
broken, and how long and by whom the effects will be felt. =20
  Parameters: journal of the US Army War College: Volume 7, Issue 3 =
(1977)

Elsewhere, I've found it vaguely attributed to the Vietnam War era. Does =
anyone here know of earlier uses than 1977 for "kill(ing) people and =
break(ing) things"?

Thanks,

Neal Whitman
Email: nwhitman at ameritech.net
Blog: http://literalminded.wordpress.com

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org