[Ads-l] antedating "MIA"

ADSGarson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Wed Apr 12 17:31:59 UTC 2023


Perhaps, I should have said "here is a collection of initialisms"
instead of acronyms.
This distinction seems to be linguistically endangered.
Garson

On Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 1:26 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Great improvement, JL.
> Here are a collection of acronyms from a Regimental Roster dated 1918.
> However, strictly speaking, the book was printed April 15, 1919.
>
> Title: A History of the 1st. U. S. Engineers, 1st U. S. Division
> Printed Coblenz, Germany, April 15, 1919
> Quote Page 122
> https://books.google.com/books?id=7QxWAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Regimental+Roster%22#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Regimental Roster
> Officers and Men
> serving with the 1st Engineers between Oct. 15 1917-Nov. 11 1918
>
> KEY
> K.I.A. Killed in action
> G.I.A. Gassed in action
> S.W.I.A. Severely wounded in action
> W.I.A. Wounded in action
> D.W. Died of wounds
> D.D. Died of disease
> M.I.A. Missing in action
> S.S. Shell Shock
> A.D.S.C. Awarded Distinguished Service Cross
> A.C.G. Awarded Croix de Guerre
> A.B.C. Awarded Belgian Cross
> A.M.H. Awarded Medal of Honor
> C.I.D.O. Cited in Division Orders
> [End excerpt]
>
> On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 6:21 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > With WIA, KIA bonus:
> >
> > 1919 _Kansas City Star_ (Apr. 13) 14A:  A Kansas City Girl Helped Search
> > Records for Soldiers "M.I.A." ... "But sometimes we found W.I.A. or M.I.A.
> > (wounded in action) or (missing in action) [sic]....but our saddest duty
> > was to trace a man's record to a little card -- K.I.A. -- date, place,
> > cemetery, grave number."
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 5:36 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > OED: 1946.
> > >
> > > 1944 _Springfield [Mass.] Daily Republican_ (July 20) 3: In Washington,
> > > the War Department file on Pfc Fred T. Gentry...reads "M. I. A." - missing
> > > in action.
> > >
> > > 1945 _Seattle Daily Times_ (Jan. 25) 2: I've come back with two engines
> > > wind-milling...and still not been worried - in any other plane you'd figure
> > > you were automatically M. I. A. (missing in action).
> > >
> > > JL
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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


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