[Ads-l] antedating "MIA"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thanks, G.

Great sleuthing.

The impression I get (from print) is that relatively routine,
conversational use of "MIA" and "KIA" (certainly outside of the military)
didn't develop until the '70s.  Nor do they appear much, if at all, in WW2
novels by veterans like (James Jones, Norman Mailer, et al.) - or WW2
nonfiction.

JL

On Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 1:32 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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
>


-- 
"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