Pray for Slack

justwantin · 06-03-2019, 07:29 PM

My guess this photo would have been taken in 1967 and probably somewhere around DaNang

frankbell · 06-03-2019, 07:42 PM

That is quite a find.

hitest · 06-03-2019, 08:33 PM

Interesting photograph.

frankbell · 06-03-2019, 08:43 PM

I did a web search for "slack army slang" and found several dictionaries of U. S. military slang, including one specific to Viet Nam, but not a one listed "slack."

cwizardone · 06-03-2019, 09:30 PM

We'll never really know, but given the situation, maybe the "author" was
praying for a break in the hostilities. Or, maybe it has something to do
with tanks and how they operate?
Any tank commanders in the audience?

Quote:

slack1 (sl²k) adj. slack·er, slack·est. 1. Moving slowly; sluggish: a slack pace. 2. Lacking in activity; not busy: a slack season for the travel business. 3. Not tense or taut; loose: a slack rope; slack muscles. See Synonyms at loose. 4. Lacking firmness; flaccid: a slack grip. 5. Lacking in diligence or due care or concern; negligent: a slack worker. See Synonyms at negligent. 6. Flowing or blowing with little speed: a slack current; slack winds. --slack v. slacked, slack·ing, slacks. --tr. 1. To make slower or looser; slacken. 2. To be careless or remiss in doing: slack one's duty. 3. To slake (lime). --intr. 1. To be or become slack. 2. To evade work; shirk. --slack n. 1. A loose part, as of a rope or sail. 2. A lack of tension; looseness. 3. A period of little activity; a lull. 4.a. A cessation of movement in a current of air or water. b. An area of still water. 5. Unused capacity: still some slack in the economy. 6. slacks. Casual trousers that are not part of a suit. --slack adv. In a slack manner: a banner hanging slack. --phrasal verb. slack off. To decrease in activity or intensity. [Middle English slak, from Old English slæc. See sl¶g- below.] --slack“ly adv. --slack“ness n.
slack2 (sl²k) n. A mixture of coal fragments, coal dust, and dirt that remains after screening coal. [Middle English sleck.]
slack3 (sl²k) n. Chiefly British. 1. A small dell or hollow. 2. A bog; a morass. [Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki.]
————————————————————
sl¶g-. Important derivatives are: slack1, lax, relax, languish.
sl¶g-. To be slack, be languid. Possibly related to sl¶b- through a hypothetical base *sl¶- (< *sle…-). Zero-grade form *sl…g-, becoming *slag-. 1. SLACK1, from Old English slæc, “loose,” indolent, careless, from Germanic *slak-. 2. Suffixed form *lag-so-. LAX; RELAX, from Latin laxus, loose, slack. 3. Suffixed nasalized form *la-n-g-u-. LANGUISH, from Latin langu¶re, to be languid. 4. Compound *lag-ous-, “with drooping ears” (*ous-, ear; see ous-). LAGOMORPH, from Greek lag½s, lagos, hare. 5. Suffixed form *lag-no-. ALGOLAGNIA, from Greek lagnos, lustful, lascivious. 6. Basic form *sl¶g-. CATALECTIC, from Greek l¶gein, to leave off. [Pokorny (s)l¶g- 959.]

Richard Cranium · 06-03-2019, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankbell

I did a web search for "slack army slang" and found several dictionaries of U. S. military slang, including one specific to Viet Nam, but not a one listed "slack."

Try "slack marine slang".

Both branches are insulted when you imply they are the same.

Since I was US Army, I'll relate the following:

One of our fellow LTs had been in the US Marine Corps. When one of us (i.e. US Army LTs) called him an "ex-Marine", he replied "There is no such thing as an 'ex-Marine'; I am a 'former Marine'."

One of side our other LTs then replied with: "Oh, so it's like the clap: you can get rid of the symptoms, but not the disease."

justwantin · 06-03-2019, 09:50 PM

From the Unofficial Unabridged Dictionary for Marines

Quote:

To treat with a reduced level of emphasis. To give someone slack. To ease off.

frankbell · 06-03-2019, 09:53 PM

I tried "slack marine slang" and "slack military slang." The only reference I found to anything slack seems to have no relevance at all to the picture:

Quote:

SLACK MAN: second man in a patrol, behind the POINTMAN.

Source: http://www.vietvet.org/glossary.htm

AlleyTrotter · 06-03-2019, 09:56 PM

cut me some slack

justwantin · 06-03-2019, 10:04 PM

Quote:

"There is no such thing as an 'ex-Marine'; I am a 'former Marine'.

It was always said "once a Marine always a Marine" but in 2010 the Commandant of the Marine Corps made it official policy

Quote:

A Marine is a Marine. I set that policy two weeks ago – there’s no such thing as a former Marine.

You’re a Marine, just in a different uniform and you’re in a different phase of your life. But you’ll always be a Marine because you went to Parris Island, San Diego or the hills of Quantico.

There’s no such thing as a former Marine.

https://www.usmclife.com/2017/07/marine-always-marine/

There can be exceptions. The privilege is lost if given a dishonorable discharge.

gus3 · 06-03-2019, 10:18 PM

There is another tank in front of the one with the stencil. Maybe that other tank is the "point"? Then the stencil would make sense.

justwantin · 06-04-2019, 01:05 AM

Sorry to but in again ... I don't remember where I came across that photo .... however, I expect it originally came from a book titled Praying for Slack: A Marine Corps Tanker in VietNam by Robert E Peavey. It must have made an impression somewhere as there is also a military diorama available for sale on the net with two Marines, one standing and one reclining in a hammock suspended from a tank barrel bearing the logo PRAY FOR SLACK.

montagdude · 06-04-2019, 07:12 AM

Why is everyone so sure it isn't referring to the long-awaited release of Slackware 15?

Slackware_fan_Fred · 06-08-2019, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montagdude

Why is everyone so sure it isn't referring to the long-awaited release of Slackware 15?

lol yeah maybe he was sent to the past.

Captain Brillo · 06-08-2019, 09:23 PM

I wonder if it's something to do with tank treads - maybe "slack" in the tread messes with them and keep you 'safe" at base?