For this week I toyed with a variety of military themes, such as "Eponyms of Traitors" or "Military Eponyms". We could even do a theme of "Eponyms from WWII", but some of those words have already been presented. So instead let's look at WWII terms, eponyms and others.

Lord Haw Haw – a traitor, particularly one who makes propaganda for the enemy
[The nickname given to William Joyce, American born but raised in Ireland. In WWII, Joyce was the Nazis' voice on English-language radio broadcasts of propaganda. "Haw Haw" is a reference to the upper-class British accent.]

Instead there was constant, heavy-handed propaganda … – a Spenglerian radio lecture on the decadence of liberalism and the decline of the West, delivered by a Lord Haw Haw figure with a whining voice …
– Allister Sparks, Beyond the Miracle: Inside the New South Africa

Bonus word:
Spenglerian – relating to the views of Oswald Spengler, who held that all major cultures undergo similar cycles from birth to maturity to decay

In the UK there was no restriction on listening to foreign radio broadcasts (which was not the case in occupied territories where it was a severe crime to listen to the BBC) and Haw Haw was a surprisingly popular radio figure amongst British listeners. Many would listen to him and laugh at his affected accent "Chairmany calling; Chairmany calling" and outrageous propaganda.

I suspect that his broadcasts actually did the German cause more harm than good.

Maginot line – an impressive, expensive but static defense which is ultimately useless against an agile attack. (see quotes; some use the term as a cultural references rather than as a word)
[After WWI, French minister André Maginot devised a line of fortresses along France's east border. The line was fine strategy for a repeat of WWI – but the WWII Germans simply went around it.]

The current Ofcom and BBC rules on product placement are a sort of Maginot line, say many in the industry: they look very formidable in theory but in practice there are many ways round them.
– Alex Benady, The Independent (London), Dec 12, 2005

… no government bureaucracy is ever going to be the kind of well-oiled machine that can reliably and effectively prevent domestic terrorist threats. … Instead, what we have is a kind of antiterror version of France's pre-World War II Maginot Line; an expensive, highly visible static defense against a nimble adversary.
– Wall Street Journal, The Maginot Department: Homeland security is about more than playing defense, December 31, 2005

Culturally, America's clout is so overwhelming that its oldest ally, France, is once more building Maginot lines – this time … against American movies and even words.
- Josef Joffe, New York Times Magazine, June 8, 1997

Don't mistake today's word for luger, an athlete in the sport of luge.

Luger – semiautomatic pistol widely used by Germans in WWII (though introduced earlier). Some consider it to be the finest pistol ever produced.
[After Georg Luger, Ger. firearms expert]

Hordes of brutal-looking, jack-booted police, with loaded Lugers strapped to their hips, moved in with "huge, muzzled dogs at their heels," trying to move the crowd back.
– Bob Spitz The Beatles: The Biography

Bonus word:
jackboot – a person who uses bullying tactics, especially to force compliance. (orig. and also, a stout military boot that extends above the knee)

Toyko Rose – usually refers to the person, but occasionally used to mean one broadcasting negative propagand to military troops
[After the name "Tokyo Rose", given by WWII US troops in the Pacific to several radio female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda.]

In the Christmas tradition of the Andrews Sisters wowing World War II GIs, comedian Al Franken is headlining USO shows at military bases in Iraq this week. Other current regulars include rock musician Henry Rollins [, who] said he generally keeps his anti-war views to himself at USO shows. "You don't need me out there like some Toyko Rose. I wouldn't go on a tear on Bush out there, because it'd be distracting."
– USA Today, Dec. 22, 2005

[Chris] Wallace … had even harsher words for Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, calling him a "Toyko Rose" for suggesting that the war in Iraq is unwinnable.
– Contra Costa Times, Dec. 14, 2005

K-ration – a field ration for U.S. armed forces in World War II, consisting of a single packaged meal
[After Ancel Benjamin Keys (1904-2004), American physiologist]

[After D-day:] As soon as the battle began, however, the advantage would shift to the Germans. Once in France, the Allied … troops would be relatively immobile. Until … self-propelled artillery and trucks [could] come ashore, movement would be by legs rather than half-tracks or tires. The Germans, meanwhile, could move … by road and rail.… all reinforcements, plus every bullet, every bandage, every K ration, would have to cross the English Channel to get into the battle. So the Allies really had two problems – getting ashore, and winning the battle of the buildup.
– Stephen E. Ambrose, D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II

Bonus word:
climactic – adjective form of 'climax'

Garand – a semi-automatic rifle (better known as the M-1) used by U.S. forces during WWII and the Korean War. [Accent on either syllable]
[After John Cantius Garand (1888–1974), Canadian-born American inventor]

… the American M-1 Garand was the best all-purpose military rifle in the world. Overall, however, Americans in Normandy gladly would have traded weapons with the Germans. Especially the tankers. There was a barely suppressed fury … about the inferiority of the Sherman tank.
– Stephen E. Ambrose, Citizen Soldiers [etc]

Another eponymous weapon is the Browning machine gun – a belt-fed machine gun fired over 500 rounds per minute, used by U.S. troops in World War II and the Korean War. It is named after John Moses Browning (1855–1926), American firearms inventor.

quote:

Another eponymous weapon is the Browning machine gun

And why do I think "Brownie" might be an eponym in the future?

Rosie the Riveter – U.S.: a woman industrial worker during WWII

A picture is worth a thousand words. The picture of Rosie, as the mythical poster girl in a campaign to boost war production, shows her character and spirit. Her name is usually used in reference to her, and you won't find it in the dictionaries, but sometimes you will see it as a word. For example:

My father was a foreman in a factory that made bomb-casings. My mother was a Rosie the Riveter.
– Stephen King, It

Grandma worked in the Portland shipyards during the war as one of thousands of Rosie the Riveters.
– Christina Baldwin, Storycatcher

Shouldn't the plural be Rosies the Riveter?

Having a very liberated daughter, we grew up with the Rosie the Riveter posters. I remember calling all over Chicago trying to find one for her room.

I have an Aunt Millie, who actually was a Rosie the Riveter... she worked for Lockheed Aircraft in Marietta, Ga.. while my Uncle Robert was in the Navy, WWII... He joined her there after the war, and they both retired from Lockheed... Bell... Martin... They have lots of stories.

I've heard the term, but never actually the usage, "She was a Rosie the Riveter". It seems quite awkward.

The plural should be Rosies the Riveter, I guess, although Riveter Rosie and Riveter Rosies flow a lot better.

My theme this week is World War II words, and I borrowed wordcrafter's post on "Garand," and Logan asked if it was used often in WWII. Was it, does anyone know?

Coming from the UK and being born too late for WWII, I can't really speak, but I've never heard of a Garand. I have heard of a M-1 rifle, though.

Garand

My father, a veteran of WW2 and the Korean War, used to distinguish in speech between the bolt-action .30-06, pronounced as thirty aught six, but more officially the M1903 (1906), which used the standard cartridge of the time, .30-06 Springfield, and its semi-automatic offspring, the M1 Garand. (He preferred the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle), pronounced as an initialism and not an acronym.) He also used to distinguish between the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine. Many other vets of WW2 would would bring up the infamous Garand thumb when the subject of Garands came up.

I currently live in Richmond, the San Francisco Bay Area city, which was the site of four Kaiser Shipyards, where Liberty and Victory Ships were manufactured by many men and Rosies the Riveter.

Thanks, Zmj. Should I tell Logan that they were common in WWII?