World War II created a brotherhood, and a language all its own. Men from a wide variety of backgrounds were thrown together in close-knit, often boring, frequently dangerous situations, and slang that came from those experiences tied them together and cemented their brotherhood.
WW2 slang helped create an “us” vs. “them” mentality, where them is not only the enemy, but the “Brass” and folks back home who can’t fully understand the world of the fighting man.
WW2 GI SLANG
There are currently 10 names in this directory beginning with the letter H.
Had It
That is, "I’ve had it", "he's had it", and so on. In some cases it inferred a disastrous ending
Ham That Didn't Pass Its Physical.
Spam; the ubiquitous canned meat which was served to soldiers up to 2-3 times per day.
Hangar Queen
An aircraft with an unenviably bad maintenance record. An aircraft spending a great deal of time being repaired or maintained.
Haywire.
Used to describe a piece of equipment that was not behaving itself; or an event that took a bad turn. Derived from the use of haywire (baling wire) to make farm repairs.
WW2 Slang Sources:
“Glossary of Army Slang,” American Speech, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Oct., 1941).
“G.I. Lingo,” American Speech, Vol. 20. No. 2 (Apr. 1945)
War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases Since the Civil War By Paul Dickson
FUBAR: Soldier Slang of WWII By Gordon L. Rottman