Talk:List of military figures by nickname

Latest comment: 5 years ago by Trekphiler in topic List vs Table, and multiple nicknames ?

list of military figures [not by nickname...] edit

Oops. I scrooed up.... And, truth to tell, I don't know how to fix it. Trekphiler 06:32, 3 October 2006 (UTC)Reply

Fixed for you - nice page --ArmadilloFromHell 06:35, 3 October 2006 (UTC)Reply
Gracias. Too bad the Admins don't think so... Seems to me if we've got pages on sports nicknames & porn actors, this is defensible. Lots of people have heard of "Desert Fox" & "Boy" Browning, but can't name him (hell, I had to look up Browning's real name!), & might find this useful... Trekphiler 12:29, 4 October 2006 (UTC)Reply
  • verifiable? These are historical figures. Almost any reputable history book on the given subject will name them. For instance, Ryan's A Bridge Too Far extensively refers to Boy Browning; almost any reference to the Singapore campaign mentions Yamashita, as do sources on the U.S. invasion of the Philippines (as does your own article!); several sources on the U.S. defense of the Philippines mentions "Dougout Doug"; the "Desert Fox" everybody knows. Need I go on? Trekphiler 12:35, 4 October 2006 (UTC)Reply

Merge? edit

Given this page is under question for lack of notability, I suggest merging it here, with a redirect from List of military figures by nickname so somebody looking for specifically military nicknames will know where to look. Trekphiler 10:27, 8 October 2006 (UTC)Reply

Sources edit

I added these:

  • Keegan, John. In the Know. Toronto: Key Porter Books, 2003.
  • Stanley, Roy M., II, Colonel, USAF. World War II Photo Intelligence. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981.
  • Brickhill, Paul. The Dam Busters. New York: Ballantine, 1955.
  • Barris, Ted. Behind the Glory. Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1992.
  • Hastings, Max. Overlord. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984.
  • ________. Bomber Command. New York: Dial Press/James Wade, 1979.
  • Faltum, Andrew. The Essex Aircraft Carriers. Charleston, SC: The Nautical & Aviation Publication Company of America, 2000 (third edition)
  • Goldstein, Donald M., & Dillon, Katherine V., eds. The Pearl Harbor Papers. McLean, VA: Brassey's (US), 1993.
  • Middlebrook, Martin. Convoy. Markham, ON: Penguin Books, 1978 (reprints Allan Lane 1976 edition)
  • Saward, Dudley. "Bomber" Harris. London: Buchan & Enright, 1984.
  • Jones, Reginald V. Professor. Most Secret War. London: Coronet Books, 1979.
  • Price, Alfred, Dr. Aircraft versus the Submarine. London: William Kimber & Co., 1973.
  • Johnson, William E., Air Vice Marshal, RAF. The Story of Air Fighting. London: Hutchinson, 1985.
  • Dönitz, Karl, Grossadmiral, translated by Stevens, R. H., & Woodward, David. Memoir: Ten Years & Twenty Days. Cleveland: World Publishing Co, 1959 (reprint 1958 Anthenãum-Verlag, Zehn Jahre und Zwanzig Tage)
  • MacArthur, Douglas, General of the Army. Reminiscences. Crest Books/Fawcett, 1965 (reprints 1964 McGraw-Hill edition)
  • Alperovitz, Gar. Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb. New York: Vintage Books/Random House, 1996.
  • Galland, Adolf, translated by Small, Mervyn. The First & the Last. London: Methuen & Co., 1970 (reprints Die Ersten und Die Letzen, Franz Schneekluth 1953 edition)
  • Winter, Denis. First of the Few. London: Allen Lane/Penguin, 1982.
  • van der Vat, Dan. The Atlantic Campaign. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
  • ___________. The Pacific Campaign. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1992.
  • Addington, Larry H., Prof. The Blitzkrieg Era & the German General Staff. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1971.
  • Young, Desmond, Brigadier. World Almanac Book of World War II. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1981.
  • Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books/HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.
  • Edgerton, Robert. Warriors of the Rising Sun. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997.
  • Ito, Masanoru, with Pineau, Roger, translated by Kuroda, Andrew, & Pineau, Roger. The End of the Imperial Japanese Navy. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1962 (translation of 1956 Japanese language Orion edition)
  • Stephan, John J. Hawaii under the Rising Sun. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984.
  • Willmott, H. P. Empires in the Balance. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute Press, 1982.
  • ________. The Barrier and the Javelin. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute Press, 1983.
  • Hart, Sydney. Submarine Upholder. London: Oldbourne Book Co., 1960.
  • Mars, Alastair, RN. Unbroken. London: Frederick Muller Ltd., 1953.
  • Shenkman, Richard. Legends, Lies, & Cherished Myths of World History. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
  • Dean, Maurice, Sir. The RAF & Two World Wars. London: Cassell, 1979.
  • Cowley, Rober, ed. What If?. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1999 (tenth print)
  • Seaton, Albert, Colonel, British Army (rtd). The German Army 1939-45. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982.
  • Weigley, Russell F. Eisenhower's Lieutenants. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1981.
  • Carver, Michael, Field Marshal Sir. The War Lords. Boston: Little Brown, 1976.
  • Deighton, Len. Fighter. London: Triad Panther, 1979.
  • Lyall, Gavin, ed. The War in the Air. New York: Ballantine, 1972.
  • Hayashi, Saburo, & Coox, Alvin D. Kōgun. Quantico, WV: Marine Corps Association, 1959 (reprints Teiheiyo Senso Rikusen Gaishi, Tokyo, 1951)
  • Peattie, Mark R., & Evans, David C. Kaigun. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute Press, 1997.
  • Liddle, P. H. The Airman's War. Poole, Britain: Blandford, 1987.
  • Friedman, Norman. United States Destroyers. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1982.
  • ________. United States Aircraft Carriers. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute Press, 1983.
  • Smith, Stan. The Destroyermen. New York: Belmont Books, 1986.
  • Farago, Ladislas. The Tenth Fleet. New York: Paperback Library, 1972.
  • Schultz, Duane. Wake Island. New York: Playboy Press, 1979.
  • Humble, Richard. Japanese High Seas Fleet. London: Pan/Ballantine, 1973.
  • Macintyre, Donald, Captain, RN. The Encyclopedia of Sea Warfare. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1976.
  • Allen, H.R. "Dizzy", Wing Commander, RAF. Who Won the Battle of Britain?. London: Arthur Barker Ltd., 1974.
  • Von Der Porten, Edward P. The German Navy in World War II. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1969.
  • Gallery, Daniel V., Admiral, USN (rtd). U-505. New York: Paperback Library, 1968 (reprints Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea, 1956).
  • Beurling, George F., with Roberts, Leslie. Malta Spitfire. Toronto: Penguin, 2002 (reprints 1943 Farrar & Rinehart edition).
  • Tsuji, Masunobu, Colonel, IJA, translated by Lake, Margaret E. Singapore. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1961 (English edition of Shonan)
  • Preston, Anthony. Destroyers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Bison/Prentice-Hall, 1977.
  • Holmes, Wilfrid R. "Jasper", USN. Double-Edged Secrets. New York: Berkley, 1981.
  • ______. Undersea Victory. New York: Doubleday, 1966.
  • Beach, Edward L. "Ned", Captain, USN (rtd). Submarine!. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1952 (reprinted 2003 by United States Naval Institute Press).
  • Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1975.
  • Ryan, Cornelius. A Bridge Too Far. London: Coronet Books, 1874.

Still think it needs more? Trekphiler 07:17, 11 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

BTW, before I added this list, I also used Wikipedia articles. Or don't they count? Trekphiler 08:57, 11 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

Just a coupla guys edit

I added these:

Not notable, huh? Wasn't Dornin a senator? I think Coe was CincPac, Swede Momsen invented the Momsen Lung, & Ned Beach turned hundreds of people onto submarines (including Tom Clancy, no less). Trekphiler 09:47, 11 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

Just a coupla more guys edit

I added these:

Not notable? Let's see...Jake Fyfe sank 3 Japanese submarines on a single patrol; no other skipper's ever sunk 3, total, AFAIK. Barney Sieglaff's Tautog shot down the first Japanese aircraft by American forces in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Bull Wright famously told Reuben Whitaker to "handle it" when told the country was at war. And Jim Coe sent the most famous requisition of the war & deserves to be in the history books for it. Trekphiler 05:58, 14 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

Don't additions to this list need to be referenced? Dekimasu 04:50, 4 January 2007 (UTC)Reply
Take a look at the list of sources. Then take a look at the internal Wikipedia links, which is where a lot of them are coming from. I looked for Boy Browning by "Browning", knowing the nickname from (for instance) The Longest Day, unable to recall his given name, which is why I started this page in the first place. Do the same. Help out. Or add sources where you've seen nicknmamed officers & men. (BTW, all the sub officers are from Blair, if you haven't already guessed.) Do you want footnotes for each man on this list? I'd call that overkill. Trekphiler 19:22, 2 March 2007 (UTC)Reply
An inline cite would be enough; they take up no space. Save the footnotes then for hardcopy cites, like <ref>The Big Little Book of Military Nicknames</ref>.
Problem with not using cites is you'll get something like "Poopyhead" for "John Q. Bloggins, Canadian frigate captain" (but not quite so obvious) if it doesn't have to be verified. I'm eventually going to have to go through Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces due to the amount of questionable nicknames; like Wikipedia as a whole, nicknames for things are not something you thought up in school one day either. I'm actually leaning more toward the cite thing than before, because of experiences with the subtle type of vandal: you know, the type who makes plausible changes or reasonable-sounding additions, which turn out to be totally spurious. --SigPig |SEND - OVER
OK, I just looked at the page, and notice a crapload of sources. Maybe if the sources were lettered (A. The Wonder Book of blah blah). Then you could just cite each with the letter of the book it was found in. If I want to confirm that Stark is named "Betty" and why, I don't want to have to wade through fifty books. --SigPig |SEND - OVER 21:31, 2 March 2007 (UTC)Reply
Source each one? Nice theory. That "crapload" is because I've been seeing these nicknames for years. I have no idea exactly where you might find an individual one. Back check the Wikipedia pages; Browning & Stark are ref'd. Most of these aren't in question, & those that might be are also on List of nicknames of historical personages. As for the "coupla guys" above, every one is from the index in Blair (mentioned). I can put in what I know. Beyond that, you're on your own. Trekphiler 00:51, 3 March 2007 (UTC)Reply
Yeah, it looks a daunting task, dunnit? As as for the word "crapload", it was not meant in a pejorative sense, but more of a "holy crap" (impressed) sense; if you look at my previous entry, I was mentioning the adding of cites & references -- and when I actually look at the bottom of the page, lo and behold, there are numerous sourcebooks. I am not the kind of editor who thinks there are on average too many sources in an article. I apologize if my use of the word "crapload" implied a "load of crap"; that was the opposite of my intention, and I'll endeavour in future to try not to engage in discussion when my grump-level is spiking.
As for the new guys: I'll flag the sourcebook as, say, "A" or such, and then tag the entries. At least then anyone who has a beef with any of those entries need only fetch that particular book and will be able to look it up.
And as for sourcing each one -- nice theory, indeed, but it can still happen. There's no statute of limitations that I am aware of on sourcing material. I do a little bit here, a little bit there, in between classes and projects, especially on the pages that I enjoy and many other editors find "crufty" (usually starting with "List of...") --SigPig |SEND - OVER 02:18, 3 March 2007 (UTC)Reply
Sorry about that. I'm a bit touchy about people asking me to source things. I've been reading on the war, & military matters in general, for nigh on 30yrs (jeez, I am old...), but never with citation in mind... I footnoted where I could (not such a big job as I thought...); for those noted "List of nicknames of historical personages" or unfootnoted, as I said, you're on your own. I can't recall a source for them; some of the List of nicknames of historical personages nicknames I've never heard of before. (Some of the people, neither.) For famous guys like Harris or Stark, I noted them "not in dispute" (it really isn't); if you're offended (with reason, it was a bit of a cheap shot), feel free to delete... On a personal note, I'm pleased to see somebody's actually noticed this page, beyond seeking deletion; was it useful? If so, message my page, k? Ciao. Trekphiler 03:21, 3 March 2007 (UTC)Reply


The most obvious one I can think of not on the list is "Bull" Halsey, although I can't recall his real name at the moment. The Dark 13:02, 29 March 2007 (UTC)Reply

He's not there for a reason: William Halsey never answered to or recognized it. Trekphiler 02:31, 30 March 2007 (UTC)Reply
Then that should be noted in the list, similar to "Ol' Blood and Guts" Patton, or "Dugout Doug" MacArthur (which I doubt he acknowledged positively). The list isn't "List of military figures by nickname they used," but "List of military figures by nickname." Ignoring a notable nickname that was used in the media and is arguably better-known than the actual name of the figure in question seems to run contrary to the spirit of the list. The Dark 16:35, 30 March 2007 (UTC)Reply
Agreed. I'll put him in, with a note, & note the others. Trekphiler 00:19, 3 April 2007 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ^ Blair, Silent Victory, page 673

Former Sources section edit

Following are the somewhat-cleaned-up items from the previous Sources section. None of these were referenced in any footnotes in the article at present. Please use <ref></ref> tags if you place these in the article:

  • Addington, Larry H. (1971). The Blitzkrieg Era & the German General Staff. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
  • Alperovitz, Gar (1996). Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb. New York: Vintage Books/Random House.
  • Barris, Ted (1992). Behind the Glory. Toronto: Macmillan Canada.
  • Beurling, George F. (2002). Malta Spitfire. Toronto: Penguin. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Brickhill, Paul (1955). The Dam Busters. New York: Ballantine.
  • Cowley, Robert (1999). What If?. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
  • Dean, Maurice (1979). The RAF & Two World Wars. London: Cassell.
  • Dönitz, Karl. Grossadmiral. trans. R. H. Stevens, David Woodward.
  • Dönitz, Karl (1959). Memoir: Ten Years & Twenty Days. Cleveland: World Publishing Co.
  • Edgerton, Robert (1997). Warriors of the Rising Sun. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
  • Faltum, Andrew (2000). The Essex Aircraft Carriers. Charleston, SC: The Nautical & Aviation Publication Co.
  • Friedman, Norman (1982). United States Destroyers. London: Arms & Armour Press.
  • Friedman, Norman (1983). United States Aircraft Carriers. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute Press.
  • Galland, Adolf (1970). The First & the Last. trans. Mervyn Small. London: Methuen & Co.
  • Gallery, Daniel V. (1968) [1956]. U-505. New York: Paperback Library.
  • Goldstein, Donald M. (1993). The Pearl Harbor Papers. McLean, VA: Brassey's (US).
  • Hart, Sydney (1960). Submarine Upholder. London: Oldbourne Book Co.
  • Hastings, Max (1984). Overlord. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  • Hayashi, Saburo (1959) [1951]. Kōgun. Quantico, WV: Marine Corps Association. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Holmes, Wilfrid R. "Jasper" (1966). Undersea Victory. New York: Doubleday.
  • Humble, Richard (1973). Japanese High Seas Fleet. London: Pan/Ballantine.
  • Ito, Masanoru (1962). The End of the Imperial Japanese Navy. trans. by Andrew Kuroda, Roger Pineau. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Jones, Reginald V. (1979). Most Secret War. London: Coronet Books.
  • Keegan, John (2003). In the Know. Toronto: Key Porter Books.
  • Liddle, P. H. (1987). The Airman's War. Poole, Britain: Blandford.
  • Lyall, Gavin (1972). The War in the Air. New York: Ballantine.
  • MacArthur, Douglas (1984) [1965]. Reminiscences. Crest Books/Fawcett.
  • Macintyre, Donald (1976). The Encyclopedia of Sea Warfare. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
  • Mars, Alastair (1953). Unbroken. London: Frederick Muller Ltd.
  • Middlebrook, Martin (1978). Convoy. Markham, ON: Penguin Books.
  • Peattie, Mark R. (1997). Kaigun. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Preston, Anthony (1977). Destroyers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Bison/Prentice-Hall.
  • Price, Alfred (1973). Aircraft versus the Submarine. London: William Kimber & Co.
  • Ryan, Cornelius (1974). A Bridge Too Far. London: Coronet Books.
  • Schultz, Duane (1979). Wake Island. New York: Playboy Press.
  • Seaton, Albert (1982). The German Army 1939-45. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  • Shenkman, Richard (1993). Legends, Lies, & Cherished Myths of World History. New York: HarperCollins.
  • Sklenar, Larry (2000). To Hell With Honor. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
  • Smith, Stan (1986). The Destroyermen. New York: Belmont Books.
  • Stanley, Roy M. (1981). World War II Photo Intelligence. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  • Stephan, John J. (1984). Hawaii under the Rising Sun. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
  • Tsuji, Masunobu (1961). Singapore. trans. by Margaret E. Lake. New York: St. Martin's Press.
  • van der Vat, Dan (1988). The Atlantic Campaign. New York: Harper & Row.
  • van der Vat, Dan (1992). The Pacific Campaign. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
  • Von Der Porten, Edward P. (1969). The German Navy in World War II. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
  • Weigley, Russell F. (1981). Eisenhower's Lieutenants. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
  • Willmott, Hedley Paul (1982). Empires in the Balance. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute Press.
  • Winter, Denis (1982). First of the Few. London: Allen Lane/Penguin.
  • Young, Desmond (1981). World Almanac Book of World War II. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Thanks. — Bellhalla 12:28, 26 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

Good source for WWI British (Empire) general's nicknames edit

http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/nicknames/index.htm - published by the Centre for First World War Studies at Birmingham University, so it seems pretty reliable (although contributions are requested, it's looks like they'd be checked out before being added). David Underdown (talk) 11:13, 22 April 2009 (UTC)Reply

Calling Al Stewart edit

Since I've always understood pantera =panther, can somebody with better Italian than mine (which is pretty much limited to Greta Scacchi... ;p) confirm the tr of L'uomo Panther? Thx. TREKphiler hit me ♠ 17:37, 17 November 2009 (UTC)Reply

Some ommisions edit

I can't seem to find 'Shimi' Lovat or 'Shan' Hackett?--The Mercenary 73 (talk) 22:11, 8 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

Bold names? edit

Some names are bold, some are not. What's the consensus? Bullmoosebell (talk) 22:48, 30 January 2012 (UTC)Reply

I'd say bolded, since that appears to be the usual for other pages like this. (I have to confess not always thinking to do it...) TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 23:50, 30 January 2012 (UTC)Reply

Trenchard edit

He has been listed under the name "Groom", referring to his voice. I thought this was kind of curious but I added another section under the name "Boom". According to his Wiki page, he was also known as "Camel".Flanker235 (talk) 11:40, 14 April 2013 (UTC)Reply

Sergeant J (sniper) edit

How can an unknown sniper have "88 confirmed kills"?

Can someone provide some references please before I delete this entry? I'll give it until the 14th of May. Flanker235 (talk) 06:30, 30 April 2013 (UTC)Reply

Due to a lack of verifiable information, the following entry has been deleted:
*"Sergeant J" - Unknown US Army Sniper, (1983-2007 had 88 confirmed kills during O.I.F. and O.E.F)
Of course, if any properly resourced information comes to light I see no problem reinstating it. Flanker235 (talk) 08:53, 26 May 2013 (UTC)Reply
While we're on the subject of snipers, the claim that Chris Kyle was called "The Legend" needs to be verified. The only case I can find for this was during the eulogy at his funeral. This hardly constitutes a nickname. Flanker235 (talk) 09:12, 13 July 2013 (UTC)Reply
The reference to Chris Kyle being called "The Legend" has been removed due to lack of a citation. Flanker235 (talk) 05:32, 2 September 2014 (UTC)Reply

Maintenance edit

I have updated all the sections so that the proper names are bolded. Please feel free to fix any more so that it's all standardised. Flanker235 (talk) 07:12, 2 September 2014 (UTC)Reply

Notability / OR edit

The purpose of this lis is unclear while the topic of "nicknames of military figures" does not seem to have received attention from secondary sources, so it may fail WP:LISTN. I tagged the article accordingly. K.e.coffman (talk) 05:18, 7 July 2017 (UTC)Reply

The subject list of motorsports people by nickname hasn't, either, but that doesn't mean it should be considered OR... It's a list. Do you genuinely think every WP list page has to have had independent coverage, first? I give up. Pokemon characters can all have pages, but anything I add, somebody wants to delete. Fine. Delete it. Delete it all. Just don't use my name or anything I've added. Ever. TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 09:25, 7 July 2017 (UTC)Reply

List vs Table, and multiple nicknames ? edit

Should this be a list, or a table ?

How should multiple nicknames be dealt with?

The reason for conflating the two is mostly about sorting. At present Bomber Harris is in there twice, sorted under both Bomber and Butcher. It's also hard to find someone's nicknames from their given name. A table could allow sorting either way. Andy Dingley (talk) 14:33, 14 September 2018 (UTC)Reply

I'm no fan of the table format, if only because it makes formatting more complicated for every change or addition. (I also have persistent trouble with table formatting generally, but that's less germane for editors at large.) It started as a list, & IDK why it couldn't have remained one--or be turned back into one. That would also simplify multiple people with the same nickname: double-asterisk nesting, like the year pages (& like it was to begin with). TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 05:30, 15 September 2018 (UTC)Reply