''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of "overly enthusiastic or energetic". It originated during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
(1937–1945) from a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), short for
Chinese Industrial Cooperatives
Chinese Industrial Cooperatives () (CICs) were organisations established in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937- 1945) to support China's war effort by organizing small-scale grassroots industrial and economic development. The movement ...
( zh, c=工業合作社, hp=Gōngyè Hézuòshè).
The linguist Albert Moe concluded that the term is an "Americanism that is derived from the Chinese, but its several accepted American meanings have no resemblance whatsoever to the recognized meaning in the original language" and that its "various linguistic uses, as they have developed in the United States, have been peculiar to American speech." In Chinese, concludes Moe, "this is neither a slogan nor a battle cry; it is only a name for an organization."
The term was picked up by
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
Major
Evans Carlson
Evans Fordyce Carlson (February 26, 1896 – May 27, 1947) was a decorated and retired United States Marine Corps general officer who was the legendary leader of "Carlson's Raiders" during World War II. Many credit Carlson with developing the tac ...
from his New Zealand friend,
Rewi Alley
Rewi Alley (known in China as 路易•艾黎, Lùyì Àilí, 2 December 1897 – 27 December 1987) was a New Zealand-born writer and political activist. A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he dedicated 60 years of his life to the cause a ...
, one of the founders of the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives. Carlson explained in a 1943 interview: "I was trying to build up the same sort of working spirit I had seen in China where all
the soldiers
The Soldiers is a singing trio consisting of serving British Army soldiers, whose debut album, ''Coming Home'', was released on 26 October 2009, and who have since continued their singing career whilst remaining full-time army personnel. Signe ...
dedicated themselves to one idea and worked together to put that idea over. I told the boys about it again and again. I told them of the motto of the Chinese Cooperatives, ''Gung Ho''. It means Work Together — Work in Harmony."
Carlson used ''gung ho'' as a motto during his unconventional command of the
2nd Marine Raider Battalion, leading to other marines adopting the term to mean overly enthusiastic. From there, it spread throughout the U.S. Marine Corps, where it was used as an expression of spirit, and then into American society as a whole when the term was the title of a 1943 war film, ''
Gung Ho!
''Gung Ho!'' (full title: ''Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders'') is a 1943 American war film directed by Ray Enright and starring Randolph Scott. The story is based somewhat on the real-life World War II Makin Island raid led ...
'', about the 2nd Raider Battalion's
raid on Makin Island
The Raid on Makin Island (17–18 August 1942) was an attack by the United States Marine Corps Raiders on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Imperial Japanese instal ...
in 1942.
The artist
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
used the expression in "
Goodnight Saigon
"Goodnight Saigon" is a song written by Billy Joel, originally appearing on his 1982 album ''The Nylon Curtain'', about the Vietnam War. It depicts the situation and attitude of United States Marines beginning with their military training on Parr ...
", his 1982 hit single about the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, which had the lyric: "And we were sharp, as sharp as knives, and we were so gung ho to lay down our lives". Singer-poet
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
released an album titled
Gung Ho
''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of "overly enthusiastic or energetic". It originated during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) from a Chinese term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), short for Chinese ...
in March, 2000 with an epic, 11:45 closing track also entitled Gung Ho.
"Gung Ho!" is the name of the 26th episode of the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers where they correctly use the term to mean 'to work together'.
See also
*
List of United States Marine Corps acronyms and expressions
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gung Ho
1940s neologisms
Chinese words and phrases
Cooperatives
Military slang and jargon
United States Marine Corps lore and symbols