Gung Ho! According To LtCol Evans F. Carlson
GunnyG
Issues,History,WWII,Korean War.POW/MIA,
From: "Richard Gaines" <gun...@hotmail.com> Save Address Block Sender
To: Gun...@HotMail.Com
Subject: What Is Gung Ho?
Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 14:21:11 EST
I have found that many writers, in many publications, writing about
Carlson,
have made the observation that the words Gung Ho have lost much of their
original meaning. Also, it has been pointed out that the translation of
the
words themselves from Chinese produces even more room for confusion,
just as
as most American words have more that one dictionary meaning.
In an article titled "The Legacy of Evans Carlson," by Robert J. Dalton
(LtCol USMC Ret.) in the August 1987 Marine Corps Gazette, the author
states, "...Ironically, the term 'gung ho' has come to mean almost the
opposite of how it was originally used. Today, the term has an
aggressive,
Prussianistic connotation. It has littkle of the 'ethical' meaning for
which
it was originally used...."
Well then, what was the intention of the originator of the now famous
term,
"Gung Ho?"
For the answer to that we can go to Carlson's book, Twin Stars Of China,
1941. Carlson wrote, "The superb fighters of the Chinese Eighth Route
Army
had studied the Japanese methods, tactics, and psychology for years.
They
knew intimately the strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese troops.
Surprise was the Eighth's heaviest weapon against the invaders. With
surprise, they made life a hell for the men from Nippon. But there was
another and even more important element which made the success of the
Eighth
Route Army. I sought this element asiduously. Then the answer came to me
one
day when I had completed a march of 58 miles without sleep, along with a
column of 600 Chinese. Not a man left the column on this march. I
thought:
what could be the stimulus which would induce 600 men to complete such
an
arduous task without even one failing. It could be nothing but the
Desire
and Will of each individual to complete the task. Here was the secret
weapon
of the Eighth Route Army. Through systematic indoctrination, every man
had
received what I call ethical indoctrination. They knew what they were
fighting for...."
"In war, as in the pursuits for peace, the human element is of prime
importance. Human nature is much the same the world over, and human
beings
everywhere respond to certain fundamental stimuli. So, if men have
confidence in their leaders, if they are convinced that the things for
which
they endure and fight are worthwhile, if they believe the effort they
are
making contributes definitely to the realization of their objectives,
then
their efforts will be voluntary, spontaneous, and persistent. The men of
the
Eighth Route Army had a term for this spirit of cooperation. They called
it
'gung ho.'"
Later, Carlson taught his men his experiences relating to the above.
In the Carlson biography, The Big Yankee, by Michael Blankfort, 1947,
Carlson says, "..Two words--'ethical indoctrination.' Those are big
words,
boys, but let me tell you simply what they mean. The reason those 600
men
were able to endure such hardship is because they knew why it was
necessary
for them to complete that march. But much more than that, they knew why
that
march was important to the whole series of battles they were fighting;
and
they knew why these battles were important to the whole war against the
Japs. And the war against the Japs was one they understood and believed
in.
In short, they understood why the efforts of every single one of them
was
necessary to the whole Chinese people. That's ethical indoctrination. He
explained carefully how out of ethical indoctrination men grow to have
confidence in themselves and their officers; how when every man knows
his
efforts count, whether officer or cook, general or quartermaster coolie,
no
one thinks of himself or his job as being more or less important than
anyone
else or any one else's job; and each man has respect for himself and
confidence in himself and in the others. Out of this mutual respect and
confidence, comes the ability of men to work together wholeheartedly,
without fear or favor or envy or contempt. He trembled a little inside
him
as he spoke, for if ethical indoctrination was the key of the Raiders,
it
was also the star by which he had finally come to steer his own life.
This
battalion, these thousand men, was the test of himself. The Chinese have
two
words for 'working together,' he said. 'Gung, meaning 'work'; Ho meaning
'harmony.' Gung Ho! Work Together! That is the end result of ethical
indoctrination."
"He went on to explain that Gung Ho was important to all of them,
because
they were Americans--for it gave them the chance to practice the
democracy
they believed, where no man should have priviliges over another man and
where discipline comes from knowledge....a confidence that creates
initiative and daring in battle...greater damage to the enemy...lower
cost
in lives to themselves...We will strive for ethical indoctrination...I
propose that Gung Ho be the spirit and slogan of our Raider
Battalion...Let's hear you say it, He raised his voice and shouted,
'Gung
Ho!' There was a split-second of silence in the ranks...But the words
came
and the grove of eucalyptus trees in the middle of San Diego County
heard a
thousand voices say a strange and foreign phrase that, in the necessary
coincidence of human history, was as American as it is Chinese."
Richard Gaines
GySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952-1972
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