Fallen Angels: List 2

by Walter Dean Myers
After finishing high school, aspiring writer Richard Perry does not have the money for college, so he decides to enlist in the army and ends up fighting for his life in Vietnam.

This list covers pages 108–204 in the 1988 edition published by Scholastic Inc.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
35 words 843 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pallet
    a portable platform for storing or moving goods
    Brunner kicked the end of Monaco’s bunk hard enough to knock some magazines onto the wooden pallets that served as a floor.
  2. hamlet
    a community of people smaller than a village
    The hamlet consisted of a cluster of little huts.
  3. weary
    physically and mentally fatigued
    Small, withered women, skin creased over onto itself; dark, life- weary eyes that had seen everything.
  4. allotment
    distribution according to a plan
    I wondered if Mama was getting the allotment checks. I wondered how she felt about them. Did she think I was doing something for her, or just that it was part of my being in the army?
  5. incline
    an elevated geological formation
    I felt around me to see if I was on an incline, decided I wasn’t, and lay on one side and peed as quietly as I could.
  6. churn
    be agitated
    I felt sick. My stomach churned.
  7. pacify
    ease the anger, agitation, or strong emotion of
    These were the people we had come to save, to pacify. Now it was ourselves that we were saving. God have mercy. God give us peace.
  8. reverent
    feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
    The conversation was quiet, almost reverent.
  9. cache
    a secret store of valuables or money
    Somebody had found a cache of coffee beans about two months earlier, and they had sent to Saigon for a coffee grinder.
  10. demilitarize
    do away with the armed forces or potential to fight a war
    “They found some tortured marines up near the demilitarized zone,” the orderly said.
  11. infiltrate
    pass through an enemy line in a military conflict
    “Below the DMZ they do pacification stuff, look around to see who is infiltrating, that kind of thing. Then they do a lot of stuff above the 'Z. The navy guys slip them in on the west and the Green Berets slip them around the 'Z through Laos. Down here she’s probably his cover.”
  12. gruff
    blunt and unfriendly or stern
    “You study math like I told you,” Peewee said in a gruff voice. “Then I’ll let you come to Chicago and be a big-time numbers man.”
  13. sheepish
    showing a sense of shame
    “No, man, I didn’t have the nerve.” Brew had a sheepish grin on his face.
  14. aggressive
    characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight
    He started talking about how we had to be more aggressive, how we had to go out to get the VC.
  15. guerrilla
    a member of an irregular army that fights a stronger force
    “The NVA get up to a year of training before they even get to the south. The VC are guerrillas. The NVA is their regular army.”
  16. reconnaissance
    the act of scouting, especially to gain information
    Sergeant Simpson said that, because of Gearhart’s training, they were using our squad on long-range reconnaissance.
  17. province
    the territory in an administrative district of a nation
    We went in a chopper with some First Cav guys who were going up to Quang Nam province.
  18. coordinate
    a number that identifies a position relative to an axis
    We went east through a fairly dense stretch of forest and then swung back west until we hit our coordinates.
  19. deploy
    place troops or weapons in battle formation
    “Sergeant, I know what I’m doing.” Gearhart took a step toward Simpson. “Now deploy the men.”
  20. casualty
    someone injured or killed in a military engagement
    If it’s that large a unit, we’ll just open up on their rear and get as many casualties as possible. That’ll make them back off until we can retreat.
  21. affirmative
    giving assent
    Brunner got an affirmative answer, and Brew threw a yellow signal flare toward the clearing in front of us.
  22. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    Walowick’s piece went off and ricocheted around the inside of the chopper and got one of the crew.
  23. vigilance
    alert attentiveness
    What I want from you men is as much vigilance as possible until the situation is clearer.
  24. hallowed
    worthy of religious veneration
    Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
  25. hypocrite
    a person who professes beliefs that he or she does not hold
    Would God think I was a hypocrite, praying every time I was scared?
  26. anguish
    extreme mental distress
    There were tears in his eyes, but his mouth was twisted in hate and anguish and confusion. I turned away from Monaco’s pain. It wasn’t the time for comforting each other.
  27. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    I looked over my shoulder at the choppers as they landed, blowing away the loose grass and debris on the ground.
  28. urn
    a large pot for making coffee or tea
    She was a waitress in a coffee shop down near the waterfront, and the coffee urn blew up.
  29. sift
    distinguish and separate out
    And now all the dying around me, and all the killing, was making me look at myself again, hoping to find something more than the kid I was. Maybe I could sift through the kid’s stuff, the basketball, the Harlem streets, and find the man I would be.
  30. bivouac
    temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
    The barracks were neat and clean, and there was even a post exchange. Where we had been bivouacked, west of Chu Lai, had been cool, too.
  31. murky
    cloudy, dirty, and difficult to see through
    “The streams around here are a little murky,’’ Lieutenant Gearhart said. “Make sure you take your malaria pills.”
  32. maintenance
    activity involved in keeping something in good working order
    “They don’t expect stuff to work, so when it doesn’t, it’s no big deal. They don’t believe in maintenance at all.”
  33. leech
    carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worm
    My wrist stung. It felt like the leech was still on it.
  34. skirmish
    a minor short-term fight
    We got into the wood line and formed a skirmish line.
  35. flail
    thrash about
    Captain Stewart opened up on him, and his head snapped back and his arms flailed for a moment even after I knew he was dead.
Created on Sun Mar 10 11:06:28 EDT 2013 (updated Tue Aug 08 13:19:59 EDT 2023)

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