Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam: List 5

by Elizabeth Partridge
In this acclaimed book, Elizabeth Partridge combines meticulous research, photographic records, and personal accounts into a vivid history of the Vietnam War and its aftermath.

This list covers America: President and Commander in Chief Richard M. Nixon (October 1969–August 1974) – Epilogue.

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 193 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. galvanize
    stimulate to action
    Although Nixon insisted that this was not an invasion of Cambodia but just a military operation, the announcement galvanized the antiwar movement.
  2. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    He could no longer control his disdain for those who opposed his policies and he lashed out.
  3. impassioned
    characterized by intense emotion
    Hundreds of American universities, colleges, and high schools shut down for the week as students staged impassioned protests.
  4. dub
    give a nickname to
    The secret study, quickly dubbed the Pentagon Papers, shocked Americans.
  5. tawdry
    cheap and shoddy
    Kissinger, frustrated by his inability to wring concessions from the Communists, told Nixon they were “tawdry, miserable, filthy people....They never, never do anything that isn’t tawdry.”
  6. convey
    make known; pass on, of information
    Ford warned Weyand not to convey a message of American weakness.
  7. debrief
    elicit a report from someone about a mission, job, or event
    Weyand returned on April 5 and quickly debriefed Ford on his trip.
  8. reprieve
    a relief from harm or discomfort
    There would be no attempt at a reprieve for South Vietnam from America.
  9. sporadic
    recurring in scattered or unpredictable instances
    Saigon, under sporadic artillery shelling and surrounded by the Communists, was in complete chaos.
  10. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    They’d kept their weapons, but stripped off their telltale uniforms, begged or stolen clothes, and joined the tide of refugees fleeing toward Saigon.
  11. callous
    emotionally hardened
    Some desperate civilians and soldiers were looting stores, stealing food from shopkeepers, callously killing to get what they needed.
  12. cistern
    an artificial reservoir for storing liquids
    Every morning Nguyen went to the city well to fill heavy buckets of water and bring them home to keep their cistern filled.
  13. rove
    move about aimlessly or without any destination
    Roving bands of Viet Cong appeared on the streets, shooting the traitorous Vietnamese heading for the waiting American ships.
  14. balk
    refuse to proceed or comply
    As Huynh’s and Nguyen’s families were swept forward onto the pier in the packed, unruly crowd, Nguyen balked.
  15. plight
    a situation from which extrication is difficult
    Wealthy people in Saigon, hearing about the desperate plight of the refugees, drove out to the camp or came by bus, bringing water and food.
  16. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    As the bus careened down the road, Nguyen realized even though she had a little money with her, she didn’t have her identity card.
  17. retribution
    the act of taking revenge
    “I was scared to death,” said Nguyen. Retribution would be swift. “The soldiers just shoot you if you don’t have your card.”
  18. moor
    secure in or as if in a berth or dock
    Huynh’s family was on the nearest barge, moored to the pier.
  19. impulsive
    without forethought
    One day at a supermarket in Berkeley, Scruggs impulsively decided to steal a pack of Hostess cupcakes.
  20. elude
    be incomprehensible to
    He moved comfortably among both veterans and antiwar protestors, and made a distinction that eluded most protestors: don’t hate the guys who served, hate the war.
  21. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    He kept mulling over what he’d learned, and slowly life got better, especially when he met an art-school student, Rebecca Fishman.
  22. grandiose
    impressive because of unnecessary largeness or magnificence
    It was a wild, grandiose plan.
  23. reconciliation
    the reestablishment of cordial relations
    His memorial would even provide a place for reconciliation for the whole divided country.
  24. condescend
    treat patronizingly
    Lin felt condescended to, that they treated her like a child.
  25. rail
    complain bitterly
    A Vietnam vet railed against the choice of black granite.
  26. visage
    the appearance conveyed by a person's face
    “By this will we be remembered,” he wrote in The New York Times, “a black gash of shame and sorrow, hacked into the national visage that is the Mall.”
  27. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    She was adamantly opposed to changing the granite.
  28. aesthetics
    the branch of philosophy dealing with beauty and taste
    “What all this goes to prove,” he said, “is that this country is not recovered from the war. When people start ganging up on a guy who’s just trying to honor Vietnam veterans, I think it’s a lot more than aesthetics. It shows we need to do a lot more healing.”
  29. valor
    courage when facing danger
    Finally when everyone was exhausted, a retired army general suggested the VVMF add a statue and American flag to the memorial to symbolize patriotism and the valor of the men who fought.
  30. vigil
    the rite of staying awake for devotional purposes
    The VVMF office was crowded with volunteers organizing parties, ceremonies, speeches, workshops, concerts, a vigil at the National Cathedral, and even a parade.
  31. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    Scruggs felt a palpable sense of expectation as family members waited in the hallowed hall, then wept openly to hear the names of their loved ones spoken aloud, honored in “America’s Church.”
  32. hallowed
    worthy of religious veneration
    Scruggs felt a palpable sense of expectation as family members waited in the hallowed hall, then wept openly to hear the names of their loved ones spoken aloud, honored in “America’s Church.”
  33. charter
    engage for service under a term of contract
    A group of veterans in Minnesota had chartered a bus to drive them to DC.
  34. untimely
    uncommonly early
    Finding his buddy’s name would be a chance to be with Stamey again in spirit, and to mourn his untimely death.
  35. a cappella
    without musical accompaniment
    The song was both a remembrance and a prayer as the men’s voices floated out over the audience. “They did it a cappella,” Adams said.
  36. cadence
    a recurrent rhythmical series
    Some marched in formation, easily falling back into old cadences.
  37. prosthetic
    relating to or serving as an artificial body part
    Some walked on prosthetic legs, others needed canes or crutches.
  38. reverence
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    There had been sorrow and loss, relief, reverence, and pure joy.
  39. cathartic
    emotionally purging
    “It was cathartic,” he told me. “All those names and the black surface. It’s like looking in a mountain pond at night, but with the names floating on it.”
  40. paradoxical
    seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true
    Only one of the veterans I interviewed, David Oshiro, has never been to the Wall, paradoxically because the memorial’s design is so powerful.
Created on Wed Oct 17 11:33:04 EDT 2018 (updated Wed Oct 17 16:52:58 EDT 2018)

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