Sunrise Over Fallujah: List 2

by Walter Dean Myers
This historical work of fiction follows the U.S. Civilian Affairs Battalion during the 2003 Iraq War and conveys the horrors of war for all involved — military and civilian alike.

This list covers vocabulary from "A lot of guys were getting nervous thinking we"–"I could feel my heart beat faster as we crossed."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6, List 7, List 8, List 9, List 10
25 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hallowed
    worthy of religious veneration
    “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
  2. bunk
    a set of beds built one above the other
    Jonesy stood up and tucked the Bible under his arm....He went back to his bunk, lay down, and turned his back toward me.
    In the distance I could hear the roar of planes. I looked at my watch. It was five thirty. The sun would rise soon.
  3. sect
    a subdivision of a larger religious group
    Darcy was still mad. “And how about that stuff with the Sunnis and the other people?”
    “The Shiites,” I said. “Colonel King said there might be battles between the two sects.”
  4. disarm
    take away the weapons from; render harmless
    “What bugged me was when Captain Coles asked if we were going to disarm the Iraqis and Colonel King said we weren’t,” Pendleton said.
  5. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    King had been talking about treating people humanely, and with dignity, but we were thinking about how hard staying alive was going to be.
  6. awe
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    The bombing of Iraq has started. I don’t know what it’s doing to the Iraqis, but it’s filled us with shock and awe.
  7. flak
    artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes
    A reporter wearing a flak jacket flinched as the bombs exploded behind him.
  8. pastime
    an interest or pursuit that someone pursues regularly
    In stateside training, the shooting was a pastime, something you did because it was interesting but you didn’t really like because you knew it meant you had to clean your weapon.
  9. stationary
    standing still
    When it was my turn on the squad gun I was on target when we were stationary but way off when the Humvee was on the go.
  10. propaganda
    information that is spread to promote some cause
    I had hoped Marla would come over, but she sat with some women from a PSYOP unit. What they did was work on the minds of the enemy. Sometimes they dropped leaflets, sometimes they did nasty little propaganda things, like spread rumors about the enemy’s officers.
  11. brigade
    army unit smaller than a division
    Coles pulled out some maps and showed us where we were, north of Kuwait City.
    “We’re following two Infantry brigades,” he said. “We’re going to be traveling southeast and then swing around so that we’re behind the Infantry all the way.”
  12. logistical
    of or relating to the management of an operation or event
    Jonesy was looking hard at the little blonde. “We’re Civil Affairs—trailing behind them, making friends with anybody they don’t kill.”
    “We’re logistical support or something like that,” the black woman said.
  13. populace
    people in general considered as a whole
    “Where you from?” she asked.
    “New York,” Marla said. “Not from the black part, like Birdy, though. Okay, rule six in the Rules of Engagement. Expect ‘Happy Shooting’ from the local populace. This shooting is not hostile and should not be responded to as such.”
  14. hostile
    characterized by enmity or ill will
    “Where you from?” she asked.
    “New York,” Marla said. “Not from the black part, like Birdy, though. Okay, rule six in the Rules of Engagement. Expect ‘Happy Shooting’ from the local populace. This shooting is not hostile and should not be responded to as such.”
  15. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    We were told to pull over and dismount as it grew dark. There was already a makeshift camp in the desert and we pulled into it.
  16. civilization
    the achievement of an advanced stage of social development
    I remembered an orientation booklet the navy had passed around talking about how Iraq was known as the cradle of civilization.
  17. convoy
    a procession of land vehicles traveling together
    I could feel my heart beat faster as we crossed the border into Iraq. Marla’s pointing out the body bags didn’t help it slow down. We were still in convoy formation, with vehicles stretched out forever.
  18. bivouac
    temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
    It was nearly seven thirty in the evening, and the sun had already gone down, when we were told to pull over and set up a bivouac area.
  19. casualty
    someone injured or killed in an accident
    They were still talking about shock and awe and how many bombs were falling around Baghdad but they weren’t showing any casualties.
  20. bayonet
    a knife fixed to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon
    “Jonesy, check this out!” Sergeant Harris called out. He had put a bayonet on the end of his weapon and was holding it up so that Jonesy could photograph him in profile. Sergeant Harris. American hero.
  21. grit
    small coarse bits of stone, sand, or gravel
    “Get down! Cover up!” I recognized Major Sessions’s voice. When had she shown up? I found a spot against the wheel of a Humvee and squatted. I thought about my goggles and tried to pull them down but my face was already covered with the fine grit and stinging in a thousand places.
  22. cower
    crouch or curl up
    We settled into the storm. We were not the winners. After the first few minutes of cowering near whatever stable object we could find, we just stayed put and hoped we would outlive it.
    I did not want to be here. I thought of the places I could be: Harlem, Philadelphia, Chicago. I did not want to be in Iraq.
  23. outskirts
    area relatively far from the center, as of a city or town
    We rolled through the outskirts of An Nasiriyah and into a section of town.
  24. sniper
    a marksman who shoots from a concealed place
    A gunner on a Humvee spotted the shooter and opened up. The sniper was in a second-story window; I saw the rifle go spinning into the air and his arm fly up as he fell backward into the darkness of the room.
  25. anguish
    extreme distress of body or mind
    The grandmother ran from the building....She gestured toward the boy, took a tentative step to him, then stumbled forward and fell on her knees. She looked at him and then up at me. Her anguished eyes pleaded hopelessly. I walked away. Away from the house, away from the body, away from the grandmother.
Created on Fri Nov 29 14:01:49 EST 2024 (updated Mon Dec 09 12:29:15 EST 2024)

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