Sunrise Over Fallujah: List 5

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 "Back to Baghdad. You have to go through a maze of"–"Even though the war is supposed to be over, there."

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
20 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bigwig
    the most important person in a group or undertaking
    There are a lot of private security companies protecting the Iraqi bigwigs.
  2. foxhole
    a small dugout or pit to shelter soldiers from enemy fire
    We were all dressed and she came in with Owens from the Medical Squad. They were carrying a portable television. Jonesy was out taking a leak, so they sat it on his bed.
    “Where did you get that?” I asked.
    “Traded it from the Arabs for two tanks and a portable foxhole,” Marla said.
    “We have one in our tent, so we’ll trade you this one for your collective souls.”
  3. collective
    forming a whole or aggregate
    We were all dressed and she came in with Owens from the Medical Squad. They were carrying a portable television. Jonesy was out taking a leak, so they sat it on his bed.
    “Where did you get that?” I asked.
    “Traded it from the Arabs for two tanks and a portable foxhole,” Marla said. “We have one in our tent, so we’ll trade you this one for your collective souls.”
  4. cultured
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    “In a way, you already belong to a gang,” Owens said. She sounded cultured but looked unsure of herself as she tugged at the shoulder of her T-shirt. “We’re like a big gang.”
  5. worship
    show devotion to, as a deity
    “I can tell you only what we want to do,” Jamil said. “We want to live in peace and worship Allah in peace and walk down the streets in peace. Islam is a religion of peace, true Islam. This sounds simple but it’s not. We have Allah in our hearts, but sometimes it’s hard to hear the true voice when the stomach is making so much noise. Americans can’t understand that.”
  6. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    I looked over at Ahmed. He was watching the television intently.
  7. scrounge
    collect or look around for
    The guys rapped for another half hour, then started scrounging around for food.
  8. obscene
    offensive to the mind
    I keep looking away from the dead because I don’t want to see them. When I do look I see that the dead are not like human beings anymore. They are not neatly laid out but twisted at obscene angles on the side of the road.
  9. efficient
    being effective without wasting time, effort, or expense
    On our squad radio we listen to the 3rd ID guys. They sound efficient except for every once in a while one of them will comment on how something got blown away. They have so much firepower that even they are impressed.
  10. chaplain
    a member of the clergy ministering to some institution
    “We’re going with a group of Third ID chaplains up to a mosque just north of the city. It’s supposed to be safe,” Marla said.
  11. imam
    the person who leads prayers in a mosque
    The mosque was huge but delicate and probably the most beautiful building I had ever seen. The chaplains met the imam who had invited us.
  12. comrade
    a fellow soldier or companion in danger or difficulty
    Barbara was driving and she made a hard right, and stopped a few feet from the burning Humvee.
    Three marines were already out and were trying to pull their comrades from the vehicle, which was now completely engulfed in flames.
  13. engulf
    flow over or cover completely
    Barbara was driving and she made a hard right, and stopped a few feet from the burning Humvee.
    Three marines were already out and were trying to pull their comrades from the vehicle, which was now completely engulfed in flames.
  14. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    The marines put out the fire and then took out the equipment from the still smoldering hulk of the damaged Humvee. The vehicle, lying on its side, was just a dark shell, like a huge prehistoric animal with flames licking at its blackened ribs.
  15. prehistoric
    belonging to or existing before recorded times
    The marines put out the fire and then took out the equipment from the still smoldering hulk of the damaged Humvee. The vehicle, lying on its side, was just a dark shell, like a huge prehistoric animal with flames licking at its blackened ribs.
  16. improvise
    manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand
    I had heard about the IEDs, the improvised explosive devices, but I had never seen the damage one could do before.
  17. tend
    have care of or look after
    Two other marines were wounded and I saw their medics tending to them.
  18. grime
    thick or ingrained dirt
    A wide-eyed young marine, face smudged from the smoke, came over and told us they were leaving and that we had better get back into the safe zone. The tears on his face had traveled through the grime and stopped halfway down his cheek.
  19. potshot
    the discharge of a weapon at an easy or casual target
    “Sometimes they take potshots at people coming to help,” he said. “Even their own people.”
  20. tourniquet
    a bandage that stops the flow of blood by applying pressure
    “He was just sitting there, numb,” Barbara said. “The marine medic gave him a shot which put him right out, then put a tourniquet on the arm. I hope he doesn’t lose it.”
Created on Fri Nov 29 14:21:52 EST 2024 (updated Mon Dec 09 12:28:18 EST 2024)

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