Date: 2003-12-20T15:43:50
Editor: 68.218.176.168
Wiki: Apache Geronimo Wiki
Page: GeronimoEtymology
URL: http://wiki.apache.org/geronimo/GeronimoEtymology
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An entry from the ''Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, Second Edition'' by
William and Mary Morris:
= Geronimo =
From the earliest wars in recorded history, men have plunged into battle
shouting battle cries. Indeed, our common word 'slogan' was originally the
Gaelic ''sluggh-ghairm,'' meaning the call to battle used by Scottish
Highlanders and Irish clan. One of the most interesting of these cries is that
used by the U.S. airborne paratroopers: Geronimo!
When we speculated in print on why our soldiers use the name of a dead Apache
chieftain for their slogan, several alumni of airborne regiments reported
stories of its origin. A plausible one came from Arthur A. Manion. At Fort
Sill, Oklahoma, he wrote, a series of rather steep hills, called, I believe,
Medicine Bluffs, was pointed out to all new arrivals. It was said that one day
''Geronimo'', with the army in hot pursuit, made a leap on horseback down an
almost vertical cliff - a feat that the posse could not duplicate. The legend
continues that in the midst of this jump to freedom he gave out the
bloodcurdling cry of Geronimo-o-o! Hence the practice adopted by our
paratroopers. I hope this helps. It's at least colorful, if not authentic.
Another correspondent, who once lived at Fort Sill, added the information that
the bluff from which Geronimo made his daring leap is a cliff overlooking a
small river. So we know that Geronimo and his steed had water, rather than
desert floor, to break their fall. Now, this is indeed an interesting tale and
one that may very well be the real inspiration for the paratroopers were
trained at Forts Bragg and Campbell. Why, then, did they reach to Fort Sill for
inspiration for their battle cry?
R. Collier of Milwaukee offered a less glamorous but probably more accurate
account of the origin of the call. In the early days of the 82nd Airborne, he
wrote, the men used to go to the nearby movie in Lafayetteville. During the
week scheduled for the division's initial jumps, they saw a movie named
Geronimo. (If that wasnt the title, at least the Indian chief played a leading
part.) Anyway, one guy hollered the name and one of those things no one can
explain happened. The whole division took it up and from them it spread to the
later-activated airborne forces.