Military Terms Glossary

A.P.O Addresses - Army Post Office - a military postal system that integrate the U.S. postal service with military personnel serving overseas. Being assigned an APO address was an indication a soldier would be sent to a foreign base.

ECC-FAS - Electronic Control Code - Field Artillery Section

O.T.C. exam - Officers' Training Corp - the U.S. military usually selects officers through its college based Registered Officer Training Corp (ROTC) program.

T/5 - Technician Fifth Grade. The equivalent of corporal. Created in 1942 to replace existing specialist ranks. T/4 represented specialist Sargeant; T/3 a Staff-Sergeant. They were given a special insignia. Although a T/5 did not have authority to give commands, under combat conditions they could be placed second in command by a Sergeant.

U.S.A.T - United States Army Transport

V-Mail - a mail system the U.S. military adopted from the British during the war, V (for Victory) involved microfilming hundreds of letters on a standardized letter sheets. This allowed the military to shrink letter volumes and weight from service personnel by a factor of about 37 to 1. For more information go to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

WAAC - Women's Auxiliary Army Corp - established in May 1942 more than 150,000 women served in various non-combat rolls.

WVAD - (we have been unable to figure out this acronym. Your assistance is welcome)