[WhiskeyPapa]

I entered the Corps in 1973. "ooh-rah's" were pretty common. In the Army ( I always think of the Army the same way the Musketeers think of the Cardinal's Guards--just a tad malordorous), some of them at least, used to say "Drive on!" or "Airborne!"

"How lame," I thought. I guess a good "Ooh-rah!" is beyond them. Too bad.

A good "Ooh-rah!" comes from the gut. You really can't even do it right the first time. It takes a lot of practice. It's liike calling cadence; you start out, "left, right, left, right, left, right, left." And over time, you develop your own thing: "Da-low-righty-low-righty-lefta-righty-laoh."

One's "Ooh-rah!" develops over time.

My personal definition of an "Ooh-rah!" is: "The short, barking laugh of a United States Marine."

I read a book about the battle of Antietam. It might have been "Landscape Turned Red", by Stephen Ambrose. He mentions the Rebel yell, of course, but he also mentions (If I have the right book), the "Manly hoo-rahs!" of the Union Troops. So I would have assumed that today's "Ooh-rah!" stems from that tradition. It's interesting to hear older Marines say they are not familiar.

I just know when a really good feeling wells up inside me, an "OOH-RAH!" usually wants to burst loose right behind it.

Semper Fidelis

Walt

[real saxophonist]

Yeah, the Army has something like, 'Hoo-yah', or 'Hoo-ha'. Unfortunately, I think of 'HUHA' as Head Up His/Her Ass. I was in in '89-91, and 'Oorah' was a standard greeting.

[Ordie 1]

From a navy CHIEF comes HOOOYAAAAAAA!!!!!