Origin of the Term "Bug Out"

M*A*S*H "Bug Out" Episode - 1976

This is an excerpt from Fighting Words: From the World Wars to Korea by Christine Ammer on the origin of the term “bug out” amongst other terms. It’s an interesting article and worth a look-see.

THE SLANG OF “THE FORGOTTEN WAR” as the Korean conflict from 1950 to 1953 is often called, has not been forgotten. Much of it originated in World War II, because many of the American troops in Korea were World War II veterans.

One such term was to bug out, or simply to bug, meaning to run away and hence play the coward. Its origin is unknown, but it may have come from the sense of being obsessed or desperate. The term was first employed during World War II, but it did not gain wide usage until the Korean War.

It had multiple but related meanings. In noun form, often hyphenated (bug-out), it denoted a hasty retreat, an escape route, and the person beating such a retreat. A 1951 New York Herald Tribune article had: “Men talked of ‘bug-out gas’ and ‘bug-out jeeps’ and ‘bug-out routes’.” The military film D.I. (1957) used it denoting a person: “We’ve got a bug-out, Owen”.

The term gained further currency with “I’m Movin’ On”, a popular song of 1950 by Hank Snow that aired on the Armed Services Radio Network. Some soldier—it is not remembered who—changed the words to commemorate a major U.S. retreat.

It was supposedly first sung by black soldiers of the 24th Infantry Regiment, and one line went, “When them Chinese mortars begin to thud, the old Deuce-Four begin to bug.” There were numerous other versions of the song, but many had the refrain, “We’re buggin’ out, We’re movin’ on”. It was renamed “Bugout Boogie” and officially forbidden but nevertheless became the unofficial anthem of the Korean conflict. From it also came the expression to pull a Hank Snow, meaning to bug out. In time, bug out entered the civilian vocabulary with the similar meaning of quitting or abandoning some enterprise.

Joe Doakes'/Kilogulf59's Note: I feel the TV show M*A*S*H probably brought the term into the popular vernacular, thus the picture.

Take care and stay safe,
Joe Doakes aka Kilogulf59
Integrated Close Combat Forum

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