--- title: "The ‘Re-Up Bird’ was the most tireless Vietnam-era recruiter" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/the-re-up-bird-was-the-most-tireless-vietnam-era-recruiter/" categories: - "History" - "Vietnam War" - "War History" --- # The ‘Re-Up Bird’ was the most tireless Vietnam-era recruiter ![]() The moment newly-arrived Marines entered the jungles of Vietnam, they were faced with a question from the most persistent recruiter. The call of the Blue-Eared Barbet, a bird indigenous to southeast Asia and beyond, has a distinctive, high-pitched warble: --- ![]() The bird's song sounded like it was [asking troops in Vietnam to re-up]() – military slang for re-enlisting. Vietnam-era soldier James August wrote in his [2013 memoir "Postmark Vietnam:"]() In the elephant grass, there lives a bird whose call sounds like reeeuhuuup, and of course Marines call it the RE-Up Bird. As I am sure you know, re-up means to re-enlist, an idea not popular with the Marines over here. It was the question no one was ready to answer right away. Luckily for the soldiers and Marines in the Vietnamese jungles, night time brought out the Tokay Gecko, who had the perfect answer to the Re-Up Bird. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZME3n5DDck Yes, the nocturnal lizard's own distinctive call earned it a nickname as well. And the nights in the central highlands of Vietnam were filled with the refrain of this continual question-and-answer game. Elbert Franklin Evans recounted his earliest encounters with Vietnam's nighttime sign-countersign between the Barbet and the Gecko in his 1997 book, "Night On The Perimeter:" "I heard the snickers from the soldiers on the bunker on my left. They enjoyed this jungle sonata, which echoed their own sentiments. Re-up? F\*\*\* you. You found humor in unlikely places in the bush, and this small bit of humor was peculiarly calming." Vietnam veteran John Podlaski writes extensively about [the sounds of the jungle at night]() on his blog, which is named after his book, "Cherries, a Vietnam War story," about his 1970 deployment to the country. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()