On or around June 6 every year, I honor the soldiers who lost their lives and the veterans who survived the D-Day invasion of Normanday, which marked the turning point of World War II. My tribute takes the form of learning more about what soldiers went through, and with every new fact I learn I am more in awe of what they did.

What struck me this year is the power that a single word can have on the psyche and morale of individuals. On D-Day and during the months that followed, the Allies suffered many more casualties than they had expected. Replacements had to be quickly trained and rushed into action. And here’s where the power of one word struck me.

New draftees were gathered and trained at Replacement Troop Centers, and the troops themselves were referred to as “replacements.” But when the replacement soldiers realized they were replacements specifically because they were replacing soldiers killed or badly wounded, they started getting scared; they realized that they too could easily be killed once inserted into infantry divisions.

Commanders soon realized that ”replacements” was the wrong word, and the army made an effort to change “replacements” to “reinforcements” — a classic exercise in repositioning. “Reinforcements” has a much more positive connotation: you are adding strength to an existing force to make it more powerful, as opposed replacing people no longer alive. 

The word change didn’t work. Knowledge had already spread far and wide about replacements, why they were called up, and what they were in line for.

While my point is to honor World War II soldiers, you can also see the implications for those of us in the more pedestrian profession of marketing and communication: the right word always matters. Choose carefully. 

Photo of landing on Omaha Beach from US National Archives.