Death from Above

Historical Background
Death From Above was a phrase used to describe air support from United States aircraft, primarily during the Vietnam War (1964-1973), from aircraft armed with miniguns and gatling guns to fire several rounds of ammunition at the enemy (North Vietnamese or Viet Cong) to support United States or South Vietnamese forces on the ground. However, it was an unofficial (i.e. unauthorized) motto for some paratrooper forces in the United States military during World War II. These troops had a yellow badge with a black winged skull wearing a helmet. Going deeper, the phrase originates in Latin (Mors ab Alto) as one of the formal mottos for one division of the United States Air Force. The motto accompanies an emblem of a blue shield with a yellow bend (diagonal slash) (that arrangement was taken from Lorraine, France where many combat missions were flown in WWI) with 3 black crosses (the battle honors earned during WWI) which was approved in 1933. So, "death from above" originated in 1933, came into more popular use in the 1940s, and into common popular use in the 1960s.