U S Marine Corps Linguistic Precision Lesson

Stolen from the Catholic Caveman:

A ROK (Republic of Korea) commander, whose unit was fighting along with the Marines, called legendary Marine (at the time, Colonel) Lewis "Chesty" Puller to report a major Chinese attack in his sector. "How many Chinese are attacking you?" asked Puller. "Many, many Chinese!" replied the excited Korean officer. Puller asked for another count and got the same answer, "Many, many Chinese!"

"Damn it!" swore Puller, "Put my Marine Liaison Officer on the radio." In a minute, an American voice came over the air: "Yes sir?" "Lieutenant," growled Chesty, "exactly how many Chinese you got up there?" "Colonel, we got a whole shitload of Chinese up here!"

"Thank God," exclaimed Puller, "At least there's someone up there who knows how to count."

A little clarification always helps.

More "Chesty" Puller quotes at the link--and worth reading, by the way.