The ace of spades, in French fortune telling, is known as the card of death.
In recent years, the ace has been adopted by the US military, depicted on various unit crests, and also as a "calling card". This started in Vietnam, when two lieutenants of the 25th Infantry Division wrote to The United States Playing Card Company and requested decks containing nothing but the ace of spades. The cards were scattered in the jungle and placed on the dead as a warning to others. It is also said that planes sprinkled enemy territory with playing cards, but prior to carpet bombing, they dropped only the ace of spades. Before long, just the dropping of aces was sufficient to clear an entire area.