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The following are included as explanatory remarks, not exact definitions, for the reader who may not be familiar with the terms.
ACV: Armoured Command Vehicle.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMCXtFhFRu
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKfUdV8eKv
Ao-dai: The Vietnamese national dress, a close-fitting top and bodice, with long flowing panels from the waist, under which long pants or trousers are worn. Pronounced "ow zhy," by the Northerners and "ow why' by the Southerners.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ShdDNlJQl
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiFuq0dE45
Arc of fire: Each weapon is positioned to fire over a certain piece of ground, which has left and right boundaries. If this is planted on a map, the area would be represented as an arc of the extremities of the boundaries. There are primary (main) and secondary arcs of fire.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKamN2sLIR7
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKCY4Rc5xf
ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYkSpWuI7U
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrr8kCxTfpA
AWOL: Absent Without Leave.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8z2zBxeUc
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLv68wFlagj
Back-up: With reference to meals, coming back for a second serving.
Base-bludging: Bludging in a base or rear area. Anyone who is farther back from the enemy than oneself is a base-bludger. They rarely, if ever, go forward of the wire.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8JM5xd6sr
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj8Ps9Lqm3
Base-up! Make camp.
Basic Webbing: Generally the minimum harness that a soldier can wear and carry to enable him to perform his basic fighting functions: waist belt, shoulder harness, ammunition pouches, water bottles, bayonet, entrenching tool, and whatever else the unit deems necessary. On this "basic" webbing the thoughtful army can build big and little packs, bedding, radios, and so on.
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCxCVrLjZl
BHQ: Battalion Headquarters.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgtPqZjDl6
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0Q60zVzQ5
Bird: girl/woman936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfH5hrRpez
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWStIoNTqV
Brass-up: To shoot, be shot at, as in "they brassed up two Charlies," and "they got brassed up by a machine gun."
CHQ: Company Headquarters.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY46l3VZNDG
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvUrKKpyu4
Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDMLQXrpme
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGdUU23TQb
Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCANAoToiW2
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNSc88QWug
CO: Commanding Officer.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSznX6Zxlb
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqOs87uYsY
CP: Command Post936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGFaBQ6GFq
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENQwhKef9w
CSM: Company Sergeant Major.
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzSQNEBGdD
Corps: The British army is composed of various corps e.g. infantry, artillery, transport, dental, etc. Everyone belongs to one of them.
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7QpKwZyop
III Corps Conference: South Vietnam was divided into four Corps Tactical Zones (CTZ): I, II, III, and IV. These were a means of dividing the country into areas of responsibility in which the various units operated, and had nothing to do with the infantry, artillery, etc., kind of corps. The III Corps HQ was almost adjacent to the airbase and the Conference was attended by a British representative.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcVAHftX3L
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBbN6dcKvx
DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBuFlA9Euy
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ8qpk9HSv
Dust-off: Radio callsign for a medical evacuation helicopter, the crews of which were renowned and revered for their efforts to lift wounded out of battle and back to the medical facilities despite bad weather and enemy gunfire. Spoken usage included: "We require Dust-off for six," and "Nigel got Dusted-off to Saigon," i.e., Nigel was evacuated to Saigon by helicopter.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OkeQerx2S
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSv5cgK7Mtw
FAC: Forward Air Controller: a pilot who flies a small (Cessna) aircraft into the battle area to locate, mark, and guide the fighters or bombers onto the targets. A high degree of skill and courage was needed.
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FN: Fabrique Nationale, the Belgian firm of arms makers.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWh0ZHX02P
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOl2a0yT7R
Forward of the wire: Outside the barbed-wire perimeter of the unit or base, i.e., out where the enemy may be met. See "basebludger" and "pogo."936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8Jg4nBmdn
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMjfEQII9J
GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Kk3IMIBlx
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIgTnq1CzV
Hutchi: Japanese (possibly Korean) word for house or shelter, corrupted to mean the soldier's tent in the field. American "hooch" or "hoochi."936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgsxj7jzpy
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGkMPj73Hv
Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSM8B6dfkWg
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IO: Intelligence Officer.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivumgO7VB9
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAOqpIJb3n
Iron Triangle: A jungle area, roughly shaped like a triangle, about 30 miles west of Saigon, used by the Viet Cong as a base area.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0j7RrxOoZv
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7n0icYf2C
J: Jungle.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkMqlptAhc
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KIA: Killed In Action.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3j4pmVCxn
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyV6sVcSqS
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LO: Liaison Officer936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRLhiOwXBo
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBiOpACPMc
Local Force: The Viet Cong National Liberation Front organized their fighting forces on several levels. At the bottom was the village guerilla, then units organized to operate in their home area----but larger than the usual village squad, and given tasks of a more demanding military nature, naturally enough these were called local force units. Above them were regional units and finally the main force.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5nhTeYqSr
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIwv7X7Srz
LZ: Landing Zone936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5l02JglWd
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1d9QlZHUG1
Main Force: Units of soldiers who have graduated from the village guerillas, local and regional force units, are full-time members of the armed forces, and are now regular troops who can be given military tasks such as those given to regular units of the NATO armies.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXcdrlDAoU
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABsDV6epks
MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZ12J4xlNV
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4V6w9UD1an
Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbXVAJw9Ae
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZ6Ci1LmRc
MPC: Military Payment Certificate. "Play money" or "Monopoly money" issued by the military authorities in an attempt to halt the flow of dollars into the black market, etc. It is only good in the military system such as canteens, messes, etc. The type or pattern of MPC would be changed at very short notice, and all unchanged old MPC would then be so much paper. There are said to be people throughout Asia with boxes of old MPC, hoping for the day when the particular pattern is again issued, and they will get rich.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsHTX7CB5Z
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeY2H0ArDf2
MP: Military Police.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRgZDXSR9y
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0k8ZWXGrW5
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer, i.e., below the rank of 2nd lieutenant.
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NLF: National Liberation Front. No Communist Revolution is complete without this title.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOdtBUyVrO
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYW3ikOpRM
NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Never admitted by Hanoi to be in South Vietnam, an assertion believed only by the very naive.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPCQD5m5PE
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfW6hPVA7D
OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UUoFmHiTy
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScdIwVTGM6
Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6VIaBunyF
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e3g403K92
Political Officer: The communist forces, being the armed effort of the political organization, are always subject to strict political control, which is achieved by placing a political infrastructure paralleling that of the military command, at all levels from company on up. The political officer has the final word in disagreements between the military and political. Called commissars in earlier times, they are a very important and effective means of ensuring control, motivation, and explanation of policy to the soldiers.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3NiFCjZyp
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqGEAn0PzQ
Pepper-pot: A tactic for advancing under fire where one or two soldiers at a time leap up, run forward a few paces, go down, roll away, and fire on the enemy while their comrades are doing likewise. The enemy is presented with fleeting targets all across his front, making it very hard for him to take on an accurate shot. Like many other things, it requires practice and teamwork.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObVeE91VQv
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1bJmeRYif
Pogo: See Basebludging. Pogos are the same, but worse. They supposedly spend their time bouncing aimlessly around the rear areas on a pogo-stick and are thus of no use to the fighting troops, i.e., anyone closer to, or likely to be closer to, the enemy.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDvFhxaxXq
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6m3UVJoX1
PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwpooRjq5x
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMTFAUnjXA
PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD1WV5dzOj
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RTUcfxSYl
RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfSizMkQkZ
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Pww9mvpi3
Regional Force: Along with a similar organization called the popular force, were part-time troops of the Saigon Regime, used for guard and other light military duties, which could include operations to search for the VC, normally operating in their home locations or areas. Abbreviated in RF/PE so immediately were called "ruffpuffs."936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNL38prgjT
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oUpWkbHIO
RPD: Russian light machine gun for section or squad use. The initials stand for the Russian words, the D being for Degtyarev, the designer.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxUgQUoLAT
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVHOoPOUXT
RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTL7jllRFc
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpGg7IacSu
RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2kpk7IPcP
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvbsavjiBQ
RV: Rendezvous936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF55OtTNyAz
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlDO9km014
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzle5DgoRGb
Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tOAXoXSFl
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmPY71ftVM
SLR: Self Loading Rifle; the British-modified Belgian FN, produced at Birmingham, firing the standard NATO 7.62mm round, pronounced "slur."936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtDGcmnI18
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqILFOB5lH
Smoke: To shoot, kill936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigUdYmF9vi
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Tommy: A British soldier.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWTLZI1o3G
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhKvxsq8wx
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yp7yJSkmP
VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWy6dhaepDZ
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mLD0xXqX8
VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6JKVo1Alw
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDkVqLzNtd
War Zone D: A term dating from the 1950s war against the French, for a large expanse of jungle about forty miles northeast of Saigon, in which the VC had base camps, training areas, etc., and which was rarely entered by government forces prior to 1965; also called D-Zone or Zone D. Zone C was farther to the southwest, and others were to the north.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPzDPPCpU0
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFVv6JpyOS
Wog: British slang for an Asian: more fully "Westernized Oriental Gentleman." Plural is "wogs" and the land is sometimes referred to as "Woggeria."936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpeLFfTgma
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9MlpskNcs
Watch your front!: Do not stare down your shirt buttons and trouser fly, but pay attention to the area of ground before you, your arc of fire.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvmJ6BhgMV
936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1Nqiw11C1
WIA: Wounded in Action. 936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloR5x4Ry13
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5cvKUPTd2
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