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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGLxu8IFNR
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlh2Vqtk2VS
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHaPcqN3zY
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRCR5DWzFT
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfAthT3z2Q
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2llMHKfQv
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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.
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BHQ: Battalion Headquarters.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeLVbekDvO
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Bird: girl/woman941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JX8FKGcxG
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcSNkZc7ge
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRSKgfC9lf
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNsBve8gDD
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CO: Commanding Officer.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9n4uuE6xln
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CP: Command Post941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8JHPOZBfU
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CSM: Company Sergeant Major.
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Corps: The British army is composed of various corps e.g. infantry, artillery, transport, dental, etc. Everyone belongs to one of them.
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBRHOxY6iB
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHSyI7VYIC
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4vC09ICEl
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvo0azvmTn
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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."941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56sua5GYuh
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvqmUnQqIP
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Hutchi: Japanese (possibly Korean) word for house or shelter, corrupted to mean the soldier's tent in the field. American "hooch" or "hoochi."941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ko2YUkbm7
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZMD4mWJEM
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IO: Intelligence Officer.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlAfZbsyxN
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsbAmqVwqs
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J: Jungle.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4lWS58sCC
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KIA: Killed In Action.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrtjlxWZyP
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqP5ttFW1yD
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LO: Liaison Officer941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63Y6KBpoj7
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eCxEAiDYf
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LZ: Landing Zone941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgfHiTAFh2
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mXKj3s0K9
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sQ0yyQDPY
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeTpzPbh0v
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqeYKtxXPs
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MP: Military Police.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgastY094q
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gf86ui4g3
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NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Never admitted by Hanoi to be in South Vietnam, an assertion believed only by the very naive.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RVFhGTupk
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2sLWBcK3A
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1AQkXGUrz
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8u9eLgdNO
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWTi8L9KOd
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ntMDSgAXM
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXHK4oaB7x
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHwE02qXcr
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gyjpbMguO
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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."941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyaP2z4NKA
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RPD: Russian light machine gun for section or squad use. The initials stand for the Russian words, the D being for Degtyarev, the designer.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1KejxV77D
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3G46GhFYu
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnoYGN5jzl
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RV: Rendezvous941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVG2XarL8v
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9ZSPXegxi
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lIu13JGM3
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SLR: Self Loading Rifle; the British-modified Belgian FN, produced at Birmingham, firing the standard NATO 7.62mm round, pronounced "slur."941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcb0U26ug31
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Smoke: To shoot, kill941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMeDL9fsURm
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Tommy: A British soldier.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSltiMgWWMu
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3rPgtqh7x
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXshrwYI9B4
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOg02tGcUd
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdaPGsf5al
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Wog: British slang for an Asian: more fully "Westernized Oriental Gentleman." Plural is "wogs" and the land is sometimes referred to as "Woggeria."941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5tKtOK80S
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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.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKEXIo6oEM
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCyHpVlxLV
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.941Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6CkVhzIGe
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