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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZZKQhb5UY
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPDtBEbnOf
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszYsHIucMM
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYteZnGkqc
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqY5F1WPQwv
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7IKTpg8xd
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6TJl1YPCS
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Bird: girl/woman1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTA106ShTi
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50GmRbDuGc
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAiITwv06p
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljPRQDQlci
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CO: Commanding Officer.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NbdYGUnMu
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CP: Command Post1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hg11CQDcx
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsU07PoDgl2
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNIY5WdySg
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeselqTFvG
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7sIBx8AQr
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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."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9cLj2CNHE
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWB1mzyZv0R
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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."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tFfV2UBoR
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkilNvJIyp7
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IO: Intelligence Officer.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1drp4KoBnz
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00YwqPTFBd
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J: Jungle.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7H1peB9fj
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KIA: Killed In Action.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8k4TkDO4c
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47XqC7SLJc
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LO: Liaison Officer1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzIPANfvwm
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlA84f3MexD
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LZ: Landing Zone1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvX6X7y5VuK
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiItuFLA6b
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4y3IiGzXJ
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOS2xX4Apuc
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBcLcyxr10
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MP: Military Police.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoC3rQdiYI
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aTeFOydD4
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLgjX4AjDV
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrwUCkEFM9
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEp4oTxOwH
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHShOUdVXb
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7Yj1B7MtY
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfESBet1hky
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeCgOyDBz4
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBRfgtw836
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfs4hmvCE5
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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."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97MPjVDdDi
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADVGorce1m
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrzNQSAhEE
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWKVW4Q27f
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RV: Rendezvous1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYb4wTI6tQO
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9rRZZCbiS
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYwpj4rTEH
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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."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhqV1II79Y
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Smoke: To shoot, kill1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRS8IGlAK9
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Tommy: A British soldier.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WU59lzpaY
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO15yTeOtgV
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeL20BUb9ZB
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEmny7a3dk
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgP6idpllL9
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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."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsLrNBOTTb
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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.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZGXZ0pM06
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡni64cYI6YY
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qcG8GOpSC
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