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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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PxtyyzcDv
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncH3PsaQLS
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeDU5h1gxQ
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqzcK62nVi
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WH7eEHPWA
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDpl2cFp5g
ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMxhsm1CfY
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBncoi8mPOy
AWOL: Absent Without Leave.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqz57OWTtJ
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3vYJSromU
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOizS5BtkjU
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LKFp2hrc6
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.
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjfHs1x2X6
BHQ: Battalion Headquarters.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcxgUXFaZf
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKHsr3FFvW
Bird: girl/woman942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNqB4YoMXE
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBORgvtff0t
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOUtRElhZR
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRqHhCAQL8
Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQfzAU29dc
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHvKp1jOgQ
Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYR3W3A96h
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZrFCJVcFR
CO: Commanding Officer.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCBuP99IfG
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kCIEVHFx5
CP: Command Post942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbVwoZdN7B
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjKn16MV4L
CSM: Company Sergeant Major.
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVsanGuK1z
Corps: The British army is composed of various corps e.g. infantry, artillery, transport, dental, etc. Everyone belongs to one of them.
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLHlLrnSxK
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixZRBxQXGm
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz0MmOCdkw
DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSl1Jlvk5Sh
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IC9OqMEVy
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQfOJTqWGw
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQ3hnEgDb3
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.
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGQKmpSiI1
FN: Fabrique Nationale, the Belgian firm of arms makers.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkSt1nYMRo
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ve1MIfdC1
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."942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfhC58nNWs
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNF7eIH392Q
GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIEU8vng9Q
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7TMAycYBo
Hutchi: Japanese (possibly Korean) word for house or shelter, corrupted to mean the soldier's tent in the field. American "hooch" or "hoochi."942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29mqLfE0Q8
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GQ0yu5nHv
Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClf9i8Kj5m
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKT07LTRaH
IO: Intelligence Officer.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJe5bEllsC
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQN9uJV8OE
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1btOGc3aL
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhdqg1xwbB
J: Jungle.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIs1pxsCiN
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLD9jzDaBml
KIA: Killed In Action.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDtgkVUNC9
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGUdZJTl3n
Locstat: Location statement, present location.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Wa7VxUBmm
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVH8AvoNA5K
LO: Liaison Officer942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTDdA5lfdh
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVg2OwRRM2U
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyf2zJITIjz
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlImPXSEqPo
LZ: Landing Zone942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrYnvjZkmX
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzVjXCl5Pd
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZx6FANX2Ja
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknXqY3pYxI
MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qvy3bZgKo
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BJQeDd6RU
Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcFQDgivla
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJXSNPTVfk
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBzqSNG1Fp
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlStXJi5mhA
MP: Military Police.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBqPTjobpC
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCh56bG8P1t
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer, i.e., below the rank of 2nd lieutenant.
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7UaU8wXQU
NLF: National Liberation Front. No Communist Revolution is complete without this title.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqWqs4m7Vn
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHh7yhCOP0
NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Never admitted by Hanoi to be in South Vietnam, an assertion believed only by the very naive.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pq8SSmiDQ
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0JKJMSsqh
OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8aQa1hyYU
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbffEQj6NL
Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvkPMnmfzS
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXNWXVbF8o
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHVWNiRiEs
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gXd24BUDJ
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxhv2f48qY
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NuAVqrYLJ
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96bwOBvylX
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XWwOmn8zb
PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4icGYa2lA
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBqbPmXSLe
PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpw2V2CQgmO
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5oz4eUHyW
RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEW9ys1CjkM
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuw4928AEn
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."942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BXitllfnq
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrV26IOzDQ
RPD: Russian light machine gun for section or squad use. The initials stand for the Russian words, the D being for Degtyarev, the designer.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxMP9LkC66
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKwUDFrb3s
RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmS9aNHxQ3
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WDdiEcrHr
RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sp7wfJVMh
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAalxXCRTI
RV: Rendezvous942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07H4czi87Y
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcHqAJJ1xF
Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSu2OQSe08l
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtZdu3g7Z2
Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4ioSi4D20
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNULiUA6nb
SLR: Self Loading Rifle; the British-modified Belgian FN, produced at Birmingham, firing the standard NATO 7.62mm round, pronounced "slur."942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWYbop0CX7
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfK8jTqg1B
Smoke: To shoot, kill942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLyEWxdqNz
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6DGERi09w
Tommy: A British soldier.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDkEeHYjw5
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAyaU7MSno
Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcYO0q0FYM
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6LAxilc01
VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVWhRLFPQd
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVNXtZKgzs
VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtkPf9m7lW
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3oNWrBkwG
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOB17NJ9P2
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNyI7UylXi
Wog: British slang for an Asian: more fully "Westernized Oriental Gentleman." Plural is "wogs" and the land is sometimes referred to as "Woggeria."942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykfMdF6DzO
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvkMe0P9AV
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.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44BSai43Av
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrIXDTOv9o
WIA: Wounded in Action. 942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTcltMLfFQ
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0w7OeCRhF
Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtWkGHW5KJ
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnP2NCI4FX
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGSpj4aSyO
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkve0tNqSYy
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FASp6E1LW
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QC3b0B31J
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTcY3T7H6K
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAHlRa7GWW
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6KNGOCkRG
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSxPlljHIs
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTwFFBT74k
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQ1XbkpC4P
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jG0pOh1Za
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcvpdTU8zv
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUYNjwUns5
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡug8n0XdS6u
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpNdbVkMVB
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3MuLPoKN9
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz493F6GqNi
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3hHXYnRaK
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBGmZLeDg6
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUrypcRg1Y
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942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5NrfR155b
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sIreYdLQZ
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942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU9q6TNoJM
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccwdu4QzQ5
942Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7hLK6m77J
