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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlz5H5Wp9a
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjh9Wg4qXpq
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIGo9Xrdzq
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYXxj16P81
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWhDG1oEwr
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBstpX54oMD
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yfMYEUzEE
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Bird: girl/woman970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGr0dhiwy6d
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZ5fq3pacU
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYXxndgtfI
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFS82A78mP
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CO: Commanding Officer.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0nwPckqQF
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CP: Command Post970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzb4yUlqQuK
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8iKRdBtnP
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRI0relu60
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1KPM1J2pc
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9lbwaVHRN
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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."970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq90maNHla9
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7lUpNaKr7
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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."970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPZvGY3VYH
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmDmT2HAbG
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IO: Intelligence Officer.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK36ltoCOdC
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaPvzwfVA5
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J: Jungle.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYSiRawGRp
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KIA: Killed In Action.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcfkNRzVtx
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1tzjciMlC
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LO: Liaison Officer970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH83ylDFcSw
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEK1qpHvrLb
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LZ: Landing Zone970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDkPGhh8G0
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIUPnosqLx
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlIfaQR0GW
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGrPH3R46R
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTmz3FMhK6
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MP: Military Police.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wKLgeIE37
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjp5b9rwYo
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kMLEUYeqG
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQPjvMVO92
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROCjOEQo3F
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTSg9syHj9
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRqLvubafS
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vpe3ePYps
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWwlsgvGfN
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvm6AI7DoG
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxrc58bfSa
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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."970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTJ8zIDyvd
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbtT3GD1VM
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwh7R47uQr
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuP8ILVi7M
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RV: Rendezvous970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3Gm20Xi06
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpEvRVeFiZ
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIOIMBK7FY
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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."970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmJ3POIQVh
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Smoke: To shoot, kill970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AN87KvxW4
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Tommy: A British soldier.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKzQ5LFlTk
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYxX1vzoIV
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrjHLM5maW
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Y6ukLjafl
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVaODABo6P
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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."970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xNj85hunf
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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.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeVAFpxgoWk
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMV12Z8dlTP
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.970Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFj89NwjYLC
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