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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnNQbiOePu
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51DRPv5MJB
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYh8JewaVF
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdi9nKCwgC
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQAGDKhYMz
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JkobkW1Vq
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDH0fnuIFaD
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Bird: girl/woman1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Sp94up1pU
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUtaKCpeYh
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Krs8x8jue
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIJRoeVizA
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CO: Commanding Officer.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2kSrZW0RJ
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CP: Command Post1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuefQDVhcR
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9z6z6nhWK
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1krzdrsul
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZCkweUSSV
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxo6rNyMpl1
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPCKAK03P2
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpetjXWIlL
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhp2Cutdii
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSYF4MPmUD
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IO: Intelligence Officer.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETf8Fnhop6
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7up8oeBoF
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J: Jungle.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmdfwx3XgE
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KIA: Killed In Action.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ElMeuLr16
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFewOMjTMz
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LO: Liaison Officer1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUdS43ulqD
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbKE15TueX
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LZ: Landing Zone1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiQRc2sssK
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LDItIRGqQ
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIA9eAjDFJ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqY4gSD4wc
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqC0MFxbNiU
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MP: Military Police.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpOQhhVMNp
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXJHKLZpR6
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNEZ2AFBv2
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcc83BedYz
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRofNe6z0L
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVmJPA4EdF
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZQ62hVtM0
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAd33qnDkOk
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrfkR2bOgy
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDPKT71FjR
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRaz8B828S
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMjtMifHSL
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Uu6pvGF1I
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RMUYXmMKu
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSaVtTgbxk
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RV: Rendezvous1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7h05GFiYR
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSg5sLyhCx
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbklt2gC8p
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCBBORhYie
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Smoke: To shoot, kill1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudV6VclVbI
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Tommy: A British soldier.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mHAwgoTye
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1raB6foKlL
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSboIbCmtX
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwqicqoBLD
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOOrP0P3Wz
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qQTfcjUUe
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMLrEpULSq
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzvWoJ20UY
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.1014Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNXINKc3KI
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