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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UUBdJdthr
975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqpI8ABmUD
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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dKbSFyIGD
975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2FYM730RF
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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGgZbs4gpm
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmAYBDhRhH
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsfWhzpJS1
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJFYz0N3hB
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELYxNVhAGa
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Bird: girl/woman975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpivVkIxhq
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUGPswOe2E
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxALyOB95q
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CJVSIVjgc
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CO: Commanding Officer.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mUP6sZiUc
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CP: Command Post975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xkO0IzC2N
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLgj0NHQJv
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBIXdqFmfU
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BrZdcVU9q
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElpJqfDWuc
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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."975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqsHglqGJE
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaHJNuoDl6
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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."975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YXGzGOZUl
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQtSZWMIhU
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IO: Intelligence Officer.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztsDFtx8HN
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwOyONJHkN
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J: Jungle.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJrKhM5ARb
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KIA: Killed In Action.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnCwM7VwVI
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkWxnZiJKl
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LO: Liaison Officer975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKVjdupjIo
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfidO0l52WU
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LZ: Landing Zone975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIvDfTpxSJ
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtU4LpJDvan
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUl3l3JVz6
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYs5p0oJ0j1
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89EQXiaKCb
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MP: Military Police.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dVxUdU6Ys
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIP8HONhHO
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzGeqW2BN2
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtRfysAYo7
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCH4AWYurfo
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFv4WQGsjEE
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMJSYvVH5x
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYcGCae8Jw
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtT3lqbcNvl
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yGXx7fD7D
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvD4L5J57sh
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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."975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2BOrNwYjY
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWZvegQLmd
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwY18DDn42
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwukPNxzU9u
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RV: Rendezvous975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWyaXCk3Xm
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb6nUjPWPR
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0gScaXu2n
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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."975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJ0z4fc2c4
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Smoke: To shoot, kill975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yL2ljNV1U
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Tommy: A British soldier.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRJVt09dj8
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeAn5t4kbn
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3kHSdPGeX
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1UsrsongC
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR5AvUjIH7
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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."975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CQ1yI0P4o
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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.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJU3HXi4gA
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbo2DKUlS6U
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwE2ewXVIMu
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