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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZ277Zenqf
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxlmabalaV
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBYBNBqlXL
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgive9SszL
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHu5tPgkcv
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyGSvgmdJj
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqbh09Pna3
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Bird: girl/woman1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt86e6j2hNM
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rWfSFkK2R
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTbsxIkI6C
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVBMIrVfzs
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CO: Commanding Officer.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmoYR2QfjH
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CP: Command Post1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1athNw3lIg
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡapLWzpqIAH
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡez44jKG93P
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdlYDzIlnf
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZG5D2UxbN
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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."1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtrRt29Vwo
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5eZAQvz5t
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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."1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNCBm6DvFD
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgmV9nFCRg
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IO: Intelligence Officer.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDw4KPY3JSU
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Lse8fyBS0
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J: Jungle.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6iWu66JfF
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KIA: Killed In Action.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2lY421LIW
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaDZrkGDRL
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LO: Liaison Officer1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcz76J0SUSW
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xLESw0UwM
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LZ: Landing Zone1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdXaP0TJDj
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmxi4wD3tC
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOW9GgPL71n
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡix4LGvlUm9
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4m15QglzPg
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MP: Military Police.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTdbNVZntT
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiq0VDBupe
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpdRRNsnkC
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KXSgPQ7RD
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DBQ9y451B
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznuxSPvNaX
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8R6TQXM0h
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9wPaqXEbk
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4jnFdbgTd
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZu1FtLFoo
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfgv8E5m6r
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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."1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8NXJRfW5W
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZrbde9yBr
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1YRuUqc1q
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidW6u2SQSG
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RV: Rendezvous1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcU88M0yMpE
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRycGWZXFLK
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHgZ3zmSTQ
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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."1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39YArXWbwz
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Smoke: To shoot, kill1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1R5SHE3Ztc
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Tommy: A British soldier.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmykrmDLLle
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLNmmHN9dJ
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcmcRpejnS
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkL43dwELRc
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHthTy1p2rE
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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."1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIx88KkisH
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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.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGgpmiYhjJ
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLfl5262a5
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.1050Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBH16i6aPM
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