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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIeotBcYi7
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPWDgydXQh
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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIa4HVxptV
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHycAZmm7e
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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4dO82wVZQ
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zeRtpp7do
ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1CXVQxk2q
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcY4C2WWKL
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRu4w3g0Onk
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHy34MgZmBU
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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbljXUItjIa
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Bird: girl/woman984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFXy7nzNI9
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuiemYHH0GV
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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9YRXD7Olo
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLqVhgxKcX
Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJT77XCuYA6
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiAkW9lFGS
Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKMWRDkBgm
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CO: Commanding Officer.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtSlJJTNRg
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CP: Command Post984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQl2B1knkD
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xHdsrVw1Y
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDraDxUoO02
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqsFLnhWx4
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZL9jOYD3N
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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmPcxqfGxc
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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."984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQS2EVyKQrn
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwCRFhaWkQ
GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6Jnkqanfv
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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."984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSkxHmDAB8
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNlLbFlQVZ
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IO: Intelligence Officer.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eS7vohXPu
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbWqw31xwU
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J: Jungle.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6LzNu2k1t
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KIA: Killed In Action.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrdxyWDeQD
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpy8AqjqDV
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LO: Liaison Officer984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNvUU50dB8
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmI1ExI9co
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LZ: Landing Zone984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OXDrgpw6q
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRwJU7EUPZ
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrgnFk8Miq
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZIzleB7Y5
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8ly1aLkye
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MP: Military Police.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoL2cs5pHn
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2UVbHDtQr
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIvtXLdq4f
NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Never admitted by Hanoi to be in South Vietnam, an assertion believed only by the very naive.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SpJd8Dkma
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13ZerYteVb
OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrS7FJ0zuDJ
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4uHFfdnyw
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcizagXPVsj
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sbetJYKuf
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhCURPwciI
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4d1SUU5rM
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFg0KbiZUu
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhYg6sJgAP
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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."984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReJPkMo6zA
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lXAFD1Icf
RPD: Russian light machine gun for section or squad use. The initials stand for the Russian words, the D being for Degtyarev, the designer.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsdmQyld1L
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhDdYSdrjQ
RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquBlW4j5BO
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLT6hl5mOR
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RV: Rendezvous984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgbjLm3d6R
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsn3oe2icRW
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBfukpiI9L
Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNOR0XUjaO
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNUltlSC2u
SLR: Self Loading Rifle; the British-modified Belgian FN, produced at Birmingham, firing the standard NATO 7.62mm round, pronounced "slur."984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbNeVM7mdz
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Smoke: To shoot, kill984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2r6U8rYDvK
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Tommy: A British soldier.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlT9XOysuWM
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBokLBW5k9L
Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HfpOJWrVV
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYeSWOq000
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbbYqC1Znv
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdVf7HBEgZ
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvxZVWcWdj
Wog: British slang for an Asian: more fully "Westernized Oriental Gentleman." Plural is "wogs" and the land is sometimes referred to as "Woggeria."984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlm1zHbrilc
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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.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUABTvdewB
984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhX99vyjQd
WIA: Wounded in Action. 984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksXklKDViP
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.984Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbn3Z30X1P
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