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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE07Q2z4TzQ
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopt5UXzyeX
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5nm5m7dUU
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteW6uwQPBh
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmsF80yXVK
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbwh3YfCXw
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeY9WQPaIyJ
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Bird: girl/woman1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbQOLm5F75
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKKT0Ou1y4
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7ayml7R1q
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpuH2tGtNl
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CO: Commanding Officer.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvnA04h0PE
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CP: Command Post1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8mOrQIMFh
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNamUEBHPS
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wYChhuhuY
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzXeSiXYp9
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSP181gsw7
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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."1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaUYzLL8Hk
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQm0nHwqNBM
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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."1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2d5ShFd97g
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWo7M3HGOe
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IO: Intelligence Officer.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9SXn4W1SS
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPs4odShEBn
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J: Jungle.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlN0ALc9rIK
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KIA: Killed In Action.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9n2DIeEZW
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3AZQTxr1V
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LO: Liaison Officer1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKDaLxA8ue
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMLAZlnINt
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LZ: Landing Zone1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelO1ZCtLLx
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwxJrw7DO1
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmUa70e3nl
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6UgEL2ZJT
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4o8PTZwjB
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MP: Military Police.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvZhbdxkSD
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWBOjn0Qdz
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmojpxeyt5
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAWptg2PWc
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HuDH46lP0
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwx9oMkWsA2
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaY59F7Tey
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKQYEc2u4p
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbs3TiBwCI
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclJjoYN9Qx
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqg7DUfsLhS
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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."1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTZWkF4wP5
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoK2Z1B15F
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPZpuGO94S
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIbcPTJ7Fy
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RV: Rendezvous1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHQ00IMBIe
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEBhrdcCIv
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAK1pjj6NLf
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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."1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiaxXiZfhT
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Smoke: To shoot, kill1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NUZls0hio
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Tommy: A British soldier.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGAV8Y1VCB
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iI1qRxGYv
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVF0etUL1E
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqbaQLX2lD
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5urrJPukv4
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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."1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkbxlMZabg
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5EYqgmavA
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Mo6hOktQL
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5T5iAY5DZN
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