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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUI08PRrC4c
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTU0FMqGaa
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCdBcXA1JD
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAc3HrQNBde
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtC64CNKdo
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYG04RgqdE
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0NoLz06rf
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Bird: girl/woman875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzHWqPcnK7
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTT3KMtQgo
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLJzALnsc6
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9TuZzI7Lq
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CO: Commanding Officer.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvYnDT0ifd
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CP: Command Post875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmk8XCVnOq
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyedMbUclW
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSp0H5MIzb
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGf6R34cNij
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lPHGqkJNF
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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."875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fwgL1JB5Z
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuZREJXZcM
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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."875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDYaQMEMSz
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcatsP7ARPc
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IO: Intelligence Officer.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZHvnqJy0j
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgC9Ny8ZZ3M
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J: Jungle.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvvgrrVVeY
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KIA: Killed In Action.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUz6kOVQNK
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0eSc4Izba
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LO: Liaison Officer875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49QXR5SMAM
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXyrtgiTCk
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LZ: Landing Zone875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0NXYMJgNw
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JyaHqzzr1
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrBMzPOnWW
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTv7pNGhrlo
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXE9U32obo
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MP: Military Police.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCOW0DoCvW
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDsXESxdPm
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddv06Vndyj
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8n3DMHR4x
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsOmod3XDW
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOiQ8mCypE
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlf9glk87Q
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxP96HP37g
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXFaC34585
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFtSgC52Ry
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Dsx6HwCxr
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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."875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNH9uLwYsgB
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzQlLt0Dr3
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGqIxuTkma
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gZ8sSu7iN
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RV: Rendezvous875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHuRWaGU61
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXBOJK886o
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAzOLrvliH
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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."875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKrjKJ0BAC
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Smoke: To shoot, kill875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYghtH9zbK
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Tommy: A British soldier.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmuHLmH3U9
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JHwF2f5Ud
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuB97DnNDN
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5huzdBnBp
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9LjUTFemX
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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."875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0XyNMq6vG
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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.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzg6c2hI3w
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphXEgpMTIJ
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.875Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvTAxgxXV6
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