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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOVu4Hih3X
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzc8z0ub469
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHeEFm1LDc
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7q5OkmOZD
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKyFfxHB3A
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRq759iaqSD
ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CLNq7ZsWs
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wFd3rNQOL
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHl1wpkOec
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7RjgM5LvA
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VOolGwmBc
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Bird: girl/woman876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSNxbmiQpe
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovDYMdB9NE
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa26kxMRoR7
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoexuxJOSz
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOW8Nb00XB
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CO: Commanding Officer.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNxfkMejHc
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CP: Command Post876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7Zwacu6TI
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDuNFEcyrI
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5P2ZxFqYo
DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpnDCfoSb7
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1Vn7us3Ih
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoVjdXWV94
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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."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx07XQ01iO6
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1boyh1xut
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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."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0D1GlOcHg
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsavim3uGm
Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78DvTV93AD
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IO: Intelligence Officer.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuTwX05nMd
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1x23vD05w7
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J: Jungle.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsamipWnwIV
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KIA: Killed In Action.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeaCPoUWk1
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenU0mAOYvK
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LO: Liaison Officer876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc25KZz9S09
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YoQsnCiZY
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LZ: Landing Zone876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2w1X0yUUE
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcN4xmqpt65
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrN1fvYY0QQ
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ARPJpMKKY
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kiDKx0I7Q
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MP: Military Police.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfObNew5cD
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcgjJWcRcp
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeZ9glJql2
NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Never admitted by Hanoi to be in South Vietnam, an assertion believed only by the very naive.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3glkZDvxy
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1P4w4M6nJX
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcCsXa3aYA
Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekGkbnX6fF
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyaLzuynbm
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7S7qjlzLf
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlszF8mvw1
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3WzLcQHFw
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6uXpGHQsD
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtIpLxpNle
PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgARMsm8w5
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGiVzuUt4g
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaV6Lyj4FWX
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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."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13bHdv7ig3
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJsOF4wGDH
RPD: Russian light machine gun for section or squad use. The initials stand for the Russian words, the D being for Degtyarev, the designer.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucIkX4iYEd
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hh0IOKwVM
RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvP9vpbb7In
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrjHWYSZqE
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZeKXVMgsT
RV: Rendezvous876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3surOsuZ8
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAxHtaXAFU
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnBIUFERui
Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9T1YjH4pKU
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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."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxWfDnMpwZ
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Smoke: To shoot, kill876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SFVGKAdW3
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Tommy: A British soldier.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80WGuVoaYI
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdVd0hmSeY
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq4BITox4W
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEhwB040xT
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVDjobtMRa
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeKdX1KzNq
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC39Yl34qWs
Wog: British slang for an Asian: more fully "Westernized Oriental Gentleman." Plural is "wogs" and the land is sometimes referred to as "Woggeria."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwN0zAFQET
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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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNs6ku20X1
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCX0HfKpX5
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCK3IhXEfgY
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