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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAIPVFWeII
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbgBg9PqVO
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZJjGurmay
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qi5L6trb1
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGE8xh1JrfG
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVA3OCHfDfK
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcVPQYl4fD
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Bird: girl/woman1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTTJIv5Y6c
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzVyDbDnGL
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58X98gn90B
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJ6I7lxTE9
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CO: Commanding Officer.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYPO1KMh2C
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CP: Command Post1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFF1iM22F18
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfIAGShhFl
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMfDZufMIB
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfzhaWXED8
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4Qw9genRb
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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."1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4wtqluya3
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRWpji9v93
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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."1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFG1XL4X1C
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUCzXZ6v3c
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IO: Intelligence Officer.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4B5b7L7kPd
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1eSz6CZ5Qq
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J: Jungle.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieMOAYaziQ
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KIA: Killed In Action.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sx9CRT1zY
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGIUuih9U5
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LO: Liaison Officer1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SX7OqmuMz
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX107ShSbaK
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LZ: Landing Zone1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo2JGfuuru
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1MFWGc0ZP
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTl3sKtTMft
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OVQE2w9y8
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmPbSmB1WQ
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MP: Military Police.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqPvkdkW01
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntWiS3y6Jm
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dD8mQISur
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HJ7wBNH6O
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHV9GjDYW6
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9936pjQhx4
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DSrnfhyPa
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDv0rHIHNra
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HySdE8csJ
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7FnwMi7Hi
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7yraYaFR8
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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."1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjY9wQ4HBHg
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppUHgfqKOP
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZNNcb34yd
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PdPLHw6UE
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RV: Rendezvous1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNXvQhuPbb
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgv80VpEmbM
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9RquCMMmD
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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."1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3BLnyxOLx
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Smoke: To shoot, kill1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoB4fQiBbTM
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Tommy: A British soldier.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJH8l4gPWEJ
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQRmIkdJ9k
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2VlOWajjZ
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRuHejNdX4
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMXPd7Vg4q
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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."1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZC0igxlHZ
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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.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyzBFeMn5X
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaYlCM2Kn0
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.1040Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxXu8Lhno2
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