From: jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Larry Jewell)
Newsgroups: alt.war.vietnam,soc.veterans
Subject: Glossary of Terms
Date: 29 Sep 92 02:21:47 GMT
Followup-To: soc.veterans
Organization: Purdue University


Repost from VWAR-L:

I was going through my files and came across this Glossary of Terms
which I had compiled quite a few years ago, when I was first getting
serious about reading Viet Nam war literature and trying to keep track
of what was what.  I thought this list might be amusing or useful to
some readers.  I can't vouch for the accuracy of any of these
definitions.

Glossary of Military Terms and Slang from the
Vietnam War


4-F:  classification given to those deemed unfit for
military service

50-cal:  .50 caliber machine gun

51-cal:  heavy machine gun used by the enemy

79:  an M-79 grenade launcher

82 mm:  a mortar used by the enemy

105:  a 105-mm howitzer

201 file:  a U.S. Army personnel file

AAR:  after-action report

AC:  aircraft commander

actual:  the unit commander.  Used to distinguish the
commander from the radioman when the call sign is
used.

ADSID:  air-delivered seismic intruder-detection device;
microphone and transmitter dropped into suspect
areas

Advance Guard Youth:  Vietnamese student social and
sports organization that evolved into a non-
Communist nationalist movement by 1945.

Advanced Individual Training:  specialized training taken
after Basic Training, also referred to as Advanced
Infantry Training

AFVN:  Armed Forced Vietnam Network radio station

Agency:  the Central Intelligence Agency

AGL:  above level ground

A-gunner:  assistant gunner

AHB:  assault helicopter battalion

AID:  Agency for International Development

Airborne:  refers to soldiers who are qualified as
parachutists

air cav:  air cavalry; helicopter-borne infantry; helicopter
gunship assault teams

Airmobile:  helicopter-borne infantry

AIT:  advanced infantry training

AK-47:  Soviet-manufactured Kalashnikov semi-
automatic and fully automatic combat assault rifle,
7.62-mm; the basic weapon of the Communist
forces.  Known as the Type 56 to the Chinese, it is
characterized by an explosive popping sound.

AK-50:  newer version of the AK-47.  Some have a
permanently mounted "illegal" triangular bayonet,
which leaves a sucking wound that will not close.

ALPHA:  military phonetic for the letter 'A'

ammo dump:  location where live or expended
ammunition is stored

amtrack:  amphibious armored vehicle used to transport
troops and supplies, armed with a .30-caliber
machine gun.  The Marines used them.

angel track:  an armored personnel carrier used as an aid
station

AO:  area of operations

AOD:  administrative officer on duty

ao-dai:  traditional dress of Vietnamese women.  A
brightly colored silk top worn over loose fitting silk
trousers.

APC:  armored personnel carrier.  A track vehicle used to
transport Army troops or supplies, usually armed
with a .50-caliber machine gun.

APL:  barracks ship

APO:  Army post office located in San Francisco for
overseas mail to Vietnam.

AR:  Army regulation

ARA:  aerial rocket artillery.  A Cobra AG-1H helicopter
with four XM-159C 19-rocket (2.75 inch) pods.

arc light:  code name for B-52 bombers strikes along the
Cambodian-Vietnamese border.  These operations
shook earth for ten miles away from the target area.

Article 15:  section of the Uniform Military Code of
Justice.  A form of non-judicial punishment.

arty:  shorthand term for artillery

Arvin:  soldier in the ARVN, or the ARVN itself

ARVN:  Army of the Republic of Vietnam;  the South
Vietnamese Regular Army

A-team:  basic ten man team of the U.S. Special Forces.
The A-teams often led irregular military units which
were not responsible to the Vietnamese military
command.

AWOL:  absent without leave; leaving a post or position
without official permission

azimuth:  a bearing from North



B-40 rocket:  a shoulder-held rocket-propelled grenade
launcher

B-52:  U.S. Air Force high-altitude bomber; also, slang for
a can opener

ba:   married woman; used as a title, like "Mrs."

bac bac:   bastardized Vietnamese for "to shoot"

bac-si:   doctor; also used to refer to medic in the U.S.
Army

ballgame:  an operation or a contact

Ba Mu'o'i Ba:  brand name of a Vietnamese beer

band-aid:  medic

bandoliers:  belts of machine gun ammunition

BAR:  Browning automatic rifle.  A .30-caliber magazine-
fed automatic rifle used by U.S. troops during World
War II and Korea.

base camp:  a resupply base for field units and a location
for headquarters of brigade or division size units,
artillery batteries and air fields.  Also known as the
rear area.

Basic:  basic training

bac si de:  home-brewed rice whiskey

basketball:  an illumination-dropping aircraft mission,
capable of lighting approximately a square mile of
terrain

battalion:  a military unit composed of a headquarters
and two or more companies, batteries, or similar
units

battery:  an artillery unit equivalent to a company.  Six
105mm or 155mm howitzers or two 8-inch or
175mm self-propelled howitzers.

battle-sight zeroing:  process of adjusting a weapon's
sights and windage to an individual soldier so the
weapon, when fired, will hit the object of aim.

BCD:  bad conduct discharge

BDA:  bomb damage assessment

beans and dicks:  military C-ration hot dogs and beans

beans and motherfuckers:  military C-ration lima beans
and ham

beaten zone:  area where the majority of bullets will strike
when a machine gun is laid-in to cover a part of a
defensive perimeter or part of an ambush zone.

beehive round:  an explosive artillery shell which delivered
thousands of small projectiles, "like nails with fins,"
instead of shrapnel.

berm:  perimeter line of a fortification; usually raised
above surrounding area

Big Boys:  artillery; slang for tanks

Big Red One:  nickname for the 1st Infantry Division

Binh Xuyen:  the organized crime syndicate that
controlled much of the Vietnamese underworld and
Saigon police until deposed by Diem's forces in 1955.

bird:  any aircraft, but usually refers to helicopters

bird dog:  forward air controller, usually in a small,
maneuverable single-engined prop airplane

BK amputee:  below-the-knee amputation of the leg

blood trail:  a trail of blood on the ground left by a fleeing
man who has been wounded

blooper:  the M-79 grenade launcher.  A 40-millimeter,
shotgunlike weapon that shoots spin-armed "balls"
or small grenades.

blue feature:  any water feature.  So called because of the
color used to designate water on topographic maps.

body bag:  plastic bag used to transport dead bodies from
the field

body count:  the number of enemy killed, wounded, or
captured during an operation.  The term was used
by Washington and Saigon as a means of measuring
the progress of the war.

boo-coo:  bastardized French, from beaucoup,  meaning
"much" or "many".

boom-boom:  sex

boondoggle:  any military operation that hasn't been
completely thought out.  An operation that is absurd
or useless.

boonie hat:  soft hat worn by a boonierat in the boonies

boonierat:  a combat infantryman

boonies:  infantry term for the field; jungles or swampy
areas far from the comforts of civilization

boot:  a soldier just out of boot camp; inexperienced,
untested

BOQ:  bachelor officer quarters; living quarters for officers

bouncing Betty:  antipersonnel mine with two charges:
the first propels the explosive charge upward, and
the other is set to explode at about waist level.

bowl:  pipe used for smoking dope

BRAVO:  military phonetic for the letter 'B'

Bravo:  Army designation for the infantry man

breaking squelch:  disrupting the natural static of a radio
by depressing the transmit bar on another radio set
to the same frequency

brigade:  a tactical and administrative military unit
composed of a headquarters and one or more
battalions of infantry or armor, with other
supporting units.

bro:  a black soldier; also, at times, boonierats from the
same unit

bronco:  twin-engine observation aircraft equipped with
rockets and miniguns

Bronze Star:  U.S. military decoration awarded for heroic
or meritorious service no involving aerial flights

brother:  a fellow black Marine; sometimes used as slang
for all black males

brown bar:  a lieutenant; denotes the single bar of the
rank.  In the field, officers wore camouflage rank
which was often brown or black instead of brass.

Brown Water Navy:  term applied to the U.S. Navy units
assigned to the inland boat patrols of the Mekong
River delta.

BS:  bullshit, as in chewing the fat, telling tall tales, or
telling lies

buckle:  to fight.  "Buckle for your dust" means to fight
furiously

bummer:  bad luck, a real drag

bush:  infantry term for the field

bust caps:  Marine Corps term for firing a rifle rapidly

butter bar:  see brown bar



C-4:  plastic, putty textured explosive carried by infantry
soldiers.  It burns like sterno when lit, and was used
to heat C-rations in the field.

C-54:  largest of the American helicopters, strictly for
cargo.  Also called Flying Crane or Skycrane.

C-123:  small cargo airplane; the Caribou

C-130:  large propeller-driven Air Force planes that carry
people and cargo; the Hercules

C-141:  large cargo airplane; the Starlifter

CA:  combat assault.  The term is used to describe
dropping troopers into a hot LZ

cache:  hidden supplies

camies:  World War II term for camouflage uniforms

can cuoc:   an identification card

C&C:  command and control helicopter used by
reconnaissance or unit commanders

Can Lao:   the powerful semisecret political party of the
Diem government headed by Ngo Dinh Nhu, Diem's
brother.  It permeated the entire administrative,
intelligence, and defense structures of South
Vietnam.

Cao Dai:    a religious and political sect formed in the
1920s by a group of South Vietnamese intellectuals,
combining the three major religions of Vietnam --
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity -- with
the worship of Vietnamese and Western heroes.
With a strength of more that 1,500,000 followers,
groups of Cao Dai  still waged a stubborn resistance
war against the Communists (especially in Tay
Ninh Province) even after the U.S. troop withdrawal.

CAP:  civil action program.  U.S. military personnel
working with Vietnamese civilians.

capping:  shooting at

CAR-15:  a carbine rifle

carbine:  a short-barreled, lightweight automatic or
semiautomatic rifle

Caribou:  small transport plane for moving men and
material

Cav:  Cavalry; the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)

CC:  company commander

CG:  commanding general

chao:  hello or goodby, depending upon the context

CHARLIE:  military phonetic for the letter 'C"

Charlie:  Viet Cong; the enemy

Charlie-Charlie:  C&C

Chas:  Viet Cong; the enemy

cheap Charlie:  GI who is frugal with his money while in a
bar

cherry:  slang term for youth and inexperience; a virgin

Chicom:  Chinese communist

Chicom mine:  Chinese mine; can be made of plastic

Chieu Hoi:   the "open arms" program, promising
clemency and financial aid to Viet Cong and NVA
soldiers and cadres who stopped fighting and
returned to South Vietnamese government
authority.

Chinook:  CH-47 cargo helicopter

choi oi:  exclamation of surprise

chop chop:  slang for food

chopper:  helicopter

chuck:  term used by black marines to identify white
individuals; often derogatory

Chuck:  the Viet Cong; the enemy

CIB:  combat infantry badge.  And Army award for being
under enemy fire in a combat zone, worn on both
fatigues and dress uniforms.

CIDG:  civilian irregular defense groups

CINCPAC:  commander in chief of all American forces in
the Pacific region

Civilian Irregular Defense Group:  American financed,
irregular military units which were led by members
of Special Forces A-teams.  Members of these units
were Vietnamese nationals, but were usually
members of ethnic minorities in the country.

clacker:  a small hand-held firing device for a claymore
mine

claymore:  an antipersonnel mine carried by the infantry
which, when detonated, propelled small steel cubes
in a 60-degree fan-shaped pattern to a maximum
distance of 100 meters

clearance:  permission from both military and political
authorities to engage the enemy in a particular area

clutch belt:  cartridge belt worn by Marines

CMH:  Congressional Medal of Honor.  The highest U.S.
military decoration awarded for conspicuous
gallantry at the risk of life above and beyond the call
of duty.  [Not awarded to Conrad Gordon]

Co:  unmarried woman; used as a title, like "Miss"

CO:  commanding officer

Cobra:  an AH-1G attack helicopter.  Also known as a
gunship, armed with rockets and machine guns.

Cochin-china:  the French name for its southern Vietnam
colony, encompassing the III Corps and Mekong
Delta rice-producing lowlands, which earlier was
part of Cambodia.

Co Cong:   female Viet Cong members

Code of Conduct:  military rules for U.S. soldiers taken
prisoner by the enemy

comics:  topographic maps

commo:  shorthand for "communications"

commo bunker:  bunker containing vital communications
equipment.  Usually included in the last redoubt of
established defensive positions.

commo wire:  communications wire

company:  a military unit usually consisting of a
headquarters and two or more platoons

compound:  a fortified military installation

concertina wire:  coiled barbed wire used as an obstacle

connex container:  corrugated metal packing crate,
approximately six feet in length

contact:  firing on or being fired upon by the enemy

CONUS:  continental United States

CORDS:  civil operations and revolutionary development
support.  Created by civilian administration, MACV,
and the CIA to coordinate American pacification
efforts.

COSVN:  central office of South Vietnam.  Communist
headquarters for military and political action in
South Vietnam.

counterinsurgency:  antiguerrilla warfare

country team:  the staff and personnel of an American
embassy assigned to a particular country

co van:   advisor.  American assigned to Vietnamese
military units or to political division within the
country to help direct and train Vietnamese military
and civilian officials.

coxwain flat:  the area where the coxwain (driver) stands
when he steers a boat or ship

CP:  command post

CP pills:  anti-malarial pills

CQ:  charge of quarters.  An officer officially in charge of a
unit headquarters at night.

C-rations:  combat rations.  Canned meals for use in the
field.  Each usually consisted of a can of some basic
course, a can of fruit, a packet of some type of
dessert, a packet of powdered coca, a small pack of
cigarettes, and two pieces of chewing gum.

crispy critters:  burn victims

CS:  a riot-control gas which burns the eyes and mucus
membranes

cumshaw:  unofficial trading, begging, bartering, or
stealing from other branches of the service

cyclo:  motorized rickshaw



DA:  Department of the Army

Dac Cong:   Viet Cong special forces

Dai Doan Ket:   Party of Great Solidarity.  Organized in
1954 to unify the non-Communist nationalist
organizations in South Vietnam in the period before
Ngo Dinh Diem came to full power.  Headed by
Diem's brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, this was the
forerunner of the Can Lao.

daily-daily:  daily anti-malarial pill

dai uy:  captain

Dai Viet:   formed in 1930 as a non-Communist
revolutionary and political organization throughout
Vietnam.  Though more widespread and with a
larger membership than Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh
or Lao Dong Party, the Dai Viets  were fragmented
into regional factions.  The assassination of Truong
Tu Anh, the Dai Viet  leader, in 1946 by Ho's agents
further fragmented the Dai Viets.   By the mid-
1960s the Dai Viets  had evolved into two major
parties that both played key roles in opposing or
supporting the various South Vietnamese
governments.  Since 1975, there has been severe
repression against Dai Viet members, some of whom
still carry on resistance to the Communist
government.

dap:  handshake and greeting which may last up to ten
minutes and is characterized by the use of both
hands and often comprised of slaps and snaps of
the fingers.  Used by black soldiers, highly ritualized
and unit specific.

DCI:  the Director of the CIA

DELTA:  military phonetic for the letter 'D'

DEROS:  date of expected return from overseas.  The day
all soldiers in Vietnam were waiting for.

det-cord:  detonating cord used with explosives

deuce-and-a-half:  two-and-a-half ton truck

dew:  marijuana

DH5:  Viet Cong claymore mine

DH10:  Viet Cong claymore mine

di:   go

dicks:  derogatory expression referring to both male
genitalia and the enemy

diddy-bopping:  walking carelessly

didi:  slang from the Vietnamese word di, meaning "to
leave" or "to go"

didi mau:  slang Vietnamese for "go quickly"

dink:  derogatory term for an Asian

dinky dau:   to be crazy, from "dien cai dau"

district team:  American personnel assigned to act as
advisors to Vietnamese military and civilian officials
at the district level.

District Mobile Company:  the major Viet Cong fighting
unit organized within each district in Vietnam.  The
District Mobile Company was assigned to carry out
various assignments from direct offensive
operations to sabotage and terrorism.

DMZ:  demilitarized zone.  The dividing line between North
and South Vietnam established in 1954 at the
Geneva Convention.

doc:  medic or corpsman

dong:   unit of North Vietnamese money about equal to a
penny

doo-mommie:  English approximation of the Vietnamese
du ma,  meaning literally "fuck mother"

double veteran:  Having sex with a woman and then killing
her made one a double veteran.  Perhaps apocryphal, perhaps not.

DP:  displaced person

D-ring:  a D-shaped metal snap link used to hold gear
together

DRO:  dining room orderly

drops:  reduction in length of tour caused by overall
reduction and withdrawal of American forces from
Vietnam.

DTs:  defensive targets

dung lai!:  stop!

dust-off:  medical evacuation by helicopter

DX:  direct exchange.  Also, to discard or dispose of, or to
kill someone.



eagle flights:  large air assault of helicopters

Early-Outs:  a drop or reduction in time in service.  A
soldier with 150 days or less remaining on his active
duty commitment when he DEROSed from Vietnam
also ETSed from the army under the Early Out
program.

ECHO:  military phonetic for the letter 'E'
elephant grass:  tall, razor-edged tropical plant
indigenous to certain parts of Vietnam

Eleven Bravo:  the MOS of an infantryman

EM:  enlisted man

EOD:  explosive ordinance disposal.  A team that disarms
explosive devices.

E-tool:  entrenching tool.  Folding shovel carried by
infantrymen.

ETS:  date of departure for overseas duty station;
estimated time of separation from military service.

evac'd:  evacuated

expectants:  casualties who are expected to die



F-4:  Phantom jet fighter-bombers.  Range:  1,000 miles.
Speed:  1400 mph.  Payload:  16,000 lbs.  The
workhorse of the tactical air support fleet.

FAC:  forward air controller; a person who coordinates air
strikes

fast mover:  an F-4

fatigues:  standard combat uniform, green in color

FB:  firebase

FDC:  fire direction control center

finger charge:  explosive booby-trapping device which
takes its name from the size and shape's being
approximately that of a man's finger

fire base:  temporary artillery encampment used for fire
support of forward ground operations

firefight:  a battle, or exchange of small arms fire with the
enemy

Fire Track:  flame-thrower tank

five:  radio call sign for the executive officer of a unit

flack jacket:  heavy fiberglass-filled vest worn for
protection from shrapnel

flaky:  to be in a state of mental disarray, characterized by
spaciness and various forms of unreasoning fear

flare:  illumination projectile; hand-fired or shot from
artillery, mortars, or air

flechette:  a small dart-shaped projectile clustered in an
explosive warhead.  A mine without great explosive
power containing small pieces of shrapnel intended
to wound and kill.

FNG:  fucking new guy

FO:  forward observer.  A person attached to a field unit to
coordinate the placement of direct or indirect fire
from ground, air, and naval forces.

foo gas:  a mixture of explosives and napalm, usually set
in a fifty-gallon drum

fours:  F-4s

FOXTROT:  military phonetic for the letter 'F'

frag:  fragmentation grenade

fragging:  the assassination of an officer by his own
troops, usually be a grenade

freak:  radio frequency.  Also, a junkie or a doper.

Freedom Bird:  the plane that took soldiers from Vietnam
back to the World

free fire zone:  free strike zone

free strike zone:  area where everyone was deemed hostile
and a legitimate target by U.S. forces

French fort:  a distinctive triangular structure built by the
hundreds by the French

freq:  radio frequency

friendly fire:  accidental attacks on U.S. or allied soldiers
by other U.S. or allied soldiers

fuck:  along with fucked and fuckin, the most commonly
used word in the GI vocabulary other than the
article 'a'

fucked up:  wounded or killed.  Also, to get stoned, drunk,
or to be foolish or do something stupid.

fugazi:  fucked up or screwed up

FULRO:  United Front for the Struggle of Oppressed
Races.  Resistance organization in the highlands of
Vietnam made up of Montagnards, Cham, and
ethnic Khmer.  FULRO is still conducting resistance
against Communist operations to subjugate the
indigenous tribal peoples.

FUNCINPEC:  National United Front for an Independent,
Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia.
Prince Sihanouk's non-Communist political and
military organization which attempted to drive the
Vietnamese occupation forces out of Cambodia and
reestablish independence.  In 1982 FUNCINPEC
joined the Cambodian Coalition Government and
shared the seat at the United Nations.

funny papers:  topographic maps

FWMAF:  Free World Military Assistance Forces.  The
Allies.



G-3:  division level tactical advisor; a staff officer.

Garand:  the M-1 rifle

ghosting:  goldbricking or sandbagging; fucking off

GI:  government issue.  Usually refers to an American
soldier.

Glad bag:  slang term for body bag

GOLF:  military phonetic for the letter 'G'

gook:  derogatory term for an Asian; derived from Korean
slang for "person" and passed down by Korean war
veterans

Green Berets:  U.S. Special Forces

greens:  Army Class A uniform

GR point:  graves registration point.  That place on a
military base where the identification, embalming
and processing of dead soldiers takes place as part
of the operations of the quartermaster.

grids:  map broken into numbered thousand-meter
squares

grunt:  infantryman.  Originally slang for a Marine
fighting in Vietnam but later applied to any solder
fighting there; a boonierat.

GSW:  gunshot wound

the Gun:  the M-60

gung ho:  enthusiastic (usually about military matters
and killing people)

gunship:  armed helicopter

GVN:  Government of South Vietnam



HALO:  high-altitude, low-opening jumping for insertion
of troops behind enemy lines.  The jump is begun
from 15,000 feet, with an average free-fall time of
approximately seventeen minutes.

hamlet:  a small rural village

hammer and anvil:  an infantry tactic of surrounding an
enemy base area, then sending in other units to
drive the enemy out of hiding.

hand frag:  a fragmentation grenade thrown by a soldier

H&E:  high explosive

H&I:  harassment and interdiction.  Artillery
bombardments used to deny the enemy terrain
which they might find beneficial to their campaign;
general rather than specific, confirmed military
targets; random artillery fire.

hardstand:  a pierced steel plate (PSP) platform over sand

hard-stripe sergeant:  rank indicated by chevron
insignia, equivalent to an E5 or E6, but denoting
some limited authority as well.  Others of the same
rank without the stripes were little more than PFCs.

Heart:  a Purple Heart award for a wound; the wound itself

heat tabs:  flammable tablet used to heat C-rations.
Always in short supply.

Hercules:  a C-130

HES:  Hamlet Evaluation System.  An evaluation system
devised and run by Americans in Saigon which
required monthly computerized reports from all the
DSAs in the country.

HHC:  headquarters and headquarters company
higher-higher:  the honchos; the command or
commanders

HM:  Navy hospital corpsman; a medic

Hmong:  A dominant Laotian hill tribe, around sixty
percent of whom opposed the North Vietnamese
and Pathet Lao, in alliance with the Americans and
Royal Lao government.  After 1975 the Communists
stepped up repression against the Hmong, who
refused to be collectivized.  Massive numbers of
Hmong have been killed or driven into Thailand.

Hoa Hao:  a Buddhist sect of two million in the western
Mekong Delta, founded in the 1930s.  Since the
assassination of the founder and prophet, Huynh
Phu So, by Ho Chi Minh's forces, the Hoa Hao  have
been fiercely anti-Communist.

Ho Chi Minh slippers:  sandals made from tires.  The
soles are made from the tread and the straps from
inner tubes.

Hoi-Chanh:   Vietnamese Communist soldiers and cadre
who rallied to the South Vietnamese government
under the Chieu Hoi  amnesty program.

honey-dippers:  people responsible for burning human
excrement

hooch / hootch:  a hut or simple dwelling, either military
or civilian

hoochgirl:  Vietnamese woman employed by American
military as maid or laundress

hook:  a radio; a radio handset

horn:  radio microphone

hot:  area under fire

HOTEL:  military phonetic for the letter 'H'

hot LZ:  a landing zone under enemy fire

howitzer:  a short cannon used to fire shells at medium
velocity and with relatively high trajectories

HQ:  headquarters

Huey:  nickname for the UH-1 series helicopters

hump:  march or hike carrying a rucksack; to perform
any arduous task



I Corps:  the northernmost military region in South
Vietnam

II Corps:  the Central Highlands military region in South
Vietnam

III Corps:  the densely populated, fertile military region
between Saigon and the Highlands

IV Corps:  the marshy Mekong Delta southernmost
military region

IG:  Inspector General

illum:  an illumination flare, usually fired by a  mortar or
artillery weapon

immersion foot:  condition resulting from feet being
submerged in water for a prolonged period of time,
causing cracking and bleeding.

in-country:  Vietnam

increments:  removable charges attached to mortar fins.
If they become wet, the mortar round misfires and
falls short.

INDIA:  military phonetic for the letter 'I'

insert:  to be deployed into a tactical area by helicopter

Iron Triangle:  Viet Cong dominated area between the Thi-
Tinh and Saigon rivers, next to Cu Chi district



JAG:  judge advocate general, the legal department of the
Armed Services

jet jockey:  Air Force fighter pilot

Jody:  the person who wins your lover away while you are
in the Nam.  From the marching song or cadence
count, "Ain't no use in goin' home / Jody's got your
girl and gone / sound off...."

john wayne:  can opener; also, cookie which comes in C-rats.  Also
used as a verb to describe the actions of someone who exposes
himself to
danger.

JULIET:  military phonetic for the letter 'J'

jungle boots:  footwear that looks like a combination of
combat boot and canvas sneaker used by the U.S.
military in a tropical climate, where leather rots
because of the dampness.  The canvas structure also
speeds drying after crossing streams, rice paddies,
etc.

jungle utilities:  lightweight tropical fatigues



k:  kilometer

KBA:  killed by artillery

K-bar:  combat knife

KCS:  Kit Carson scout

KIA:  killed in action

killing zone:  the area within an ambush where everyone
is either killed or wounded

kill zone:  the radius of a circle around an explosive device
within which it is predicted that 95 percent of all
occupants will be killed should the device explode

KILO:  military phonetic for the letter 'K'

Kit Carson scout:  former Viet Cong who act as guides for
U.S. military units

khong xau:  don't worry about it; literally, not bad

klick:  kilometer

Kool-Aid:  killed in action

KP:  kitchen police; mess hall duty

KPNFL:  Khmer People's National Liberation Front.  The
major non-Communist Cambodian political and
resistance organization fighting against the
Vietnamese occupation force.  Formed in 1979 by
former prime minister Son Sann, the KPNFL is
responsible for caring for and protecting nearly two-
thirds of the 250,000 Cambodian refugees on the
Thailand border from attacks by both the Khmer
Rouge and the Vietnamese.  Also called the Sereika
by Cambodians, the KPNLF joined the resistance
coalition government (CGOK) in 1982 and shared
Cambodia's seat at the United Nations.



L:  a type of ambush set-up, shaped like the letter 'L'

lager:  a night defensive perimeter

Lao Dong:  the Vietnamese Workers Party

LAAW:  a shoulder-fired, 66-millimeter rocket, similar in
effect to a 3.5-inch rocket, except that the launcher
is made of Fiberglass, and is disposable after one
shot

lay chilly:  to freeze; to stop all motion

LBJ:  Long Binh Jail, a military stockade on Long Binh
post

LCM:  a mechanized landing craft used in harbors and
inland waterways

leg:  slightly contemptuous term used by airborne-
qualified troops when they are talking about regular
infantry

lego:  infantry unit

lien doi:  company group.  A Vietnamese military unit
consisting of three militia infantry companies
lifer:  career military man.  The term is often used in a
derogatory manner.

LIMA:  military phonetic for the letter 'L'

lima-lima:  land line.  Refers to telephone communications
between two points on the ground.

litters:  stretchers to carry dead and wounded

little people:  the enemy

lit-up:  fired upon; shot and killed or wounded

LLDB:  Luc Luong Dac Biet.  The South Vietnamese
Special Forces.

LMG:  light machine gun.  The Soviet made RPD, a bi-pod
mounted, belt fed weapon similar to the American
M-60 machine gun.  The RPD fires the same
cartridge as the AK-47 and the SKS carbine.

loach:  a LOH

Log Bird:  logistical (resupply) helicopter

LP:  listening post.  A two- or three-man position set up at
night outside the perimeter away from the main
body of troopers, which acted as an early warning
system against attack.  Also, an amphibious landing
platform used by infantry for storming beaches
from the sea.

LRRP:  Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol.  An elite team
usually composed of five to seven men who go deep
into the jungle to observe enemy activity without
initiating contact.

LSA:  small arms lubricant

LST:  troop landing ship

LT:  lieutenant

lurps:  members of Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols

LZ:  landing zone.  Usually a small clearing secured
temporarily for the landing of resupply helicopters.
Some become more permanent and eventually
become base camps.



M-1:  World War II vintage American rifle

M-14:  Wood stock rifle used in early portion of Vietnam
conflict

M-16:  the standard U.S. military rifle used in Vietnam
from 1966 on.  Successor to the M-14.

M-60:  the standard lightweight machine gun used by
U.S. forces in Vietnam

M-79:  a U.S. military hand-held grenade launcher

MA:  mechanical ambush.  Euphemism for an American
set booby trap.

MACV:  Military Assistance Command / Vietnam.  The
main American military command unit that had
responsibility for and authority over all U.S. military
activities in Vietnam.  Based at Tan Son Nhut.
mad minute:  a weapons free-fire practice and test
session

Main Force Battalion:  the primary Viet Cong fighting
force within each province of South Vietnam.  These
units were often large enough and well enough
equipped to participate in direct attacks on large
Vietnamese and American installations and units.

mama san:  pidgin used by American servicemen for any
older Vietnamese woman

MARS:  Military Affiliate Radio Station.  Used by soldiers
to call home via Signal Corps and ham radio
equipment.

Mas-Cal:  mass casualty

MASH:  mobile Army surgical unit

MAT:  mobile advisory team.  Five-man teams of American
advisors who were assigned to live and work in the
Vietnamese villages.

Mat Tran:   the Vietnamese Liberation Front.

marker round:  the first round fired by mortars or
artillery.  Used to adjust the following rounds onto
the target.

mechanized platoon:  a platoon operating with tanks
and/or armored personnel carriers

Med Cap:  Medical Civil Action Program in which U.S.
medical personnel would go into the villages to
minister to the local populace.

medivac:  medical evacuation from the field by helicopter

mermite:  large insulated foot containers

MFW:  multiple frag wounds

MG:  machine gun

MIA:  missing in action

mighty mite:  commercial air-blower used for injecting gas
into tunnels

MIKE:  military phonetic for the letter 'M'

mike-mike:  shorthand for millimeter

million-dollar wound:  a non-crippling wound serious
enough to warrant return to the U.S.

Minigun:  electronically controlled, extremely rapidly
firing machine gun.  Most often mounted on aircraft
to be used against targets on the ground.

Mr. Charles:  the Viet Cong; the enemy

MI team:  military intelligence team

Monday pills:  anti-malarial pills taken once a week

the Monster:  a PRC-77

Montagnard:  a Vietnamese term for several tribes of
mountain people inhabiting the hills and mountains
of central and northern Vietnam.

moose:  a Vietnamese mistress

mortar:  a muzzle-loading cannon with a short tube in
relation to its caliber that throws projectiles with low
muzzle velocity at high angles.

MOS:  military occupational specialty

most ricky-tick:  immediately, if not sooner

MP:  military police

MPC:  military payment currency.  The scrip U.S. soldiers
were paid in.

MR IV:  Viet Cong military region surrounding and
including Saigon

mule:  small, motorized platform originally designed to
carry a 106-millimeter recoilless rifle, but most
often used for transporting supplies and personnel.



Nam:  Vietnam

napalm:  a jellied petroleum substance which burns
fiercely, and is used as a weapon against personnel.

NCO:  noncommissioned officer.  Usually a squad leader
or platoon sergeant.

NDP:  night defensive position

net:  radio frequency setting, from "network."

New Socialist Man:  Orwellian concept adopted by the
Communists.  The ideal collectivized citizen.

Next:  the man who said he was the next to rotated home.

nickel:  the number five

NLF:  National Liberation Front

no sweat:  easy, simple

NPD:  night perimeter defense

number one:  the best

number ten:  the worst

number ten thousand:  a description of how bad things
can be

Nung:  tribespeople of Chinese origin, from the highlands
of North Vietnam.  Some who moved South worked
with the U.S. Special Forces.

nuoc-mam:   fermented fish sauce used by the
Vietnamese as a condiment

NVA:  North Vietnamese Army



OCS:  officer candidate school

OD:  olive drab, a camouflage color

opcon:  operational control

open sheaf:  a term used in calling artillery, whereby the
artillery rounds were spread along an axis rather
than concentrated on a single point (as when it was
desired to cover a treeline).

OR:  operating room

OSCAR:  military phonetic for the letter 'O'

OSS:  Office of Strategic Services

over the fence:  crossing into Cambodia or Laos



P:  slang for the Vietnamese piaster.  One piaster was
worth one cent or less.

P-38:  a tiny collapsible can opener, also known as a
John Wayne.

PAPA:  military phonetic for the letter 'P'

papa san:  pidgin used by U.S. servicemen for any older
Vietnamese man

Papa Sierra:  slang for platoon sergeant

Pathet Lao:   the Laotian Communists who, from their
inception have been under the control of the
Vietnamese Communist Party.

PBR:  river patrol boat.  Navy designation for the fast,
heavily armed boats used for safeguarding the
major canals and rivers and their tributaries in
South Vietnam.

peanuts:  wounded in action

perimeter:  outer limits of a military position.  The area
beyond the perimeter belongs to the enemy.

PF:  Popular Forces.  South Vietnamese National Guard-
type local military units

PFC:  private first class

Phoenix:  intelligence-based campaign to eliminate the
Viet Cong infrastructure

PIO:  public information officer, or a person who works for
that office

piss-tube:  a vertical tube buried two-thirds in the ground
for urinating into

platoon:  a subdivision of a company-sized military unit,
normally consisting of two or more squads or
sections

pogue:  derogatory term for military personnel employed
in rear echelon support capacities

point:  the forward man or element on a combat patrol

poncho liner:  nylon insert to the military rain poncho,
used as a blanket

pop smoke:  to ignite a smoke grenade to signal an
aircraft

pos:  slang for position, usually meaning a friendly
location

post-traumatic stress disorder:  development of
characteristic symptoms after the experiencing of a
psychologically traumatic event or events outside
the range of human experience usually considered
to be normal.  The characteristic symptoms involve
reexperiencing the traumatic event, numbing of
responsiveness to, or involvement with, the external
world, exaggerated startle response, difficulty in
concentrating, memory impairment, guilt feelings,
and sleep difficulties.

POW:  prisoner of war

PRC-25:  Portable Radio Communications, Model 25.  A
back-packed FM receiver-transmitter used for
short-distance communications.  The range of the
radio was 5-10 kilometers, depending on the
weather, unless attached to a special, nonportable
antenna which could extend the range to 20-30
kilometers.

PRC-77:  a radio similar to the PRC-25, but with a
cryptographic scrambling / descrambling unit
attached.  Very heavy.  Transmission frequencies on
the PRC-77 were called the secure net.

prick 25:  PRC-25

profile:  a prohibition from certain types of military duty
due to injury or disability

Proo:  PRU

province chief:  governor of a state-sized administrative
territory, usually a high ranking military officer
province team:  American civilian and military advisors
assigned duties at the provincial capital

PRU:  Province Reconnaissance Unit.  Irregular unit
organized within each province for the official
purpose of reconnoitering guerrilla sanctuaries and
collecting intelligence on guerrilla activities.  These
units were operated under the auspices of the CIA
and were also the operating arm of the Phoenix
program.

pseudomonas:  a genus of bacteria causing various
suppurative infections inhumans.  It's presence
gives pus a blue-green color.

PSP:  perforated steel plate

PsyOps:  psychological operations

PT:  physical training

PTSD:  post-traumatic stress disorder

Puff the Magic Dragon:  a large propeller-driven aircraft
with a Minigun mounted in the door, capable of
firing 6,000 rounds per minute.  Also used to refer to
gunship helicopters equipped with Miniguns.

pull pitch:  term used by helicopter pilots that means they
are going to take off

punji stakes:  sharpened bamboo sticks used in a
primitive but effective pit trap.  They were often
smeared with excrement to cause infection.

Purple Heart:  U.S. military decoration awarded to any
member of the Armed Forces wounded by enemy
action.  Any soldier awarded three of them was
allowed to leave the Vietnam theater.

purple out-zone:  emergency evacuation

PX:  post exchange; military store

PZ:  pick up zone



QUAD-50s:  a four-barrelled assembly of .50 caliber
machine guns

Quantico:  Marine training base in Virginia

QUEBEC:  military phonetic for the letter 'Q'



RA:  Regular Army, prefix to serial number of enlistees
rabbits:  white American soldiers, according to black
vernacular

rack:  bed or cot

rallier:  defector from the Viet Cong

R&R:  rest and recreation.  A three to seven-day vacation
from the war for a soldier.

Rangers:  elite commandos and infantry specially trained
for reconnaissance and combat missions

RBF:  reconnaissance by fire

react:  for one unit to come to the aid of another under
enemy fire

recon:  reconnaissance.  Going out into the jungle to
observe for the purpose of identifying enemy
activity.

Recondo School:  a training school in-country for LRRPs.
The largest was at Na Trang, where the training
action was taken against the 17th NVA Division.

red alert:  the most urgent form of warning.  Signals an
imminent enemy attack.

redball:  an enemy high speed trail or road

red bird:  a Cobra helicopter

Red Legs:  slang for Artillery.  In the Civil War, Union
Artillery men had red stripes on their pants.

reeducation camps:  political prisons and labor camps of
varying degrees of severity and size that comprise
the Soviet-style gulag system throughout
Communist Vietnam

regiment:  a military unit usually consisting of a number
of battalions

Regional Forces:  militia units organized within each
district in South Vietnam to engage in offensive
operations against local Viet Cong forces.  RF units
were better paid and equipped than PF units and
could be assigned duties anywhere within the home
district.

REMF:  rear-echelon motherfucker

repo depo:  replacement detachment

RF/PF:  Regional and Popular Forces.  The South
Vietnamese National Guard-type units.  Regional
Forces were company-size and protected district
areas.  Popular Forces were platoon-size and
guarded their home villages.

RIF:  reconnaissance in force.  A heavy reconnaissance
patrol.  Later, RIF came to mean reduction in force;
an administrative mechanism for retiring career
soldiers prior to the end of their twenty year term.

ringknocker:  graduate of a military academy.  Refers to
the ring worn by graduates.

rock'n'roll:  firing a weapon on full automatic

ROK:  soldier from the Republic of Korea

ROMEO:  military phonetic for the letter 'R'

Rome plow:  mammoth bulldozer used to flatten dense
jungle

RON:  remain-overnight operation

rotate:  to return to the U.S. at the end of a year's tour in
Vietnam

ROTC:  Reserve Officer's Training Corps.  Program offered
in many high schools and colleges, geared to
prepare students to become military officers.

RPD:  a 7.62 mm Communist machine gun with a 100-
round, belt operated drum that fires the same round
as the AK-47

RPG:  a rocket-propelled grenade.  A Russian-made
portable antitank grenade launcher.

RTO:  radio telephone operator.  The man who carried his
unit's radio on his back in the field.

ruck / rucksack:  backpack issued to infantry in Vietnam

Ruff Puff:  derogatory term used by Americans for RF/PF

Rules of Engagement:  the specific regulations for the
conduct of air and surface battles by U.S. and allied
forces during the Vietnam war

rumor control:  the most accurate source of information
prior to the actual occurrence of an event



S-1:  Personnel

S-2:  Intelligence

S-3:  Operations

S-4:  Supply

S-5:  Civil Affairs

saddle up:  put on one's pack and get ready to march

salvo:  firing a battery in unison

sampan:  a Vietnamese peasant's boat

SAF:  small arms fire

S&S:  Supply & Service; designation of a support unit
sapper:  a Viet Cong or NVA commando, usually armed
with explosives

satchel charges:  pack used by the enemy containing
explosives that is dropped or thrown and is
generally more powerful than a grenade

SeaBees:  Navy construction engineers

SEAL:  highly trained Navy special warfare team
members

search and destroy:  an operation in which Americans
searched an area and destroyed anything which the
enemy might find useful

SEATO:  Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
seminar camp:  the Laotian Communist version of the
reeducation camp for political prisoners

Sereika (Khmer Serei):  the non-Communist Cambodian
resistance force

Sgt. Rock:  a combat-scarred World War II comic book
character

SERTS:  Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School

set:  a party

SF:  Special Forces

shake'n'bake:  sergeant who attended NCO school and
earned rank after only a very short time in uniform

shamming:  goofing off or getting by with as little effort as
possible

shaped charge:  an explosive charge, the energy of which
is focused in one direction

shit burning:  the sanitization of latrines by kerosene
incineration of excrement

short:  a term used by everyone in Vietnam to tell all who
would listen that his tour was almost over

short-timer:  soldier nearing the end of his tour in
Vietnam

short-timer's stick:  when a soldier had approximately
two months remaining on his tour in Vietnam, he
might take a long stick and notch it for each of his
remaining days in-country.  As each day passed he
would cut the stick off another notch until on his
rotation day he was left with only a small stub.

shrapnel:  pieces of metal sent flying by an explosion

SIERRA:  military phonetic for the letter 'S'

Silver Star:  U.S. military decoration awarded for gallantry
in action

sit-rep:  situation report

six:  any Unit Commander, from the Company
Commander on up

six-by:  a large flat-bed truck usually with wooden slat
sides enclosing the bed and sometimes a canvas top
covering it.  Used for carrying men or anything else
that would fit on it.

skate:  a task of accomplishment that required little effort
or pain

SKS:  Simonov 7.62 mm semi-automatic carbine
sky:  to leave

sky crane:  huge double-engine helicopter used for lifting
and transporting heavy equipment

sky out:  to flee or leave suddenly

slackman:  the second man back on a patrol, directly
behind the point

slant:  derogatory term for a Vietnamese person

slick:  a UH-1 helicopter used for transporting troops in
tactical air assault operations.  The helicopter did
not have protruding armaments and was, therefore,
"slick".

slope:  derogatory term for an Asian person

SMG:  submachine gun

smoke grenade:  a grenade that released brightly colored
smoke.  Used for signaling.

Snake:  a Cobra helicopter

SOI:  Signal Operating Instructions.  The booklet that
contained all of the call signals and radio
frequencies of the units in Vietnam.

SOP:  standard operating procedure

Sopwith Camels:  slang term for a light, fixed-wing
reconnaissance aircraft

soul brother:  a black soldier

Spec-4:  Specialist 4th Class.  An Army rank immediately
above Private First Class.  Most enlisted men who
had completed their individual training and had
been on duty for a few months were Spec-4s.
Probably the most common rank in the Vietnam-era
Army.

Spec-5:  Specialist 5th Class.  Equivalent to a sergeant.

spider hole:  camouflaged enemy foxhole

splib:  term originated by black marines to identify other
blacks.

Spooky:  a large propeller-driven aircraft with a Minigun
mounted in the door.  Capable of firing 6,000 rounds
per minute.  Also used to refer to gunship
helicopters with Miniguns.

SP pack:  cellophane packet containing toiletries and
cigarettes which was sometimes given along with C-
rations to soldiers in the field.

squad:  a small military unit consisting of less than ten
men

staff sergeant:  a E-6, the second lowest
noncommissioned officer rank

stand-down:  an infantry unit's return from the boonies
to the base camp for refitting and training.  Later, a
unit being withdrawn from Vietnam and redeployed
to the U.S.

Starlifter:  a C-141 helicopter

starlight scope:  an image intensifier using reflected light
to identify targets at night

steel pot:  the standard U.S. Army helmet.  The steel pot
was the outer metal cover.

strac:  smart, sharp, well prepared (from STRategic Air
Command)

strategic hamlet program:  a controversial pacification
and village self-defense program implemented by
the Diem government that attempted to turn all
sixteen thousand South Vietnamese hamlets into
fortified compounds.

strobe:  hand held strobe light for marking landing zones
at night

syrette:  collapsible tube of morphine attached to a
hypodermic needle.  The contents of the tube were
injected by squeezing it like a toothpaste tube.



TA-50:  individual soldier's standard issue of combat
clothing and equipment

TAC:  tactical air strikes; fighter bombers

Tail-end Charlie:  last unit in a long column on the move

T&T:  through and through wound.  One in which a bullet
or fragment has entered and exited the body.

tanglefoot:  single-strand barbed wire strung in a
meshwork pattern at about ankle height.  A barrier
designed to make it difficult to cross the obstructed
area by foot.  Usually placed around permanent
defensive positions.

TANGO:  military phonetic for the letter 'T'

Tango boat:  U.S. Navy designation for an armored
landing craft mounted with 50-caliber machine
guns and a 40-caliber anti-aircraft gun used for
direct fire.

TC:  tactical commander

Tet:  Buddhist lunar New Year.  Buddha's birthday.

Tet Offensive:  a major uprising of the Viet Cong, VC
sympathizers and NVA characterized by a series of
coordinated attacks against military installations
and provincial capitals throughout Vietnam.  It
occurred during the lunar New Year at the end of
January, 1968.

tee-tee:   pidgin for very small

TFES:  territorial forces evaluation system.  The
companion report of the HES.  A computerized
military evaluation system devised by American
authorities in Saigon and used by them to assess
the readiness of the militia forces.  Each month
advisors at the district level had to fill out the long
computer print-out sheets and report on many
different aspects of quantity and quality in the
militia forces.  Like all computer programs, the
quality of this one's output was dependent upon the
quality of the input.

thermite:  a mixture of powdered aluminum and metal
oxide which produces great heat for use in welding
and incendiary bombs

Three:  radio call signal for the operations officer

three-quarter:  a three-quarter ton truck

tiger suits:  camouflage fatigue uniforms

tight:  good friends are close to ("tight" with) each other

TO:  tactical officer

TO&E:  Table of Organization and Equipment

TOC:  tactical operations center

Top:  a top sergeant

TOT:  time on target.  Prearranged mortar or artillery
barrage, set to occur at a specific time in order to
coordinate with an infantry assault

trach:  a tracheotomy.  Making an opening into the
windpipe to facilitate breathing.

tracer:  a round of ammunition chemically treated to glow
or give off smoke so that its flight can be followed.
tracks:  any vehicles which move on tracks rather than
wheels

triage:  the procedure for deciding the order in which to
treat casualties

trip flare:  a ground flare triggered by a trip wire used to
signal and illuminate the approach of an enemy at
night.

Tropic Lighting:  the U.S. 25th Infantry Division

turtles:  new replacements.  They were called turtles
because it took so long for them to arrive.

Two:  radio call signal of the intelligence officer.

two-niner-two:  the RC-292 ground plane antenna which
was used to extend the range of the MAT and the
district team's PRC-25.



unbloused:  pants not tucked into boot tops

UH-1H:  a Huey helicopter

UNIFORM:  military phonetic for the letter 'U'

US:  prefix to serial number of Army draftees

USAF:  United States Air Force

USARV:  U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam.  Command of
operations unit for all U.S. military forces in
Vietnam, based in Long Binh.

USO:  United Service Organization.  Provided
entertainment to the troops, and was intended to
raise morale.

USOM:  U.S. Operations Mission.  Funded U.S. programs
during the early American involvement in Vietnam.



V:  a type of ambush set-up, shaped like the letter.

VA:  Veterans Administration

VC:  Viet Cong

VCI:  Viet Cong infrastructure.  It was the aim of the Viet
Cong to have a complete government in place when
their victory was finally won.  Thus, where
manpower allowed, Communist cadres were
secretly assigned positions as village chiefs, police
officers, postment, District-level officers, Province-
level officers, and National-level officers.  The VCI
were the "shadow government" of the National
Liberation Front and were awaiting the day they
could step forward and claim their offices.

VFW:  Veterans of Foreign Wars.  An American service
organization.

VICTOR:  military phonetic for the letter 'V'

Victor Charlie:  the Viet Cong; the enemy.

Viet Cong:  the Communist-led forces fighting the South
Vietnamese government.  The political wing was
known as the National Liberation Front, and the
military was called the People's Liberation Armed
Forces.  Both the NLF and the PLAF were directed
by the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), the
southern branch of the Vietnamese Communist
Party, which received direction from Hanoi through
COSVN, which was located in III Corps on the
Cambodian border.  After 1968, as negotiations
began in Paris, the NLF established the Provisional
Revolutionary Government.

Viet Minh:  Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi,  or the
Vietnamese Allied Independence League.  A political
and resistance organization established by Ho Chi
Minh before the end of World War II, dominated by
the Communist Party.  Though at first smaller and
less famous than the non-Communist nationalist
movements, the Viet Minh siezed power through
superior organization skill, ruthless tactics, and
popular support.

Vietnamese Popular Forces:  South Vietnamese local
military forces.

Vietnamization:  U.S. policy initiated by President Richard
Nixon late in the war to turn over the fighting to the
South Vietnamese Army during the phased
withdrawal of American troops.

ville:  Vietnamese hamlet or village

VNAF:  South Vietnamese Air Force

VNQDD:  Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang,  or Nationalist Party
of Vietnam.  A non-Communist movement formed in
1926, based on the doctrines of Sun Yat-sen.  The
VNQDD conducted the Yen Bai uprising in 1930,
which began the modern struggle for Vietnamese
independence.  During World War II the VNQDD
staged in southern China and were instrumental in
gaining Ho Chi Minh's release from a Chinese
prison to help with the resistance fight against the
Japanese.  Ho later broke with the VNQDD.  By 1950,
having lost their bases in southern China when Mao
came to power, the VNQDD ceased to exist as an
effective organization.

VSI:  very seriously ill.  Army designation for those
troopers who may die without immediate and
definitive medical care.

VVA:  Vietnam Veterans of America.  Veterans
organization not affiliated with the Veterans
Administration.

VVAW:  Vietnam Veterans Against the War.  Organization
formed by Vietnam veterans who gathered to
protest American involvement in Vietnam.



wake-up:  as in "13 and a wake-up" -- the last day of a
soldier's Vietnam tour.

walking wounded:  wounded who are still able to walk
without assistance.

Walter Wonderful:  Walter Reed Army Hospital in
Washington, D.C.

wasted:  killed

Water Taxi:  small engine-powered boat with a sheltered
passenger compartment.  These native craft plied
the major canals and rivers of Vietnam and provided
a means of transportation from one village to the
next.

web gear:  canvas belt and shoulder straps for packing
equipment and ammunition on infantry operations.

weed:  marijuana

WHISKEY:  military phonetic for the letter 'W'

white bird:  a LOH

white mice:  South Vietnamese police.  The nickname came
from their uniform white helmets and gloves.

white phosphorus:  a type of explosive round from
artillery, mortars, or rockets.  Also a type of aerial
bomb.  The rounds exploded with a huge puff of
white smoke from the hotly burning phosphorus,
and were used as marking rounds or incendiary
rounds.  When white phosphorus hit the skin of a
living creature it continued to burn until it had
burned through the body.  Water would not
extinguish it.

WIA:  wounded in action

widow maker:  a MA

Willy Peter:  white phosphorus

wood line:  a row of trees at the edge of a field or rice paddy

the World,:  the United States

WP:  white phosphorus



X:  a type of ambush set up, shaped like the letter
xin loi:   a Vietnamese idiom meaning "sorry about that"
XO:  executive officer; the second in command of a military
unit

X-RAY:  military phonetic for the letter 'X'



YANKEE:  military phonetic for the letter 'Y'

YD:  the grid 100,000 meters by 100,000 meters square
from the Universal Transmercator (UTM) Grid Zone
48Q.  The UTM map of the world dispenses with
latitude and longitude in favor of a system of metric
coordinates (usually six digits) which enable the
user of the map to specify a location within 100
meters.



Zippo raids:  military operations which involved burning
down Vietnamese villages.  Often Zippo cigarette
lighters were used to ignite the huts.

zapped:  killed

zip:  derogatory term for Vietnamese people

ZULU:  military phonetic for the letter'Z'

zulu:  a casualty report

-- 
#L.W. Jewell Moderator at the Veterans Information Site (veteran@cc.purdue.edu)#
#& WWII-L Listowner: "Sunday's horoscope is note worthy because of its strange,#
#sudden and wholly unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all   #
#phases of life." "Your Horoscope" L.A. Evening Herald Express, Sat, 12/06/41  #