GLOSSARY Soldiers have a unique way of twisting and mangling the english (and Army) language. Our speech was a strange mixture of official Army terms, 'slang' from throughout the U.S., and variouse foreign words & phrases - all spiced by a LIBERAL dose of cuss words! To fully understand what we're saying, check out the following military acronyms, code names, everyday words and expressions used by the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment in Viet-Nam.

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1 10-4 (ten four), "That's a BIG 10-4!" ~ "I understand!" € Phrase taken from popular 1950's television police show called Highway Patrol... ? remember "Ten Four, Captain Braddock?" 10-4 was only used conversationally, NEVER over the radio! [see ROGER] 11th ARC (eleventh A–R–C) ~ Eleventh Armored Cavalry Regiment. An independant regiment, the 11th ARC sometimes worked in the 25th's AO. [They – and the 3/4th CAV – were also known as "the cav" (Kav).] 11B (eleven bravo) ~ Infantryman. € Taken from the US Army's ocupational code for Infantry. See MOS. 11C (eleven charlie) ~ Mortarman. 201 File (two oh one file) ~ The Official U.S. Army personnel records that contained permanent records (and followed you for life). The phrase could be used by someone of a senior rank when mad at you as an angry "THIS is going in your 201 File!!" [Like a bad mark.] When you did something good – or something your superior liked – your superior could also say (with a tone of self-satisfaction, amazement, or pride) a pleasant "THIS is going in your 201 File!"

A ALPHA ABN ~ Shorthand for AIRBORNE. ALPHA COMPANY [or] A Co. [or] A 2/12 (a two twelve) ~ Infantry LINE COMPANY. The BEST of the best. AAA (triple a) ~ Anti-Aircraft Artillery. € Tripple A was ANYTHING shot into the air by the enemy to down our aircraft.... from muzzle loaders to rockets. "We're getting a lot of tripple-a from the woods down there!" AO (a oh) ~ Area of operations. AP (a pee) ~ Ambush Patrol. Also shorthand for the location of the ambush site. AP ~ Associated Press. A news gathering organization. APC (a pee cee) ~ Armored Personnel Carrier. APCs were the lightly armored, box-like, M-113 fighting vehicles used by the MECH (mechanized infantry). The 1/5th MECH [1st Battalion,5th Mechanized Infantry "Bobcats"], 2/22nd Infantry ["Tripple Duce"] and elements of the 3/4th CAV [3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry – "The Cav."] used the M-113 "track." TRACK was a term used for individual APCs [i.e. Track 21; the COs track; the mortar track; etc.] Designed to carry troops inside (for protection against small arms fire), the thin wall-armour and light belly-armour were of little value against RPGs and landmines, so the troopers rode on top - rather than being confined in a box-like deathtrap. The crew sat on a sandbagged layer for more protection against mines and added steel plate shields around their guns for protection against bullets. Eventually, even the driver sat on top and used long 'latterals' hooked to the controls. We 'ground-pounders' thought the APC a 'Bullet Magnet'. APO ~ Army Post Office APOE ~ Aerial Port of Embarkment. AIR ~ "Air" was a term for helicopter units and/or the Air Force. € "Air assets available (or used)" usually meant troop carring and gunship helicopters available (or used). AIR CAV ~ Air Cavalry. € Army wide, it meant the 1st Air Cavalry Division. But, in the 25th, it meant our divissional scouts (and their welcome gunships) - the 3rd Battalion, 4th Cavalry, or "three-quarter cav". AIT (a eye tee) ~ Advanced Individual Training. € After "BASIC" Training, soldiers went to AIT to learn a military trade (MOS). AIT organizations were also called "Schools" – except for the infantry, who went to Infantry AIT, not Infantry School. Ft. Benning was refered to as "the Infantry School." AK-47 ~ If you don't know what this is, you've been living under a rock! AO (a oh) ~ Area of Operation (a territory). € Platoon and Company AOs changed daily as they moved around the battalion's AO. The 2/12th battalion AOs were pretty stable, and changed only a few times in 3½ years in Vietnam. In reply to a question, and usually said with a casual shrug, "Out my AO!" meant beyond ones area of knowledge (or) "It's not my job." "Out of my AO" (given as an order) also meant "Get out of here!" 'Your AO' (or) 'my AO' could also be possessive for personal space. AR (ay r) ~ Army Regulations. € They were a set of legal and proccedural rules for doing things "the Army way!" ARA (a-r-a) ~ Aerial rocket artillery. ARC LIGHT ~ Arc Light operations were B-52 bomber strikes. ARTY (R-tee) ~ Artillery. ********************** ARTILLERY TALK: *********************** a special Supplement to Sarge's Soldier Talk. BATTERY ~ Arty equivalent of infantry company. 4-6 guns. FA ~ Field Artillery. FDC ~ Fire Direction Control. The "office" at the Fire Support Base that sent instructions to the individual guns as to where to shoot. 'An FDC' was an officer who gave or received the orders to shoot. FO ~ Forward Observer. An artillery officer – usually a lieutenant – working within the infantry company to call in artillery support. [We like to think of them as being one of our own – Infantry – because they were down in the mud with us.] GUN ~ Cannon. [The only Branch of the army where you could properly call what you shot a gun...g....u...n...! See Sarge's Infantry Stuff web-page.] LNO ~ Liaison officer. Each infantry battalion had an LNO at HQ who supervised the FO's in each company; and worked with the battalion commander co-ordinating artillery for the infantry battalion. TUBE (two-bh) ~ The barrel of an artillery piece. The nickname for an artillery piece: "tube." **********end Arty Supplement********* ARVN (R-vin) ~ Army of the Republic of Viet Nam. € Our allies... the people we came to Viet Nam to help out. ARVNs would be there fighting the VC and NVA loooong after we were gone. ASAP (a–sap) ~ As soon as possible. ATTACHED ~ Units (or persons) who were not normally assigned – to the parant command they were working with – were said to be "attached." AVN ~ Shorthand for AVIATION. AW ~ Shorthand for automatic weapon. AWOL (a-wall) ~ Absent without leave.

B BRAVO BRAVO COMPANY (or) Co. B (or simply) "Bravo" ~ Infantry line company. BABY-SAN (bay bee sahn) ~ Nickname for younger Vietnamese women (and young boys). A female babysan could be a teenager or a young adult. A male babysan was usually just a kid. BAC SI (bach see) ~ Vietnamese for Medic. € Our medics were all nicknamed "Doc" – but we would call them "bac si" too. BAD NEWS ~ Bad News could be good news too! A soldier that brought a lot of hurt down on Charlie could be positive like this: "He's Bad News!" A 'sad sack' or "bummer" could also be "bad news" – but in the negative sense. BAR (bee a r) ~ Browning automatc rifle. BASIC ~ Basic Training. € First stop when coming into the Army and the place where civilians were taught military customs, language, and procedures..... as-well-as their left foot from their right foot. BATTALION (bah-tahl-yon) also BN or Bn ~ Army designation for a unit of several COMPANYs and having command authority over them. € Battalions were around 500-950 soldiers. Battalions were a part of, and under control of, a BRIGADE (2,500+/- soldiers). BC ~ Shorthand for Body Count. € Used when reporting number of enemy killed. The written; 3 VC BC meant three VC killed. Over the radio you'd say "Three Victor Charlie Bravo Charle." BDA ~ Shorthand for bomb damage assessment. BDE (or) Bde. ~ Shorthand for BRIGADE. B-40 (bee fourty) ~ Model number of Russian (or Chinese copy) anti-tank rocket. € B-40 was used interchangiblly with RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). BERM (buur-m) ~ An earthen embankment protecting soldiers from enemy fire. BIC (bick) ~ No, not the lighter, that came latter – we used Zippo's. Bic was Vietnamese for UNDERSTAND. When interogated, a Vienamese might say something that sounded like this; "Home bic!" Which ment that they didn't know – "home" – or understand. Bic? BLASTING CAP ~ A silver-coloured metal exploding device about the size of a pen, and half it's length. € It had the explosive power of a large firecracker [let's say M-80] and could take off your hand if not handled properly. Blasting caps were of two types, and "set off" by either a burning FUSE or electrical charge. "Electrical blasting caps came with the CLAYMORE mine, and were very useful at base camp when fishing for rats'.... REAL rats, not C-rats! Mearly affix a gum drop (or) 'Dot' to the end of the claymore blasting cap. Using the attached wire, drop 'bait' thru the crack where 'the suspect' vermin lives. When you feel a tug on the line.... click... kaboom.... no more rat!" — TRUE TAIL from Sarge. KIDS, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! BLIVIT (bliv-it) ~ A large black-rubber bladder that held several-hundred gallons of water or fuel. € Blivits were usually flown in to remote spots - dangling, by cable, under a CHINOOK helicopter. "Got hit by a blivit." ~ A blivit was 'ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag'. Getting hit by a blivit was something bad - that happened TO you! BLOOD ~ Same same BROTHER – a black guy... Afro-American. A term that was used more often conversationally as a nickname, rather than descriptively. i.e. Two soldiers meet and greet "What's up blood?" BLUE–EYED SOUL BROTHER ~ A term first used to describe the singers The Righteous Brothers that became a way of saying that "that white dude is OK." BN ~ Shorthand for BATTALION. BODY COUNT ~ Well, we had to have SOME way of keeping score! BOI LOI WOODS (boy-loy or sometimes bow loy) ~ A double-canopy tropical rainforest (and the surrounding area) 35 miles NNW of Saigon long used by the enemy as a base of operations. The Boi Loi was named by the US Army after a village in the area – the real name of the forest is Reserve Forestiere De Trang Go. BOI (boy) means woods (in French). BOOM-BOOM ~ Fornicate. € 'Boom-boom girls' provided the service. BOSS ~ "Boss" was a friendly thing you called a leader you knew. "Wilco, Boss!" or "You Bet! Boss." It was a term of respect. BRASS ~ A high ranking military officer. 2. Metal uniform accouterments that we were always polishing in Boot Camp. 3. A bullets shell casing – you know, the thing that holds the powder. BRIGADE (brah-gγde or brig-aid) also BDE or Bde ~ Army unit consisting of several BATTALIONs and attached units (and having command over them). € 2,500-5,000 soldiers are in a brigade. Brigades were under the command of a DIVISION (15,000 to 25,000 soldiers). The 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry REGIMENT belonged to the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in 1967 (transfered to 25th Div. in August). By 1969 it was in the 2nd Brigade, 25th Div. After the 25th Div. left Vietnam, it operated as a 'Seprate' brigade under Second Field Force (IIFF) control. BRINGING THE WORLD DOWN ON THEM ~ When we "brought the world down" on the enemy, we hit them with EVERYTHING we had - organic weapons, artillery, bombs, etc. "Dropped the world on them" was past tense. BROTHER ~ Same same BLOOD – a black guy.... Afro-American. Used more descriptively i.e. "Hey Mac, you know the brother in the 3rd platoon that carries the thumper?" BUBBLE CHOPPER ~ See HELICOPTER BUCK SERGEANT ~ A 'three-stripe' sergeant (E-5). The lowest 'rank' of Noncomissioned Officers (NCOs). BUG JUICE ~ Nicknme for either Kool Aid or the Army issued insect repellant. BUMMER ~ Slang for something bad or distasteful. € "Shit burning detail is a bummer!" Also used for someone who is depressing, or always has some bad news. "He's a bummer!" BUNKER (bun-ker) ~ A protected fighting or living place above or below ground. € ENEMY BUNKERs were usually camouflaged dirt-covered logs with a firing port only inches off the jungle floor to give GRAZING FIRE. BURN ~ To kill the enemy (usually by small arms). € The leaders order was "Burn 'em!" After the firefight troops would say, "We really burned them!" Of course, "Got burned." still means 'got hurt'. BUTTER BAR ~ 2nd Lieutenant. The (slightly insulting) nickname for the lowest rank in officerdom derived from the shape and color of the rank insignia – which resembles a bar of butter.

C CHARLIE C-4 (see four) ~ A white putty-like, powerful, plastic explosive. € It was very stable and formed the base for a lot of explosive devices (like the hand GRENADE and CLAYMORE mine). Issued to troops in the field as green plastic-covered blocks (about 8" long x 3" x 1"). You could use as much or little as the DEMMO job required (thus controlling the size of the explosion). It could only be set off by BLASTING CAPS - not by catching on fire - so we cooked our C-RATIONS with little bits of it [worked real good!!]. C-RATION (see ration) ~ A cardboard box full of canned goodies to eat - hense the C. € A typical soup-can-sized entree might be Beans 'n' Franks [Good!], Ham 'n' Lima Beans [THE WORST - too salty and a baaad taste - they were commonly called "ham 'n' motherf__kers"]. You also got a can of fruit like Fruit Coctail, or Peaches [good thing to carry with you into the field - moisture]. If you were unlucky, you got Pineapple rings and a kind of angel-food like sponge cake. IF you were REAL UNLUCKY, you drew Fruitcake. We didn't even bother to open these.... unless we needed a hammer. Also inside was a plastic fork/spoon and a package containing; little envelopes of salt & pepper, coffee and dry creamer (enough for one (1) weak cup), a package of four (4) cigarettes, matches supposedly designed to withstand the wet tropics..... plus, the all-important and mythological P-38 can opener. Of course, we traded for our favorites and some guys drove a HARD bargin. CALL SIGNS ~ Call signs were RADIO code nicknames for certain personnel [See RADIO below.] CAS ~ Shorthand for helicopter air assault. CAS (see a s) ~ Close air support. Usually refers to U.S. Air Force fighter-bomber jets in support of ground units. CASUAL ~ A soldier traveling between unit assignments, and not really belonging to either unit,was said to be a "casual". CAV (or Cav) ~ Cavalry. CHAIN OF COMMAND ~ Commander or unit hierarchy. CHARLIE COMPANY [C Co. or simply 'Charlie'] - Infantry line company. CHARLIE, CHUCK, SIR CHARLES ~ Term for the enemy (VC or NVA).... what we commonly called them with a mixture of derision, respect and fear. Victor Charlie was the phonic code for V.C. (Viet Cong). CHARLIE OSCAR ~ Radio code talk for Commanding Officer (CO). CHARLIE PAPA ~ Radio code talk for CHECK POINT (CP). CHECK POINT ~ A location on the ground and hence a spot on a military map. CHICKENSHIT ~ A term used to discribe anything useless or with no apparent meaning. Like the chickenshit details they gave us, or the chickenshit missions they sent us on, or the chickenshit officers that led us. CHICOM (chi com) ~ ChiCom. Chinese Communist. A term most often used by us US Army types to discribe the 'country of origin' of (captured) weapons. China supplied a LOT of Chinese copies of Russian weapons; like the CHICOM AK-47, CHICOM rocket propelled grenade (RPG), CHICOM grenade, and many other weapons used against us. [Think about THAT the next time you kiddies play with your toys marked "Made in China." 30+ years ago Made in China had a WHOLE differant meaning!] CHIEU HOI (chew hoy) ~ Vietnamese for 'open arms,' it was a command to give-up (surrender) when used by a Grunt. The 'Chieu Hoi Program' was an attempt to get Communist defectors [see KIT CARSON SCOUT]. CHOP CHOP ~ Pidgeon english for food. As in; "Give Baby-san chop chop." CHURCH KEY ~ Combination can punch and bottle opener. € Before the invention of twist-top bottles & pop-top cans, a church key was an essential, unissued, accouterment for troops. CID [also CIDF and CIDG] ~ Shorthand for (South Vietnamese) Civilian Irregular Defence Force/Group. [Also see RUFF–PUFFs.] CLAYMORE ~ Directional antipersonnel mine. Usually a command detonated U.S. weapon, but the VC also made their own version. CLOSE ~ Short for artillery fire landing VERY near friendly troops. "DANGER CLOSE" was the term used to discribe artillery rounds that could spread their deadly bursts amoungst friendlies. CLOSE AIR SUPPORT ~ Air Force fighter-bombers used to support infantry in contact. CLOSED ~ (A) A term meaning that a unit had returned inside a base from the field. As in; "Co. D closed FSB Pershing at 1600 hours." (B) A term meaning that a base had been closed down or dismantled. As in; "PB Dees closed at 1600 hours." CO (see oh) ~ Commanding Officer. [Sometimes written C.O.] COMMANDO VAULT ~ The Mark 121 bomb, a.k.a. "DAISY CUTTER." Variously described as a ten or fifteen thousand pound US Air Force bomb – anyway, the thing was as big as a VW "Bug." The thing was pushed out the back of a cargo plane, a parachute would slow it enough for the plane to get clear of the area and then BOOM – you had a hole in the jungle big enough for one or two helicopters to make it in. COMMIES ~ Communists. € The little "rice propelled" enemy we were fighting over there in Viet Nam. Term usually prefaced by "Dirty little," or "Godless"! COMINT ~ Communication intelligence. COMUS ~ Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. ["Westy" and then "Abe."] CONEX (con-x) ~ Container Express. A ridged steel reuseable metal shipping container with a 9,000 lb capasity – double door on one side. 8' 6" long X 6' 3" wde X 6' 10" high. Conexs were a pretty neat and extreamly useful waterproof item in and a lot of them were never returned for shipping use. CONUS (co nus) ~ Continental United States – "The World." CONVOY ~ Any line of moving vehicles (jeeps, trucks, etc). € I was also used as verb for ride (to 'convoy in' or 'convoy out' was to ride). 'The convoy' meant the daily supply convoy to the Fire Support Base from BASE CAMP (Cu Chi or Dau Tieng in our case). Ambushing 'the convoy' was a blood sport for the NVA/VC. COSVN (koz-vin) ~ Central Office for South Vietnam (enemy). [Supposadly the VC Headquarters located SOMEWHERE in III Corps – we sought it here, we sought it there, but as far as I know we never did find the damn thing.] COVER ~ Besides the common meaning, a "cover" was your hat. As in; "Covers OFF!" when you entered a building or room. COVER ~ An order – "Cover!" or "Take cover!" – meant "Hit the dirt!" COVER ~ An order – "Cover!" or "Covering fire!" – to provide protective fire to keep the bad guys head down when a unit (or individual) wanted to maneuver under fire. CP (cee pee) ~ Command Post. € The physical location (or) The officers and men who made up the command headquarters. CRIP (cur-rip) ~ Combined Reconnaissance and Intelligence Platoon. An element of our battallion containing U.S. and South Vietnamese. Useually employed in an intelligence or scouting role. CRISPY CRITTERS [also POST TOASTIES] ~ Enemy burned by NAPALM. € Derived from a popular childrens cereal of the time. CS (see s) ~ A type of tear gas.

D DELTA D Co., or simply Delta ~ Infantry line company. D ~ Shorthand for day. Also means the day when an operation starts and continues. i.e.; D-Day, D+1, D+2, D+3, etc.. [See also H or H-Hour.] DA (dee a) ~ No, not the district attorney – you've been watching too much TV or you've been in too much trouble – DA, in our military-type-minds is Department of the Army. DAI UY (die we) ~ Vietnamese for Captain [or we used it for lieutenant]. € A term used as a nickname for any field officer. DAISY CUTTER (day-z cut-er) ~ One BIG bomb!! [See COMMANDO VAULT.] DD 214 (dee-dee two fourteen) ~ Discharge record. € An Official one page paper that lists service dates, awards, MOS, etc., and type of discharge. A 'bad paper discharge' meant that the service was 'other than honorable'. [Next time you meet some blow-hard who claims to be a "Vietnam vet Green Beret" with "a personal body count of _____" [fill in the blank] ask to see his DD214. If that doesn't shut them up and he produces one; look for the paste up marks, and different typewriter styles, used before running the thing thru a copy machine. Oh! While you're at it, you can remind them that it is A FEDERAL CRIME to alter a DD 214 or wear decorations that they are not intitled to. – bh] Dec'd (or) Decd ~ Clerical shorthand for deceased. DEFCON (deaf-con) ~ Defensive Concentration artillery round impact area(s). Defcons were pre-planned areas of likely enemy trouble spots. DEFOLIATE (dee-foe-lie-ate) ~ A chemical that causes leaves to fall off. We considered it a good thing – at the time ['69 era] – to denude Charlies hiding places. Most of us did not know the term Agent Orange, we only knew that "a defoliate" had been used on an area. DEMMO (dem o) ~ Demmolition(s). A Demmo Man was the guy that blew things up.... like "dud" rounds. DEROS (dee-row-s) ~ Date Eligible to Return from Overseas. Every soldier KNEW this date and started a SHORT-TIMERS CALANDER based on it. [also see PCS] DET ~ Clerical shorthand for DETACHMENT. DET CORD (det-cord) ~ Detonation Cord. An explosive. Det-cord was closeline sized cord of white-plastic-covered C-4. € Set off (exploded) in the same manner as C-4. Wind it around anything to cut it or blow it up (trees, steel beams, etc.). Slip the ends of det cord into blasting-cap-hole of two or more CLAYMORE mines for a simultaneous explosion of all claymores [an ambush technique]. DI (dee eye) ~ Drill Instructor. € Usually reserved for your BASIC Training sergeant(s). DI DI MAU (dee dee ma-ow) ~ Vietnamese for "go quickly". € Term usually shortened by GIs to "dee dee." Spoken to a Vietnamese (from a GI) it meant "get out of here." Also used as an order meaning "go.". "Let's dee dee!" (or) "Let's dee dee mah-ow!" was usully used in haste, and meant "Let's get the hell out of here!". DINK (or) DINKS ~ What we called the enemy. As well as Slope, Zipperhead, Zip, Gook, etc. Strictly non-politically-correct terms that dehumanized the enemy when refering to these Vietnamese people. [Oh! And while I'm at it: Daggo, Mick, Wop, Kraut, Frog, Camel-jockey, Nigger, Mackerel-snapper, and any other damned insulting nicknames you have in your fuzzy-little-head for members of the human race.] DINKY DOW ~ Vietnamese (and pigeon english) for crazy – as in mental. [We won't even get into the meaning of dinky dow du mammie – but needless to say, I met a lot of these G.I.'s in Viet-nam.] DITTY-BOPPER ~ A derisive term for someone who moved carelessly in the field. He could get himself, – and more importantly, YOU – killed by a BOOBY TRAP. See FOOT DRAGGER, DUD, and SHIT-FOR-BRAINS. DITTY BOPPIN' ~ Slang for walk (or a type of walk). € As in; "They came ditty boppin' thru the woods like they owned the place!" DMZ (dee em zee) ~ Demilitarized Zone. DOC (dock) ~ Nickname for our medics. Each company had a medic assigned – usually a SP4 – who was trained in treating combat wounds. DOD (dee oh dee) ~ Department of Defense DONUT DOLLY ~ Donut Dollies were those wonderful Red Cross workers. These women volunteered for Viet Nam service. They were housed at Cu Chi (in the 25th Division), but made regular trips to the fire support bases to take our minds off the war for a few hours AND remind us what a "roundeye" looked like. We both love, and respect these women. DOR (dee oh r) ~ Date of rank. DOW (dee oh w) ~ Died of wounds. [In my research of the battalion I wondered why some guys I knew that were killed in action were listed on "the Wall" and elsewhere as being "DOW" as opposed to "KIA." It seems that the term was invented by "Higher Higher" to keep the list of KIAs low for the reports to the American public during the war – a way of fudging the numbers of killed. Wither our buddy was listed as a KIA or DOW he is gone and we miss him. – bh] DRAFT, The ~ From 1946 untill 1973 all male US citizens were subject to The Draft – two years service in the Armed Forces [Usually in the Army, but men were "drafted" into the Marine Cops also.] "Avoiding" The Draft became a national obsession in the late '60s and early '70s as men sought to avoid serving in Vietnam. Of the 1,728,344 (1.7 million) men drafted in the Vietnam era, 648,500 (.6 million) actually served IN Vietnam. "Contrary to popular belief, more than 60 percent of the..... draftees did not serve in the war zone." The last man drafted (June 30, 1973) was Dwight Elliot Stone; who was discharged in November of 1974. [Sourse: "Struggle for Survival", VFW Magazine Vol 84 No 7, March 1997] Sarge's Note: If only 648 thousand men served 'in-country' and there were 58 thousand deaths, then the casualty rate [killed & wounded] must have been above 11 percent. DRAFTEE - A man that was "Drafted" and hence did not join or ENLIST in the Army. [see ENLISTED and RA] DRV ~ Democrtic Republic of Vietnam. North Vietnam. Commies. DTOC (dee tock) ~ Division Tactical Operations Center. DUD ~ A live round that, for some reason, did not explode on impact. 'Dud' rounds were dangerous. DUD ~ "He's a real dud" meant a slow learner. DUFFLE BAG ~ Code Name for seismic sensor (Top Secret at the time) that was either droped from aircraft, or burried by ground troops. The air droped device was a pointed canister about 7" in diameter X 3' long that "planted" itself in the ground. The ground troop device was more like a small canvas-covered box (as I recall). Both had plastic fake-foliage antennas liike a potted palm. Duffle Bags transmitted the seismic reports of vibrations caused by enemy walking near the device (and more often than not, animals). Artillery fire would then be called in on the location. DUMP ~ A storage or disposal area. There was, for example; the ammo dump, the fuel dump and the garbage dump. DUNG LI (dung lie) ~ Vietnamese for "stop!" DUPPER or DOPPER (due-per) also BLOOPER ~ Nickname for the US M-79 grenade launcher. € Derived from the dull sound the weapon made when fired - "duuue..ph" or "blue..ph. [The Phantom Blooper (a myth from my time - '69) was supposed to be an American that 'went over' to the enemy and used his blooper on fellow GIs. (see MYTHS)] DUSTER (or DUSTERS) ~ 40mm (anti-aircraft) automatic canons mounted on tracks and used in an antipersnel mode. A duster could bring some serious fire down on the enemy and was a MOST WELCOME sight when it came into our base camps for the night. DUST-OFF ~ Aeromedical casualty evacuation via helicopter. Three types of dustoff calls that described the severity of the wounded: ROUTINE – not severe wounds, PRIORITY – severe wounds, URGENT – life threatening wounds if not treated by hospitalization.... NOW! Dy ~ Clerical shorthand for DUTY.

E ECHO E Co. (ee or Echo Company or simply Echo) ~ In the 12th Infantry Regiment, Echo contained the Recon platoon, CRIP platoon, battalion 4.2" Mortar company, and the battalion supply & support company. EAGLE SHITS TODAY, The ~ Payday. Because Uncle Sam's symbol is an eagle and Army pay was so low – "this is shit for pay" – payday became known as the day "the eagle shits." [For other wonderful SCATOLOGICAL references see the 'S' section.] EARLY OUT ~ Getting out of the Army before your normal period of service was up. € 'Early-outs' were given for college, or to become a police officer. Usually one month, they were also called "a one month drop." One month in Viet Nam was a VERY long time, and an early out was desirable! 'Early-out' was also a synonym for being severely wounded. E & E (ee and ee)~ Escape and Evasion. € Techniques, taught by the Army, to use when unexpectably caught behind enemy lines. "Let's E & E!" meant; "Let's get the hell out of here!". Or, if you were avoiding an officer (or some unpleasant task), you might say to your buddy; "Let's E & E!" ELEPHANT GRASS ~ Tall-as-a-man straw coloured grass. € Found naturally on savannas, it was said to have up been planted by the US in enemy areas because it grows fast, dries out, and can be burned. [near the Ho Bo woods]. "Getting down in the elephant grass" (or the shortened "down in the grass" meant being on the ground - where the enemy was. ELEVEN BRAVO ~ 11B (or eleven bravo) is the military occupation code for Infatryman. [See MOS.] ELEVEN CHARLIE ~ 11C (or eleven charlie) is the military occupation code for Indirect Fire Infantryman – the men who fired our mortars. ELIGIBLE MALE ~ A Vietnamese of age to serve in his countries army (either side). EM (ee m) ~ Enlisted-man or enlisted-men. ENLISTED ~ Any soldier other than an officer was said to be an 'enlisted' man. € "He wasn't an officer, he's enlisted." Also, you 'enlisted' when you voluntarily joined the Regular Army (RA), Reserves (R), or National Guard (NG). ETS (e t s) ~ End of time in service. The date that one got out of the Army. EVAC (ee-vack) ~ Shorthand for EVACUATON – as in 12th EVAC HOSP.

F FOXTROT FA (ef a) ~ Field Artillery. [Also see: ARTILLERY.] FAC (fak) ~ Forward Air Control. € FACs were the Air Force spotter planes and the pilots who flew them. They placed marking round rockets ("smoke") on enemy locations for the jet bombers. [Having a FAC flying overhead was a VERY reassuring feeling. - Sarge] FAR OUT ~ What you would say when you just witnessed (or heard) something incredibly good or very unusual. FARK ~ Forces Armees Royal Khmeres (Cambodian Royal Khmer Armed Forces). FIELD EXPEDIENT ~ Something made up on the spot out of what is available at hand. FIREFIGHT ~ Battle. FLAME-BATH ~ 55 gal drum of NAPALM dropped from a helicopter. [Some real genius in the rear thought this one up.... you sling a drum or two of napalm on a cable under a utility helicopter (UH-1) and fly it out to hover over the enemy and drop it.] FLARE (fah-l-air) ~ Night illuminating device. FLOOR SHOW ~ Entertainment provided at Stand Down. € Usually Australian or Philippine bands belting out the latest STATESIDE hits from BACK IN THE WORLD. The last tune was – inevitably – the rock group the Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"..... if it's the last thing we ever do. FM (ef m) ~ Field Manual. € FM's were a series of booklets that covered various military subjects, and were used as learning and teaching tools. FM ~ Friequency Modulated. € Our PRC-25 field radios operated in the FM wave-length..... just like the FM of your car radio. FM had its drawbacks - like limited range, and (on certain frequencies) any damn-fool-commie could listen in on our conversations with a transistor-radio bought at the local market. FNG (ef n gee) ~ We all know that FNG stood for "f__king new guy," It was used more as a descriptive word for a new green trooper than as an insulting name. We DID tend to be a bit cruel at times and made harsh use of it – but hey, WE WERE ALL FNGs AT ONE TIME! FO (ef oh) ~ Forward Observer. € FO's were ATTACHED from their parent companies or batteries and HUMPED with our various line companies. We liked to think of them as Grunts that just happened to have a artillery MOS. Our 2/12th 4.2" mortar company, HHC or (latter) Company E, provided FO's, and our artillery FO's came from the various artillery batteries that support us. [Also see: ARTILLERY.] FOO-GAS (foo gas) ~ 55 gallon drum filled with gasoline (napalm when available) used for base defense. € Foo-gas was set off by some sort of electrical detonated explosive like Claymores, C-4, Shape Charges, etc. The drum was burried 3/4 of the way in the ground or sandbaged so that one end of the barrel was pointed at the enemy. The other end had the explosive behind it. [Luke-the-gook tries to overwhelm your basecamp with a human wave attack - set off the Foo-gas.... 'Crispy-Critters'.] FOUR DEUCE ~ Nickname for the U.S. M30 4.2" mortar (or used to describe the platoon a soldier is in – as in "I'm in Four Deuce."). Fr ~ Shorthand for FROM. FREEDOM BIRD ~ The jet airliner that flys troops out of Vietnam. Catching the Freedom Bird was everyones dream – and a goal. Charter airlines did the job and some of them were; Pan-American Airlines (PAN-AM), Transworld Airlines (TWA), and World Airlines (World). Flying Tiger Line (Flying Tiger) was a freight carrier, but I think they carried troops also. The Freedom Bird had to fly someone IN to Vietnam before it flew someone OUT. We didn't think about THAT, only that it was OUR Freedom Bird to catch. FSB (ef s bee) ~ Fire Support Base. You'd always say it like this; "Fire Support Base (Pershing)." F-S-B was shorthand - only used in writing - instead of spelling it out. One would never say ef s bee Pershing. F__K ~ Was one of those words that rolled off the tongue at the drop of a hat. Every other word! F__k was a noun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition and proposition... sometimes all in one. You can't have a war without it! F__KING "A" RIGHT (or simply F__KING "A") ~ A Grunt expression of agreement. FULL BIRD COLONEL ~ Colonel. € There were two ranks of colonel; a lieutenant colonel (LTC) wore a oak leaf, and a colonel (COL) wore an silver eagle on their uniforms. Both officers were addressed as "Colonel." The "full bird"(eagle) was the higher rank.

G GOLF GOOCHIE-GOOCHIE GIRLS (goo-chee goo-chee) ~ These were the female dancers at Stand Downs. They usually toured with the band, or were – as in the case of Filippino bands – members of it. They NEVER took their clothes off. GRAZING FIRE ~ Bullets shot low and horizonal to the gound - knee height or lower. The lower, the better. € The idea was to knock the legs out from underneath an upright enemy and kill them when they fell into the 'grazing fire'. GREASE ~ G.I. slang for kill. GUERRILLA ~ Little rice-propelled Commies. GVN ~ Government of Vietnam (South Vietnam).

H HOTEL H ~ Shorthand for Hour. Hour (time) tjat pperation begins. H+1 is one hour after, H+2 is two hours latter, etc.. HE ~ High explosive. Usually an artillery term. HEAT ~ High explosive/armor pierce round. Usually a cavalry or tank term. H&I (h and eye) ~ Harassment and interdiction (artillery fire). HHC ~ Headquarters, and Headquarters Company. HIGHER-HIGHER ~ A nickname used by troops for Commanding Officers - usually reserved for Colonels on up [battalion, brigade and Division]. "Higher-higher says ___[fill in the blank with some stupid-ass order]." I think it should be noted that we grunts felt that Higher-Higher was always thinking up new ways to get us killed! HIT ~ Slang for wounded. As in; "He became the squad leader after the Sgt. was hit," and "Do you remember when the Sarge was hit?" HOI CHANH (hoy chan) ~ Rallier (to our side). Kit Carson Scout. [See Chieu Hoi] HOOCH also HOOTCH (who-ch) ~ G.I. slang for house or building. Probably derived from the Japan/Korean war era [Japanese; uchi]. A hootch could also mean your bunker – the place where you slept. Your home away from home in Vietnam. HOOK ~ Short for Chinook. HOT LZ (hot L z) ~ Not a good place to be going into folks! A "hot LZ" meant the enemy was shooting at YOU! HQ ~ Headquarters. HUEY (hew-wee) ~ If you don't know by now that this is the UH-1 helicopter see DUD! HUMP ~ A walk in the sun (HUMPING ~ Patrolling). Also; to carry something - "He had to hump the radio" (or) "He humps the M-60."

Helicopters H ~ Stands for helicopter. U ~ " " utility. O ~ " " observation Various model #'s (A through H) were at the end of aircraft designation. These "model #'s" represented improvements to the aircraft. A new type aircraft was an "X model" during introduction and flight testing. When first introduced and "fielded" to the Army, the 1st model # became "A." Subsequent model numbers became B (and so on). H-23 (OH-23) RAVEN Commonly: "The bubble chopper." Just like the ones you see on reruns of MASH.

I INDIA "IF YOUR GONNA BE ONE, BE A BIG RED ONE!" (phrase) ~ € This little diddy was a play on the nickname of the "Big Red One" (1st Infantry Division).... and a jeer shouted at them by the MEN of the 25th Infantry Division. IG (eye gee) ~ Inspector general. INCOMING! ~ What you yelled just before enemy mortars or rockets hit your position. Or, if you were in a situation where it was hard to hear them coming in – like on a chopper in a hot LZ – you might yell "incoming" to denote ANY TYPE OF INCOMING ENEMY ROUNDS from small arms on up. INDIAN COUNTRY ~ Anyplace outside THE WIRE. INF (or) Inf. ~ Shorthand for INFANTRY. INTRANS ~ Shorthand for INTRANSIT. IR ~ Infrared. [see Red Haze]

J JULIET JCS ~ U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (Washington). JESUS NUT (jeez-us nut) ~ Helicopter rotor-system mechanical 'part' of mythological proportions! If... it... fell... off... while...you... were... flying, .... you... were... all... dead! JITTERBUG ~ Heliborne operations that hop from place to place checking things out – mostly checking Vietnamese for proper ID in rural areas. In my day (1969), a Jitterbug operation was one helicopter and a squad of infantrymen (with our interpreter). We would swoop out of the sky and land next to a group of farmers working their rice paddies. Every now and then, we actually "detained" someone we suspected as being a Commie. JODY (joe-dee) ~ The interloper, and presumably draft dodger, who is stealing your girl back home.

K KILO (kee-low) KBA (k-bee-a) ~ Killed by air or artillery – depending on the situation. A "body count" given to air or artillery and not the infantry. KHMER ROUGE (kam-er-ruge) ~ Cambodian Communist guerrilla group. KHA ~ Killed hostile action. KIA ~ Killed in action. KICK BACK (or) KICKED BACK ~ Slang for getting a job in the rear and out of (direct) combat. KILLER JR'S (killer juniors) ~ Artillery rounds that exploded in the air just outside the wire at base camp. [For a full explination; click on Sarge's INFANTRY STUFF web page and scroll down to 'Artillery Stuff.'] KIT CARSON SCOUT ~ The official title for former VC who surrendered (or "ralleyed") to our side and were now working for the U.S. Army. € Also called 'Chieu Hois' [chew hoys]. KLICK ~ Slang for kilometer (6/10ths of a mile). € 1,000 meters makes a kilometer or "klick." Military maps in Viet Nam were marked in one klick by one klick boxes.

L LIMA (lee-ma -- not like the lye-ma bean) LAAGER (la'ger or log-ger) ~ A defensive encampment. A Night Laager (NL) usually was a temporary – over night – (or) semi-permanent base of operations. NL's usually were incircled by barbed wire and Claymore mines – but no earthen berm. The semi-permanent bases may have had sandbagged bunkers (built from ready-to-go kits at Cu Chi); but usually not. The old west circle the wagons – night laagers were usually circular shaped. The term "night laagered" could also mean, just, a place where a unit set up for the night (with only Claymores for protection). NL, NDP same-same. [The old Sarge has seen various spellings and pronounciations of Laager; including Logger, Lauger, Lagger, etc. I assure you, laager is the official US Army spelling.] LAST IN - FIRST OUT ~ The Infantrmens' little play-on-words of the motto of the Engineers; "First In - Last Out." LATERITE (l-at-ter-ite) ~ The red soil of Vietnam. Highways Six-Alpha and Seven-Alpha were "laterite roads." That is to say, they were "dirt" roads. Eventually, laterite roads like 6-A were macadamized (to a certain extent). [Also see MACADAM.] Far be it for the military to speak plain English – dirt & paved. LAW ~ Light antitank weapon. LEAVE (leev) ~ Military for vacation (useually); but you could go on 'Medical Leave' also. Anyway, you were away from your unit. LEECH ~ Aquadic blood sucking worm. These nasty little guys, leeches, lived in the rice paddies, swamps, streams, ponds, etc. of Viet-Nam and checking ones body for them was as routine as breathing. Leeches could attach themselves to you in an amazingly short time. Cross a small stream (and if you were lucky enough to hit a pocket of them) you could have dozens of them on you. Grunts got rid of them by spraying them with BUG JUICE or lighter fluid. Or, touching their attached head with a lit cigarette; take a puff or two while your looking, find one and tap it a time or two on its head and watch with satisfaction as it falls to the ground. Kick it away to join the debise of Nam. Take another puff or two while you are looking for the next one, this time the cigarette tastes of rice paddy and burnt meat. LIFER ~ A man that had chosen the Army as his career - hence, his "life." € The term could be descriptive, or derogitory. "He's a lifer!" meant he's a career soldier. "Sorry Lifer!" was definitely pejorative and derogatory. LIMA CHARLIE ~ Loud & Clear. € Radio code-talk for loud and clear. [FIVE by FIVE has the same meaning.] LIMA LIMA (lee-ma lee-ma) ~ Land Line. Telephone. € Land lines connected electrical or sound-powered telephones by wire. Concidered more SECURE than radio, they were used inside BASE CAMPS and as conections between camps. LINE ~ Short for 'firing line' or 'frontline'. € A 'line company' was the fighting infantry. When soldiers went 'on line', they formed up shoulder to shoulder for attack or defense. The order given by leaders was "on line", or "form a line". LINE DOGGIE ~ Infantryman. LISTEN UP ~ Usually followed by "people." "Listen up people" was same-same for pay attention. LNO (el n oh) ~ Liaison officer. LOGGER ~ See LAAGER. LOH (loach) ~ Light observation helicopter. LOOKING GOOD ~ A term of praise. LOUIE ~ Slang for lieutenant. LP (el pee) ~ Listening Post. LRRP (lerp) ~ Long-range reconnaissance patrol. LT or L.T. (el tee) ~ Lieutenant. PLATOON LEADER. LZ (el zee) ~ Landing zone. [It also seems that the 1st Air Cavalry Division, and 101st Air Assault Division, prefered to call their fire support bases LZs (Landing Zones) instead of FSBs – no doubt because of their helicopters and "air assault" roles.] LV or Lv ~ Shorthand for LEAVE. A "leave" was like a vacation – usually taken in some exotic spot like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipai, Sidney or Singapore. If you were married you usually met the wife in Hawaii when you went on leave or R&R.

M MIKE mm ~ Shorthand for milimeter. One milimeter is equal to 0.0394 inches. So a 20mm canon would shoot a shell that was .788 inches. MACADAM (mac-ah-damn) ~ A pavement of layers of compacted broken stone, sometimes bound with tar or asphalt. A road like Six Alpha, which to all outward appearances would be called a dirt road back in the states, was a "macadam" road to the military – because it was built up by the engineers with crushed rock. Just to make things more confusing, Highway 1 – a paved asphalt road – would also be refered to as a macadam road the same as Six Alpha, a macadamized laterite road. [Also see LATERITE.] Confused? So was I – back in Vietnam and today. MAD MINUTE ~ A minute or two of intence small arms fire. € Mad minutes took place during the night at FIRE SUPPORT BASES. The time was set at the whim of the commanding officer,or based on likely times of enemy attack. Besides being practicable – it discouraged the enemy – mad minutes were a chance to test-fire your weapon or just blow off steam by letting 'er rip on ROCK 'N' ROLL. MAGAZINE ~ A detachable box, in which cartridges are held to feed into the chamber of a weapon. Also called a "clip." € The M-16 magazine was designed to hold 20 rounds [bullets], but we typically only loaded 18 - so as not to stress the spring inside that pushed the cartridges up. Typically, every third round was a TRACER. Civilian's call cartridges "bullets," and a rifle a "gun." A rifle is a rifle and a gun is an artillery piece. MAGNET ASS ~ Nickname for someone who was always getting wounded or 'drawing fire'. MALARIA ~ We took the anti-malaria pills dapsone daily (against falciparum malaria) and chloroquine-primaquine weekly (against vivar malaria). MAMA-SAN (mom ah sanh) ~ Vietnamese woman. Usually an older Vietnamese woman. [Also see BABY-SAN.] MAPS ~ Did you ever wonder what those crazy little sybols were above the X-in-a-box that is the symbol for INFANTRY? XXXX Army [Unit size. We were in USARVN] XXX Corps [The intire war we were in II Corps (TWO core). XX Division [The 2/12th Inf in Vietnam was in both the 4th & 25th Div. III Regiment [Rarely used in VN.] II Battalion (or Squadron in the cavalry) I Company (or Troop in the Cav and Battery in the Artillery). ... Platoon .. Section . Squad MARS ~ Military Affiliate Radio System. Mars stations were operated by civilian "hams" in the U.S., and these volunteers allowed us to talk to our folks back home – "over." MEAT FOR THE GRINDER ~ 1969-70 2/12th Infantry expression. What we called ourselves and what we infantrymen KNEW what we were. MECH ~ Mechanized Infantry. € These guys rode into battle on top of their APCs. The 1/5 Infantry (Bobcats) were 25th Div. mechanized infantry, and we would occasionally hitch a ride with them. We ground-pounder-grunt types did NOT like working with "the mech", we concidered them to be 'a big target' and "they are crazy" - always 'reconning by fire' with their big 50 caliber machineguns. [The inside of those APCs could hold a bunch of ammo.] Better to be close to mother-earth, than riding around on those big-ole-noisy targets [see MAGNET ASS above]. MEDCAP (med cap) ~ Medical Civilian Action Program. MEDEVAC (med-e-vac) ~ Medical evacuation – medevac. MIA ~ Missing in action. The 2/12th Inf has one man missng in action – Co. A's Eugene Allen Handrahan. MILITARY PACIFICATION ~ Military double-speak for the distruction of enemy forces. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MILITARY TIME ~ It ain't like civilian time! 2400 hours (Midnight – the end of a day.) 0001 hours (1 minute after midnight – the start of a new day,) 0030 hours (12:30 am) 0100 hours (1:00 am) 0200 hours (2:00 am) 0300 hours (3:00 am) 0400 hours 0500 hours 0600 hours 0700 hours 0800 hours 0900 hours 1000 hours 1100 hours 1200 hours (noon) 1231 hours (31 minutes past noon) 1300 hours (1:00 pm) 1400 hours (2:00 pm) 1500 hours (3:00 pm) 1600 hours (4:00 pm) 1700 hours (5:00 pm) 1800 hours (6:00 pm) 1900 hours (7:00 pm) 2000 hours (8:00 pm) 2100 hours (9:00 pm) 2200 hours (10:00 pm) 2300 hours (11:00 pm) 2337 hours (37 minutes past 11) 2400 hours (midnight – 2400 hours – is the end of the day) 0001 hours (One minute past midnight is the beginning of the day.) Zero Dark Hundred Hours ~ Early!!! Too early! So, just to make things more interesting, the military throws in there own way of recording calander dates along with the "military time." O.K., so lets say you went out on 'bush at 9:45 pm on the 31st of December 1970, and blew your 'bush at 9:45 in the mourn... The log book might say something like this: 214531 DEC 70 AP out. 010001 JAN 71 sitrep neg. 094501 JAN 71 AP reports contact Which translates: Ambush patrol left at 9:45 pm on December 31, 1970, situation reported as nothing happening at one minute after midnight on New Years Day, and at 9:45 am on January 1, 1971 the ambush patrol reported a firefight – contact – with the enemy. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– mm ~ millimeter. MOD SQUAD (mod ~ as in modern) ~ The Mod Squad was a special unit of the 2/12th that seemed to operate outside of the normal T.O.E. – i.e., it wasn't Recon or Crip, but may have been made up of members of those platoons and others from the companies. They would do stuff like sneak out at night – dressed like enemy and carrying enemy weapons like the AK 47 – to infiltrate a suspected enemy village. Named after a popular television police drama about young undercover cops known as The Mod Squad – Pete, Linc and Julie solved crimes on tv from September 1966 until 1973. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MOS (m oh s) ~ Military Occupation Specialty. € A job code. Some of the MOSs we 11B grunts WISHED we had; 02G Band Member Flute or Piccolo Player, 03D Arts and Crafts Specialist, 3442 Pediatric Nurse, 6410 Economist, and some that we DID have; 11B10 Infantryman ["Eleven Bravo." See; ELEVEN BRAVO.] 11B20 " " 11B40 Infantry Sergeant 1542 Infantry Unit Commander [NOTE: The 10, 20 & 40, after the B, indicate rank and hold true for all MOS letter designations such as 11C, 11F, 11H, 13A, 13B, etc.] 11C Indirect Fire Infantryman [Mortars / "Eleven Charlie"] 11F Infantry Operations And Intelligence Specialist 11G Infantry Senior Sergeant 11H Infantry Direct Fire Crewman [Recoilless rile – commonly known as "bazooka."] 1193 Field Artillery Unit Commander 13A Field Artillery Basic 13B Cannon Crewman 13C Heavy Field Artillery Crewman 1193 Field Artillery Unit Commander 31B20 Field Communications Electronic Equipment Mechanic 36K20 Tactical Wire Operations Specialist 05B Radio Operator 91A Medical Corpsman 91B Medical Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MP ~ Military police. MPC (pronounced: em pee see) ~ Military Payment Certificate – a.k.a. "funny money." A US printed script used as money by the GIs. MR ~ Military region. MSR (em s r) ~ Main Supply Route. Also sometimes MSL; main upply Line. MUSTANG ~ An enlisted man who was promoted through the ranks to become an officer.

N NOVEMBER NAPALM (nay-palm) [also see FLAMEBATH & FOO-GAS] ~ Jellied gasoline in a canister (usually dropped from Air Force Jets in CAS). Contrary to popular belief, the "jelly" part of Napalm was NOT so it would "stick to people," but, rather, so that the prime ingredient of Napalm - gasoline - would burn more slowly. [I'd like to editorialize here a little bit because the word 'napalm' pushes so many hot buttons: The main effects of napalm were and are pretty nasty – WAR IS A NASTY BUSINESS. Remember the old saying "Kill or be killed!" The employment of napalm in Viet Nam was not indiscrimanite. It was usually used when troops were in CONTACT as a means of defense. It was also used against bunkers. It sucks the air out of tunnels and burns off the covering vegitation - exposing the fighting positions to the attacking infantry. Napalm saved countless American lives! It pisses me off when people bring up "that horrible napalm you used in Vietnam." Well, what about a truly indiscrimanite weapon employed by the enemy – Booby-traps, which killed and maimed thousands of Vietnamese. – Sarge] NCO (n cee oh) ~ Non-commissioned Officer (a sergeant). € NCOs were "THE backbone of the Army!" NCOIC (n cee o eye c) ~ NCO In Charge. € A position of responcibility - the NCOIC was second-in-command to the OD. NDP (n dee pee) ~ Night Defensive Position (or Perimeter). See: LAAGER and NL. NEGATIVE ~ No. But most times "negative" was a GOOD thing.... like; "negative contact" and "sitrep negative" – meaning we haven't ran into the bad guys yet and things are peaceful. N.G.(en gee) ~ Slang for no good. NG (n gee) ~ National Guard. € Officers and enlisted-men had the two letter prefex NG in front of their service numbers to indicate they belonged to that service (i.e. NG47622879). NGUY HIEM ~ DANGER in Vietnamese. If you saw this on a sign in the jungle you backed out VERY slowleee! NIGHT HAWK ~ Night Hawk missins were UH-1H helicopters from the 25th AVN Company, manned with an AN/VSS Xenon and AN/TVS-4 Night Observation Device [BIG-ass Starlight-scope. - b.h.] mounted in the left gunner's well. From time to time, a member of the 2/12th would be tasked to "ride shotgun" with the helicopter.... this was a volunteer. NL ~ Night laager. NLF ~ National Liberation Front. The VC. NOOK ~ Vietnamese for water. [I think it is actually NUC.] NO SWEAT ~ Slang for no problem. As in "No sweat gee eye!" NUMBER ONE (usually pronounced: numb bah one) ~ The best! NUMBER TEN (usually pronounced: numba ten) ~ The worst! I can still hear the melodious refrain of "you gee eye numba ten cheap charlie. Cheat mama-san!" NVA (n vee a) ~ North Vietnamese Army. The Bad Guys. NVN ~ North Vietnam.

O OSCAR O (oh) - Officer (also called an 'oscar' over the radio or "the six."). OD (oh dee) ~ Officer of the Day. € A rotating position of responciblity... the guy that was in charge of a base. OD (oh dee) ~ Olive drab. € EVERYTHING in the Army was olive drab – including the men! EVERTHING! [See below.] If a man "bled olive drab," he was said to be a true-blue Army man that followed the regulations 'to a T'. OJT (oh jay tee) ~ On the job training. ONE EACH, O.D. IN COLOR (1 each oh dee in color) ~ Most equipment was marked and olive drab (OD). When you were issued it, supply personnel would call out "1 each, OD in color." We began to call EVERYTHING ARMY 'one each, OD in color' – INCLUDING OURSELVES! Ong (ohng) ~ Vietnamese for Mr. [mister]. The way it worked was: as you approached the eldest male in the village; you put your hands together in the "praying hands" style, bowed from the waist and said " Choa Ong Pappa-san." [see my How to Speak Vietnamese] OPLAN ~ Operations plan. OR (oh r) ~ Shorthand for Operational Report. [See Quarterly Report.] ORGANIC WEAPONS ~ No, Virginia, these are not naturally grown materials made into weapons of war. "Organic weapons" were the weapons commonly carried and used by a platoon or company. In the infantry platoon these 'organic' weapons were; the M-60 machine gun, the M-16 rifle, the M-79 grenade launcher, hand grenades, Claymore mines, etc. Organic weapons in a tank or 'mech' outfit could be a cannon or .50 caliber machine gun. Organic weapons are what you had with you at the time of 'contact.'

P PAPA (pah-pah) PAPA LIMA ~ Radio code talk for Platoon Leader. € Also known as 'the lima tango' (the L.T.), or 'the six'(any leader). PAPA SAN (pah-pah sahn) ~ Pigeon english (from the Korean War) for any older Vietnamese male. PACEX (pay-sex) Catalog ~ Pacific Area Exchange catalog from Japan. If an item wasn't in the local Post Exchange you could order it from Japan. The prices were great, and many of us got our first luxury consumer-products through them. The most popular things to send home were sterios. Things ordered and sent to us in the field were 35mm cameras, reel-to-reel tape recorders, and portable television sets [a novelty in the late '60s]. Authorized PACEX dealers also offered new cars that would be waiting on the docks for you when you got back to the world. PAVN ~ People's Army of Vietnam. NORTH Vietnam. We commonly refered to them as NVA. PCS (pee cee s) ~ Permanet Change of Station. € "I'm gonna PCS in June" was another way of saying "I'm gonna leave here in June." PENA PRIME ~ A dust inhibitor sprayed on semi-permanent helicopter landing zones (? and roads?). PF ~ Popular Forces (South Vietnamese). PFC (pee F see) ~ Proud f__king civilian! What we 'draftees' ALL wanted to survive to become! ....... O.K., so PFC really was shorthand for the rank of Private First Class – if you were drafted, you STILL wanted to become a PFC. PISS TUBE ~ A conveyance for relieving your bladder made from the water-proof cardboard tube that artillery rounds came in – stuck in the ground. You aimed for the tubes hole. [For more "relief," see SHITTER.] PLATOON (plah-toon) ~ Sub unit of COMPANY. Supposed to be 45 (+/-) men broken into four SQUADs, but most times we opperated with far fewer men in the platoon – lots of times with 13 to 15. The platoon was commanded by a Lieutenant (called a Platoon Leader). PLATOON LEADER ~ The leader of a platoon. Officially, platoons were supposed to be led by a lieutenant. But often they were led by the platoon sergeant, and even a buck sergeant, or the most senior man at the time. PLATOON SERGEANT ~ Second in command of a platoon. Supposed to be an E-7.... but, well, see platoon leader (above). PLO(pee el oh) ~ Petrolium, lubricants and oil. The fuel dump. PLUNGING FIRE ~ Indrect fire. € Lobbing bullets at the enemy using the priciple of what goes-up must come-down. PM (pee em) ~ Preventive Maintainance. POW ~ Prisoner of war. PRC-25 (prick twenty-five) ~ Model number for the U.S. Army man-portable radio used at the squad, platoon, and company levels. [see FM and RTO] Latter, the prick 25 was repaced by the incripted (and tempermental) PRC–77. Major flaws of both sets were the radios hand reciever that was not water-proof. PRC-77 (prick seventy-seven) ~ This "secure channel" radio replaced the Prick 25 in late '69/early '70, but was MUCH inferior do to unreliability in damp conditions! PRIORITY was a medical DUST-OFF category meaning "most urgent, patient seriously wounded and at risk of death". [see URGENT and ROUTINE] PRG ~ Provisional Revolutionary Government. Viet Cong. PSDF ~ Popular Self Defense Force (South Vietnamese). PSP (pee s pee) ~ Perforated Steel Panking. € A strong, interlocking, perforated metal plate used for runways and roads. Another use, and more common to Grunts, was as a roof support for BUNKERs. PUCKER FACTOR ~ Fear, fearful, scare, scary, close call, etc. PUSH ~ The fm frequency that a particular unit used was called "the push." i.e. 132 megahertz could be the "Push" for that particular unit on that particular day. PW ~ Prisoner of war. "PW's" were enemy prisoners. PX (pee x) ~ Post Exchange. € The military equivalent to a combination 7-11 and department store.... the place where you bought stuff. THE BIG PX was the United States (also called THE WORLD). THE BIG PX IN THE SKY was Heaven. PZ (pee zee) ~ Pick-up Zone. Usually a helicopter pick-up, but could be used for fixed wing runway. P-38 (pee thirty-eight) ~ Can opener. € Simple and efficient, the well designed P-38 came with C-RATIONS and is legendary. Perhaps the most efficiently designed piece of G.I. equipment EVER made!!

Q QUEBEC QUARTERLY REPORT(S) ~ Report were made for three months four times a year. The Unit reporting would usually have two major sections; the Operational Repot (OR), giving key events; and Lessons Learned (LL), which were supposed to inprove things - like how to grease your widget-wing-nut on your witch-a-ma-cal. LLs are boring, but ORs will have action. Reports are expressed as OR-LL or ORLL and ending of the end of the day of the quarter.

R ROMEO RA (are-A) ~ Regular Army.  From the two letter prefex of service numbers [i.e. RA38038471]. RAs enlisted in the Army, or were professional soldiers. [see US] RAT ~ Short for TUNNEL RAT. RAT ~ Short for C-RATION. REAR ~ Any place that wasn't 'the front'.  The 2/12th Inf. 'battalion rear' was at Cu Chi or Dau Tieng depending on the year. Being in the rear could also mean you worked inside the wire at a fire support base. RED HAZE ~ Code word for the Army Infared (passive) image device mounted on Mohawk airplanes. The device sensed heat and could project on a TV screen (in the aircraft) the ghost-like outline of a human form. Red Haze missions were flown by fixed-wing aircraft. REED OF PLAINS ~ A geographic area - edge beginning - 5 mile southwest of Trang Bang and south of "the Oriental River." RETROGRADE ~ A backword movement.  The military's more politicaly correct way of saying RETREAT! Also another way of saying "Lets get out of here - FAST!" RF ~ Regional Forces (South Vietnamese). RIFLEMAN ~ A squad-level position.  Riflemen are the indispensable heart and soul of the infantry fighting force! RING KNOCKER ~ A West Point graduate. After their habit of tapping their class ring on anything handy to remind you that THEY went to West Point. And YOU didin't. RINGWORM ~ Contagious skin rash caused by fungi. Characterized by ring-shaped, scaly, itching patches on the skin – mostly on a Grunts legs. The medics had an ointment for it, but lots of guys got rid of it with BUG JUICE. Ringworm was just another thing that happened to a GI in the field... another common thing. RPG (are pee gee) ~ Rocket Propelled Grenade. . The RPG-2 and RPG-7 were both called by the VC/NVA the B-40 (bee fourty). The Americans sometimes refered to them by their year of introduction and dubbed them "the Type 56 or the Type 69. Both RPGs fired a 80mm warhead from a 40mm launch tube. Late in the war the B-50 rocket was introduce, it fired a massive 100mm warhead from a 50mm tube. RPG SCREEN (are pee gee screen) ~ Lengths of chain-link fence strung on tall metal fence posts, used to prematurely detonate the warhead,to protect fixed positions like bunkers or APCs. RRF ~ Rapid Reaction Force. R&R ~ Rest and recreation. Troops in Vietnam were given one R&R period, usually a week, and one "leave." RTO (are t oh) ~ Radio/Telephone Operator.  An infantryman, called the RTO, carried the PRC-25 radio (or a professional Signalman manned it at base camp). ROCK 'N' ROLL ~ Full automatic fire. ROGER ~ "I understand" (radio).  "Yes" (conversationally). Said emphaticlly "Roger that!" was a term of strong agreement. "Roger! Wilco!" meant "I understand. I will do it." ROME PLOW ~ Catepillar-tracked bulldozer with a special blade on the front designed to knock down trees. The vehicle was designed in Rome, Georgia – hence its name. ROUND-EYE ~ Any American woman. The "roundeyes" we saw were the nurses, special services club workers and, of course, the Red Cross workers we affectionately called "Donut Dollies." ROUTINE (rue-teen) ~ Besides the common usage, ROUTINE was a medical dust-off category for "wounded, but not life threatening". RUNG SAT (rung, as in ladder, and sat, as in sat down) ~ Jungle area. The 'Rung Sat Secret Zone' was area of heavy VC/NVA presence in War Zone C. RVN ~ Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).

RADIO – A Special Section of Sarge's GLOSSARY. [Much (if not all) of the information below can be found on Sarge's COMMO page - explained in more detail.] Codes and Call Signs changed periodically with the issuance of a 'Code Book' to the RTOs. CALL SIGNS: The 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry – ?? ?? BN C.O. – ?? ?? The Alpha Company itself – "Alpha" Alpha Co. Commanding Officer (Alpha CO) – "Alpha Six (Alpha-6)" or simply "Six" when talking within the company. His Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) – "Alpha Six RTO (Alpha-6 RTO)" Alpha Company's 1st Platoon Leader – "Alpha One One (Alpha 1-1)" or simply "One-One" when talking within the company. [The leader of ANY unit was also refered to as the "C.O.," so a Platoon Leader was also refered to as the CO when talking within the platoon.] His (1st Plt. Ldr.) RTO – "Alpha 1-1 RTO" His Platoon Sergeant [Second in Command.] – "Alpha One Two (Alpha 1-2)" or simply "1-2" when talking within the company. His (1st Plt. Sgt.) RTO – "Alpha 1-2 RTO" 2nd Plt., Platoon Leader – "Alpha 2-1" or simply "2-1" 3rd Platoon Ldr. – "Alpha 3-1" or simply "3-1" 4th Plt. Ldr. – "Alpha 4-1" or simply "4-1" Substitute Bravo, Charlie, Delta, or Echo in the Call Sign; and one(1), two(2), three(3), or four(4 ) in the Call Sign to refer to the Company, Platoon, or leadership position. i.e.: Bravo Company's Commanding Officer was "Bravo 6" Charlie's C.O. – "Charlie Six" Delta's CO – "Delta 6" Echo Co. CO – "Echo Six"

S SIRERRA SHORT ~ When a soldier was "short", he had very little time left to serve in Viet Nam (usually 30 days or less). € When a soldier got down to two weeks he was "REAL short!"... two or three days and a soldier was; "So Short I could parachute off a dime!". "I'm to Short for that" was a seasoned combat veteran's statement to some unpleasant job (like burning shit, or downright dangerous thing - like going up to the Ho Bo woods).. SHORT-TIMER ~ Name given to soldiers who were "short." € Being a Short-timer was everyones goal. Depending on the units policies, short-timers usually KICKED BACK to safer jobs for their lasts days IN COUNTRY. Short-timers were envied.... they were going home! SHORT-TIMERS CALANDER ~ A prepared or homemade calander that soldiers used to mark off their last days in country (most of them were QUITE humorus). SHIT ~ Besides being a swear word, shit meant anything bad; anything intense. "The shit really hit the fan!" [read on] "We are IN DEEP SHIT" ~ Trouble caused by the enemy. "YOU are in deep shit" ~ "You're in trouble!". Usually said like this by your superior; " YOOOU.... are..... in.... DEEEEEP shit!". "Looks like shit... smells like shit... tastes like shit... hmmmm, it IS shit!" ~ GI saying for; "If it looks like IT... it IS it!" From the TRAILING and/or SCOUTING practice of examining scat left along a trail to determine how old it was, and if it was enemy, friendly, or animal scat. The American GIs diet was rich in fat. The enemy diet consisted of rice, foraged greens and fish. Signs of fresh enemy scat meant they weren't far away. The skin of the scat aged with oxidation, and you could tell the age down to minutes. The procedure was; approach the scat, eyeball it closely, probe it with a stick (or YOUR FINGER), smell it, and if necessary, taste it to determine friendly or enemy diet (rare occurance, but it DID happen). [You "grossed-out" civilians sitting in your easychairs would do it too, if, YOUR LIFE WAS ON THE LINE! - The Sarge] SHIT BURNING DETAIL (or simply) SHIT DETAIL ~ A duty of mythological proportion (see SHITTER below)! A "shit detail" was also anything unpleasant or dangerous. SHITTER ~ Place to read the Sears catelog. Of any of a number of designs, they all had this in common; you did your business into a sawed-off 55 gallon drum and SOMEBODY had to drag them out, pour in diesel fuel, set it on fire... burn and stir! "Shit Detail" was one of those jobs you tried to E&E!! SHIT-FOR-BRAINS ~ Insult (stupid) or oath ("You did something stupid!"). SHIT-HOOK ~ See Chinook - a prime example of how we grunts twisted and mangled the kings english. SHIT-HOLE ~ Vietnam. SCARED SHITLESS ~ What we were.... most of the time. [This concludes the Sarge's Scatology!] ************************************************ SIX, The ~ The leader. SKY PILOT ~ Slang for Chaplin. SODA BOY (so dah boy) ~ Young boys and teenagers that roamed the roads with bicycles – with an ice chest of cold soda (and sometimes beer). A good person to have about when you were on ROAD SECURITY, not only because you could get a cold one – but because if they were NOT about.... expect an ambush or you are in a booby-trapped area. I liked to think of them as human early warning devices. SOP (s oh pee) ~ Standard Operating Procedures. SQUAD (sk-wad) ~ Sub unit of PLATOON. STAND DOWN ~ A period of rest and recreation (usually two days a month) held at the realitively safe main Base Camps. € Waikiki East at Cu Chi, and the Holiday Inn at Tay Ninh were the official stand-down areas.... but most of our stand-downs were taken in the battalions area. Stand Down usually included a jeep full of beer (paid for out of the company recreation fund), steak dinner, and a FLOOR SHOW or movie. 'Stand-downs' were notorious! STEEL POT [or simply; POT] ~ The U.S. WWII design helmet [An icon for three wars]. € The helmet consisted of a fiberglass liner with webing, and a leather headband that adjusted to fit the head. The steel shell "pot" fit over this. And, covering all this was a cloth camouflaged cover. Pots were a handly item. You could use them to cook in; as a wash basin; as a bucket; or to dig a hole when the shit hits the fan. The most common use; a chair (to keep your butt off the wet ground). [During one firefight, I actually crawled inside of my steel pot!]

MORE S SALTPETER ~ Common rumor amoung recruits in basic training that the Army "put saltpeter in the food to..." errrr, shall I say, reduce randiness. SEA ~ Southeast Asia. SEATO (see tow) ~ Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. SECTION 8 ~ Crazy! May refer to a section in Army Regulations (AR). SHORT!!!!!!!!! SHORTIMER ~ A soldier who had only a few weeks or days until he was due to catch the FREEDOM BIRD and return to the United States (DEROS). SHORTIMERS CALENDER ~ A memiographed cartoon with 365 blank and numbered spaces to be filled in by the trooper in Viet-Nam. A way to visually count down the days until he returned home. In 1969/70 the calenders were distributed by the civilian volunteers at the ILIKAI EAST Service Club in Cu Chi Base Camp. The most popular version was of a pair or boots sticking out from under a helmet.... now THAT'S short. Also available was an American Eagle. Most BOONIE RATS made their own Shortimers Calender out of what was available. If you started yours too soon you were ridiculed for being an optimest. SIGINT ~ Signals intelligence. SIR CHARLES ~ Semi-respectfull nickname for the VC/NVA – as in "Sir Charles owns the night!" [O.K., so Sir Charles didn't own the night – WE DID with our starlight scopes, Duffle Bags, Night Hawk flights and infa-red detectors. Anyway, night-time was Charlies time to play. – b.h.] SIT REP (or sometimes) SITREP (sit rep) ~ Situation Report. SKS ~ Communist-bloc gas operated carbine. 7.62mm. SLAR ~ Side-looking airborne radar. SNAFU (snaf-foo) ~ If something wasn't going well or waas screwed up, a soldier would say "it was a real snafu," or "we hit a snafu" – situation normal, all f__ked up! SQUARED AWAY ~ Neat and tidy. STAND DOWN FLASHBACK "We gotta get out of this place If it's the last thing we ever do..." Go to http://www.mann-weil.com/thehits.html and click on #19. STARLIGHT SCOPE ~ Night vission aid that amplified existing light – stars or moon – and allowed the soldier to 'see' at night. The size and shape of two large thermos jugs plased end to end, you looked through it like a telescope. We used them, mostly, on ambush patrols (AP). STRAC (strack) ~ STRAC stood for Strategic Army Command and they had high standards for a soldiers deportment. In Soldier Talk it meant a good soldier, or group of soldiers, SQUARED AWAY – LOOKING GOOD ".SUCIDE BRIDGE" ~ Known of TRANG BANG BRIDGE because it had blown up so many times.

SCATOLGICAL UPDATE JUMP IN YOUR SHIT ~ Right after the warning to straighten yourself out – "you're in deep shit" – comes the saying; "or I WILL jump in your shit!!" [Which means that if you don't correct your behavior, you will end up having a VERY bad day.]

T TANGO TAC AIR ~ Tactical air. Usually U.S. Airforce jet airstrikes. TAOR (tee a oh r) ~ Tactical Area Of Responcability. TDY (tee dee why) ~ Shorthand for TEMPORARY DUTY. TDY's could be anything from going on leave to being assigned temporarily to another unit. TEE-TEE ~ Pidgeon english for little. Opposite of BOO-COO. TET ~ Vietnamese Lunar New Year. TF ~ Task force. THERE IT IS! ~ Slang expression for 'correct' [another way of saying, 'You hit the nail on the head!']. A statement of fact! THREE-QUARTER CAV ~ Nickname for the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry – 3/4 Cav. The 25th Divisions recon arm. Some of them rode around on APCs, some of them rode helicopters. THUMP GUN (or) THUMPPER ~ M-79 Grenade Launcher. TICKET PUNCH, TICKET PUNCHER, (or) TICKET PUNCHED ~ Officers (it was commonly believed) were only concerned with making the next RANK, or "getting their ticket punched," and war gave them the chance to make it faster. ["Vietnam. It's the only war we got!"] TOC (tock) ~ Tactical Operation(al) Center. TO&E ~ Table of organization & equipment. TOTEM POLE ~ Originally constructed at Ft. Lewis and brought over to Vietnam by the first contingent of 2/12th troops and installed in front of the 2/12ths headquarters. This wooden relic had representations of the enemies the 12th had fought from the British on – topped by a giant CIB. During Tet '68 the 2/12th was hastilly deployed from Dau Tieng to the Cu Chi/Hoc Mon area and The Totem Pole was lost to history. Anyone having any information about the lost totem pole should contact us; bhbim@webtv.net TRACERS (tray-sirs) ~ We had red – they had green. Well, except for their nasy .51 cal. heavy machinegun which had orangish-red, and looked the size of baseballs when shot at you. TRACK ~ Nickname for the APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier). € "Tracks" had official numbers and sometimes names (like, Track 22 and Fower Power). TRANS (Tranz) ~ Shorthand for TRANSPORTATION – as in a military unit like the 25th TRANS; (or) shorthand for TRANSIT – as in moving from one place or unit to another. TREE BURST ~ A shell hitting a tree (or branch) will explode – thereby increasing its lethality to exposed ground troops. TREELINE ~ The demarcation point between an open space (with no COVER) and a forest (with lots of cover). For some reason, we always seemed to be in the no cover part of a treeline. TRIP ~ 'Trip' is one of those great words from the Sixities (and its drug culture). You could have a 'good trip' (good experience), or a 'bad trip' (bad experience), and even BE 'a trip!' If you thought someone was particularly funny or had done something extraordinary (good or bad), you would say to them; "You're a trip, man!" TRIP FLARE ~ The trip-flare was a trip-wire-activated magnesium flare strung along likely avenues of approach, or on the barbed wire of a base perimeter.. TRIP WIRE ~ The VC (in my time) used a thin, clear, mono-filiment fishline attached to something explosive as a booby-trap [God, how I hate that term!]..... VERY hard to spot in the jungle. TRIPLE DEUCE ~ Nickname for the 2d Battalion, 22d (Mechinized) Infantry Regiment – 2/22th (M) Inf. The Tripple Deuce rode around on APCs and broke things. TROOPER / TROOP ~ Nickname even the infantry refered to themselves as. Troop–plural. Trooper – singular. As in "Listen up troops," when you wanted to get a groups attention. Or, "That is one sharp trooper," when complimenting. TROOPS IN CONTACT ~ A kind of self explanitory term meaning that we had met the enemy and were fighting. "Troops in contact" was usually used by a third party, like a headquarers or TOC, to report a situation or to request some support – like artillery or air. They would say "Troops in contact at XT456319." [A grid co-ordinate.] Truc Loi ~ Vietnamese for land-mine. Mine! If you saw a sign with a scull & crossbones and the word 'Truc Loi' it meant you shouldn't a-go a-walkin' through there. Trung Si (trung she) ~ Vietnamese for Sergeant. Used by Americans as a nickname for sergeants. TSN ~ Tan Son Nhut Air Base outside of Saigon. TUNNEL RAT ~ Nickname for anyone crazy enough to go down into the earth and enter those stinking, mysterious, and dangerous enemy holes in the ground. TUNNELS OF CU CHI ~ No such animal by that name in our time. But there were extensive tunnel and bunker complexes NW of Cu Chi base camp. In our time these tunnel and bunker riddled areas were the Filhoi, Trung Lap, the Citidel, the Ho Bo woods, and the Boi Loi woods. A lot of myth has grown up around these undergroud hideouts. Primarily, that we didn't know about them (we did); that they lived in them 24/7 (they didn't); and that they moved undergroud from Cambodia to Saigon – ha ha. When I was there in 1969 we were constantly finding their little hidey-holes and blowing them up. We pulled missions to kill VC/NVA officers sleeping in houses at night near the 'famed tunnels' and we ambushed VC/NVA as they moved – ABOVE ground – from one location to the next. In short, the strategic value of the tunnels has been blown all out of importance. The TACTICAL value of the tunnels was that it gave them some overhead cover as they moved from fighting bunker to fighting bunker – as we knocked them out, or they tried to flank us, They could treat the wounded in realative safety, and (mostly) hide out till we left the area. You'll have more of an idea of what we faced by thinking of the tunnels as individual and group hidey-holes; interconnected fighting bunkers; and covered trench lines – not as a village underground connected to other villages where people lived for years. The current "Tunnels of Cu Chi" place is a tourist trap located in the Ho Bo woods near the "Mushroom" area of the Saigon River. It was developed by the Commies to separate running-dog-capitalist foreign tourists from their money. 'You've Got to See the Tunnels of Cu Chi' was the title of a newspaper article I came across when surfing the web. I found the title disturbing. I also see lots of photos of tourists – including vets – at the tunnel complex site. The tourists strike a smiling pose for the camera in the vaulted tunnels (enlarged to fit Westerners). I wonder if these smiling-tourist-tunnel-rats EVER think about the suffering we soldiers endured there, or the dead buried beneath their Rebok clad feet?

U UNIFORM UN-ASS (un ass [or] on ass) ~ Get off a vehicle. € As in; "You men un-ass that truck" and "When the APC hit that mine, we un-assed." US (you S) ~ From the two letter prefex of service numbers [i.e. US380381742]. The designation meant that the individual was DRAFTED into the Army (as opposed to volunteering). See RA and NG. USA ~ U.S. Army. USAF ~ U.S. Air Force. USARV (you S are-vin) ~ United States Army, Republic of Vietnam. USO (you s oh) ~ United Service Organization. € Provided entertainment for the troops by booking 'shows' and providing 'USO Clubs' for the soldiers to go to. URGENT ~ DUSTOFF request classification for a wounded man in immenant danger of death without immeadiate medical attention at a hospital.

V VICTOR VECTOR ~ A compass direction. VC (vee see) or VICTOR CHARLIE ~ The enemy. A loose term applied to VC, NVA, and PLA soldiers. VCI ~ Viet Cong infrastructure. VIETMINH ~ What the hippie-dippies called the communists in order to make them sound like they – the Vietminh – were really fighting for their country. Nationalists. [The Commie rats in Hanoi used the "Viet Minh" – see National Liberation Front – and as soon as they took power in '75 disbanded this "political party" and said that the "former Viet Minh had to be "National Socialists." – bh] VN ~ Vietnam or Vietnamese. VR ~ Visual reconnaissance.

W WHISKEY WAISTED ~ Killed. War is waist – a waist of time, a waist of resources – waist of lives. War is waist! WAKE-UP ~ Slang for one day. € When a person first got in country (at the begining of their TOUR), they had "three-hundred sixty-four days and a wake-up" to go [365 days was a normal tour.] WHITE MICE ~ GI nickname for Vietnamese "National Police'. WHA ~ Wounded hostile action. WIA (w-eye-a) ~ Wounded in action. WILCO (will cυ) ~ Radio communication term meaning "Will comply" (given in answer to an order, or request). WILCO THAT ~ A reply to a statement, meaning "yes" or "that's right". Radio convestion example; "You're surrounded?" "Roger that!" "OK, pull back!" "Wilco THAT!!" WILLIE PETER or WP (w pee) ~ White phosphorus. € Exploding WP shells produced a LOT of white smoke. They were used as MARKING ROUNDS; to designate enemy locations, help orientate friendly patrols by sighting in on the smoke location (and/or) as a weapon. [Phosphorus burned intensely, and was used on 'troops in the open', or to start fires.] WIRE ~ Barbed wire. € Not only the common twisted strands of fencing wire with barbs protruding, but also the improved "RAZOR" (or "GERMAN") WIRE with razor sharp blades. "Breaking wire" meant leaving the base. THE WORLD ~ The United States. € Going "Back to the world" (alive) was the goal. WO ~ Shorthand for Warrant Officer.

X X-RAY XO (ex oh) ~Executive Officer. € The second in command of an Army unit, and the guy that did most of the formal military stuff - like paperwork. XIN LOI (zin loy or more commonly, sin loy) ~ Vietnamese for "sorry". € American GIs used 'sin loy' to mean; "sorry about that", "tuff shit", or "to bad" - depending on the situation.

Y YANKEE YANKEE ~ Anyone who didn't start or end his sentences with "y'all." YANKEE ~ North Vietnamese for "Evil running-dog-capitalist exploiting The People."

Z Zulu ZAP ~ To wound or kill enemy (usually by small arms). ZAPPED was past tence. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This concludes the Sarge's vocabulary builder. Hope you boys and girls learned something today – but remember not to say "F__king A!" in front of Mom an Dad! Now, if you want to learn a little VIETNAMESE, go to the next page.

© 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Copyright by Bruce Holzhauer