AIT—advanced individual training
amtrac—amphibious tractor; a landing craft
AO—area of operations
ao dai—traditional dress of Vietnamese women: slacks and a tunic slit up the sides
APC—armored personnel carrier
arty—artillery
ARVN, or Arvin—Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (South Vietnam), or any regular South Vietnamese Army soldier
AWOL—absent without leave
babysan—Vietnamese child; also, very young woman
bac-si, also bac se—doctor
BCD—bad conduct discharge
BMB—brigade main base
Brown Bar—second lieutenant
CA—combat assault; inserting troops by helicopter into a hot landing zone, usually with gunship support
C-4—plastic explosive, small chunks of which burned like Sterno and were used to heat C-rations
Charlie, also Charles—Viet Cong, from the military phonetic spelling of the acronym VC, or Victor Charlie
cherry—a new guy
Chinook—the CH-47 helicopter, a large, twin-rotor job used to move troops and cargo; also called a Shithook
Class A’s—the Army dress uniform
Claymore—a command-detonated antipersonnel mine packed with steel pellets
click (see klick)
Cobra—a helicopter gunship with rockets and mini-guns
CP—command post
crispy critters—severely burned victims of napalm; named after a popular children’s cereal of the time
DEROS—Date of Expected Return from Overseas
deuce-and-a-half—a two-and-a-half ton truck
didi mau—go or leave quickly, take off, scram
DMZ—demilitarized zone; the fifteen miles on either side of the border between North and South Vietnam designated by the Geneva accords
DTs—defensive targets
dung lai—stop, halt, don’t move
dustoff—medical evacuation, or medevac; also, any helicopter pickup
DZ—drop zone
EOD—Explosive Ordnance Disposal (or Demolition)
FDC—Fire Direction Control Center; coordinated artillery fire for effect—command meaning that rounds are hitting the target and to pour it on
FNG, also fenugie—fucking new guy
FO—1. fire officer 2. field officer 3. forward observer
frag—a fragmentation grenade; to kill using a grenade; to assassinate a despised superior
H & I—harassment and interdiction fire; artillery fired to discourage enemy movement
HE—high-explosive rounds
hootch, also hooch—a hut or tent; any small building
Huey—Bell’s UH-1A, -1B, and other utility helicopters of that series, the most prevalent in Vietnam
jarhead—a Marine
KIA—Killed in Action
klick, or click—a kilometer
laager, also lager—a night defensive position or camp
LAAW—light antiarmor assault weapon, or light antitank assault weapon; a shoulder-launched rocket in a disposable fiberglass tube
liftship—a Huey
little people, the—the Viet Cong; also, any Vietnamese
loach, also LOH—light observation helicopter
LP—listening post
LZ, or lz—landing zone
MACV—Military Assistance Command, Vietnam; the American military headquarters for Vietnam
Marvin—slang for any ARVN or South Vietnamese soldier
medevac—a medical evacuation flight by a helicopter, usually a Huey
MLR—main line of resistance
NCO—noncommisioned officer
NDP—night defensive position
nuocmam—a powerful-smelling fish sauce
NVA—North Vietnamese Army, or any soldier belonging to the PAVN, or People’s Army of Vietnam
OD—olive drab
poge—support personnel at rear area bases, also known as REMFs
PT—physical training
Puff the Magic Dragon—a C-47 cargo plane outfitted with mini-guns
punji stakes, also pungi—sharpened stakes, usually of bamboo, anchored in pits to injure foot soldiers
PZ—pickup zone
recoilless rifle—a portable heavy weapon much like a bazooka
REMF—rear-echelon motherfucker; anyone stationed in the rear
re-up—to enlist for another tour, usually with the (shaky) promise that you won’t have to serve as many months in combat
ricky-tick—fast, quickly
Rome plow—huge bulldozer used to clear away forest
RPD—Soviet light machine gun used by the VC and the NVA; similar to the U.S. M-60
RPG—rocket propelled grenade
RTO—Radio-Telephone Operator
ruck, or rucksack—the Army-issue backpack
Saigon cowboy—young South Vietnamese male involved in the street life and black market of Saigon, usually taking on Western styles
sapper—enemy commando who sneaks into American facilities, often on a suicide mission
SDS—Students for a Democratic Society; vocal, high-profile antiwar protesters
Shithook (see Chinook)
short, also short-timer—a U.S. soldier with few days left in-country
short round—an artillery round or bomb that falls short of the target, often on one’s own troop positions
sit-rep—situation report
six—radio call sign for any unit commander
slack—the number-two man in a patrol, walking immediately behind the point man
slick—a UH-1 helicopter with no protruding armament; or, any Huey
slope—racial slur, applied to Vietnamese; or any Asian person
SOP—standard operating procedure
squid—a member of the Navy
Starlight scope—an optical device that amplifies moonlight and starlight to allow the user to see in the dark
TAOR—Tactical Area of Operational Responsibility
thumper—M-79 grenade launcher
ti-ti, also titi—little, tiny, small
TOC—Tactical Operations Center
Victor Charlie—the military phonetic spelling of VC, or Viet Cong
web gear, also webb gear—the belt and harnesslike suspenders from which a soldier’s ammo, grenades, smoke canisters, canteen, etc., hang
WIA—Wounded in Action
Willie Peter, also WP—white phosphorous
XO—executive officer
zip, also zipperhead—racial slur, applied to Vietnamese; or to any Asian person
zoomie—a member of the U.S. Air Force