1/8 — spoken as "First of the Eighth." First Battalion, Eighth Cavalry, a battalion of the First Brigade of the First Air Cavalry Division. The First Brigade was originally Airborne, but this status was phased out in 1967 as part of the conversion of the division to air mobile status. The First Brigade also contained two other battalions: 2/8 and 1/12. The Eighth Cavalry was a regiment, and by this time regiments had been phased out of the army organization system, being replaced by the battalions. However, the regiment was always the unit of sentiment and its traditions live on in the battalions that still carry its name. The Eighth Cavalry was formed in 1868 in connection with the Indian Wars. Its emblem was a rearing white horse with the slogan "Honour and Courage." The First of the Eighth was the unit to which the author of this website belonged.
1/12 — spoken as "first of the twelfth." First Battalion, Twelfth Cavalry, a battalion of the First Brigade of the First Air Cavalry Division. Along with the 1/8 and the 2/8, it made up the First Brigade.
I Corps — pronounced, "EYE core." This stood for the First Corps, a rather artificial unit composed of Divisions. However, in practice, it represented a division of the country into sectors that formed natural areas of operation from the standpoint of the US military. The First Corps area located from the DMZ on the North Vietnamese border, down past Da Nang in the south. I Corps roughly corresponded to Quang Tri Provence. Da Nang, on the coast, was the "capital" of the I Corps, so to speak. The I Corps was the AO of the Marines and the 101st Airborne Division. The Cav later entered this area on a special mission to relieve Khe Sanh. As the northernmost sector of South Vietnam, it represented the most dangerous area and the place where the NVA operated with the greatest strength.
2/7 Mike — an artillery forward observer attached to field infantry units. His job was to call in artillery for the support of the infantry unit to which he was attached. He carried his own radio and might function as a radio operator for an officer who was a forward observer. But as often as not, he alone called in the artillery and did a good job of it. Usually the first round was smoke, then he would tell the artillery with whom he was in communication via radio how they should adjust their fire before they fired for effect (opened up with everything they had).
79'er — someone whose primary weapon was an M-79 grenade launcher, as opposed to a rifleman or gunner. See the piece on the "Mad 79'er."
A 1/8 — spoken as "A [company] first of the eighth." A[lpha] Company, First Battalion, Eighth Cavalry. See 1/8, and First Air Cavalry Division. This is the unit to which the author belonged.
airborne — jump qualified. An airborne unit consists of paratroopers, whose primary means of entering battle is by parachute. The use of parachutes in Vietnam was rare to the point of being almost non-existent. The 101st, the 173rd, and the 1st Brigade of the Cav, were airborne.
air mobile — a designation for any unit whose operations were highly integrated with its helicopter arm. Originally, only the First Air Cavalry Division was air mobile, but later the 101st Airborne also became air mobile. In practice this meant that infantry units were moved around by helicopter to locations where they would begin "humping the boonies." During firefights, air mobile units would receive a great deal of ARA gunship support.
AIT — Advanced individual training. It was a more advanced training held after basic training. At AIT we acquired our MOS and spent time gaining competence in our field. A great deal of time was spent on marksmanship with the M-16. My AIT was done at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, in a training unit known as D-3-3.
AK-47 — the standard automatic rifle used by the Red Army and its allies, including the Chinese. It used 7.63 ammunition (I believe), and had a selector switch that enabled it to fire either on semi-automatic or fully automatic. It had a wooden stock and a good reputation for accuracy and reliability, although it was a bit heavier than an M-16 and its larger ammo was also more cumbersome to carry.
alert — a condition of advanced readiness. In practice alerts were only declared at night when it was believed that there was a likely chance for an enemy attack. A 100% alert is therefore a condition under which everyone pulls guard and no one sleeps. In a 50% alert, half the men sleep while the other half pull guard. The normal situation was for one man to pull guard while the rest of the men at his location slept.
AO — area of operation, that is, where a unit typically worked and where it had its base camp or forward LZ.
ARA — aerial rocket artillery, a helicopter gunship with rocket pods attached to it.
Ares — the Greek god of war, the counterpart of the Latin Mars.
ARVN — (pronounced "AR vin"). Army of the Republic of Vietnam or its soldiers. This was the regular army of South Vietnam.
B-40 — a medium size rocket similar to a grenade in explosive power.
baby-san— a child or an unmarried woman of any age. From Japanese pidgin English.
base camp — the headquarters of a division. It was like a giant LZ. The base camp of the Cav was An Khe, in the Central Highlands. Anyone assigned to the Cav would enter or leave the country through An Khe.
battalion — a unit composed of companies. It usually had one company back at a rear area to guard the LZ or base camp, and four line companies (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) in the field, although at any one time, usually one of these was given duty at a forward LZ guarding its perimeter or actually building an LZ. Battalions were grouped together to form brigades.
betel nut — the name given to what was chewed for stimulation mainly by old people. It is a misnomer, since it is the leaves that are psychoactive. The leaf of the Piper betle plant is typically wrapped around an areca nut and the two of them are chewed together. The resultant juice is red, but it tends to turn the teeth black.
Big Red One — The First Infantry Division, so called from its patch, which was olive drab with a large red numeral "1" in it. Last word in "Big Red One" was slightly accented. It operated in the Mekong Delta in the Saigon area.
"bit" or biêt— 'know'. Pronounced, byet, but we pronounced it, bit, bick. Most frequently used in the pidgin expression, no byet, "I don't understand".
booby traps — small traps usually activated by a trip wire that were designed to inflict injury upon enemy troops. Primitive booby traps, which were rarely seen during my tour of duty, could be contraptions made of spikes of various sorts. Most booby traps were hand grenades attached to trip wires that were strung across pathways. A person striking the trip wire would pull the pin out of the grenade to which it was attached, causing it to explode from its concealed position. Artillery shells could be buried and a pressure plate devise put on the cone of the projectile so that anyone stepping on the plate would set off the shell.
boom-boom — a pidgin term for sexual intercourse.
boonies — boondocks, a remote wild area.
bought the farm — killed. An old expression, apparently from the $10,000 compensation paid to the family of anyone killed in action (e.g., to look on the bright side, it was enough to buy the family farm in WWI. Signed into law by Woodrow Wilson.)
Brass — high ranking officers, particularly those of field grade (full colonel and up).
brigade — a large unit making up a division, and itself made up of battalions. Usually, three battalions made a brigade, which fell under the authority of a brigadier general as a rule. The author was in the First Brigade of the First Air Cavalry Division.
bucu, boocoo— "very, much, many, a lot (of)". Pidgin French, from beaucoup, of similar meaning. Usage: "you bucu dinky-dau"; "you bucu numbah ten"; "we killed bucu of the enemy in the last firefight".
bug juice — a slang term for military issue insect repellent. It was highly effective in repelling ants and, to a lesser degree, mosquitoes. Its most important function was as a lubricant for the chamber of an M-16, since the grease in it seemed to prevent carbon build up. Bug juice bottles, which were small plastic bottles about the size and shape of nasal decongestant bottles, were stored in the camouflage band of the soldier's steel pot (helmet).
bunkers — in Vietnam, a bunker was a defensive structure typically 10 feet square constructed out of sandbags. It had a slit window facing to the front and either a single entryway in the back, or two side entryways. It was always partly below ground and had a roof of sandbags mounted over metal runway slats. Most bunkers had a small shield of sandbags on the top front so that someone could pull guard from that vantage point without being unduly exposed. A bunker usually housed four or five people, about half a squad.
C-4 — a plastique (plas TEEK), or plastic, explosive. At the time the French plastique was more common, but it has now been superseded by "plastic." It was a white substance which could be molded like modeling clay and was detonated by an electrical charge. It was the explosive used in a claymore mine. C-4 was also used, without the army's permission, as a fuel for heating C rations.
C rations — army issue food for use in the field. A unit came in a cardboard box containing cans of food, a small can opener, plastic utensils, and toilet paper.
The Cav — The First Air Cavalry Division, Air Mobile. (For an image of its division patch, click here).
Charlie — short for "Victor Charlie," the military phonetic alphabet rendering of VC (Viet Cong), which denoted in particular indigenous guerrilla forces, and the enemy in general.
Charlie-Charlie — a military phonetic alphabet abbreviation for Command Chopper, the helicopter belonging to the commanding officer, which was almost always the battalion commander (typically a full colonel). Hence the battalion commander was often referred to as "Charlie-Charlie," as in "Charlie-Charlie wants us to move two more clits down the valley."
cherry — a virgin, and by analogy, someone who had never seen combat. Someone who ceased to be in this category was said to have "lost his cherry."
Chinook — a large two rotor helicopter which could carry an entire platoon. They were called, in the habitual profanity of the Army, "shit-hooks".
cheu hoi— a defector, and as a verb, "to defect". Many if not most defectors were spies who slipped back to their units in due time. Some were driven to surrender from starvation or other extremities.
|
claymores — small land mines encased in blue plastic that looked like miniature Cinerama screens. They have two sets of spiked legs by which they can be thrust into the ground. A detonator cord was attached to them and run back to our positions. With a squeeze on the stapler-like detonator handle, the C-4 in it would receive a charge of electricity and explode, firing outward about a score of round, quarter-inch, steel ball bearings. The problem is that they had
a back blast and it was necessary to be under some cover when detonating one.
clits — kilometers (a term which we pronounced ki lom´ e terz). From the map abbreviation 'klts'. Sometimes it was mispronounced by the naive as 'clicks'.
CO — commanding officer. This term was almost always used for the commanding officer of one's own company, whose rank was captain, although sometimes a lieutenant would briefly become the CO on a temporary basis.
 |
The Bell AH-1G Cobra |
Cobra — a strangely narrow helicopter used strictly as a gunship.
company — a unit made up of usually four platoons: three rifle platoons and a weapons platoon which was suppose to carry mortars. In practice the weapon platoon was just another line platoon. In the First Cav, a company in a line unit usually had about 100 men, although its maximum strength was set at 120. A company operated together in the field, although on occasion one of its platoons could be detached for some special patrol or other duty. Thus, a company was the largest social unit. Most people knew someone in other platoons, since the platoons would set up next to each other; but it was somewhat uncommon to know very many people in other companies, since contact with them was rare. Companies were grouped together into battalions.
contact — becoming militarily engaged with the enemy. Usually embedded in the expression, 'making contact'.
CP — command post. Originally, the place were the commander and personnel attached to him were posted. We generally used the expression to denote the personnel. If we were humping the boonies in columns of two, or set up in perimeters formed in circles or squares, the CP would always be located in the center.
CS gas — a white gas that irritates the throat, the skin, and the eyes. Similar to tear gas, but stronger, and often causing nausea.
(The) Deacon — nickname of the author, Richard L. Dieterle. Picture (1968, at LZ Sharon). This name, which was meant to be humorous, was given to me by Giddings, when he saw me sitting with my back to a tree. He thought I looked like the Deacon or Preacher of the movie "Paint Your Wagon" as he lay against a wagon wheel, exhausted.
di — a Vietnamese word meaning, "go." It is reduplicated as di di to be made emphatic, with the sense of "get lost!" The most emphatic use is di di mau, which meant "get the hell out of here now!" The word mau meant "quickly."
Dien Bien Phu — a decisive battle in the French Indochina War in which a large French unit, composed mainly of the Foreign Legion, was surrounded and overrun by Viet Minh forces under the command of General Giap. The outcome of the battle led to peace talks that brought the war to a close.
dinky dau (den kai dau)— literally, "crazy in the head". Usually used to denote intoxication or insanity. See tuoc la dinky dau.
Distinguished Service Cross — the second highest award for valor given in the U. S. Army. It is a brass cross suspended from a largely dark blue ribbon.
division — the largest military unit functioning in Vietnam, it was composed of three brigades. Every member of a division carried its patch on the right shoulder of his every uniform. The army divisions in Vietnam were the First Air Cav, the Big Red One (First Infantry Division), the Fourth Infantry Division, the Ninth Infantry Division, the Americal Division, the 101st Airborne, the 173rd Airborne, and MACV.
DMZ — the demilitarized zone located along the 17th parallel separating North and South Vietnam. It was established as a demarcation line at the close of the (French) Indochina War.
The Field — formerly embedded in the expressions, "to take to the field," "field of battle," and "field of honor." Battles were formerly fought on fields by pre-arrangement, since the gentlemen who fought them abhorred killing people on the sides of hills or in thick brush or wood where their Horse could not tread with ease. It now refers to any area where line units operate in contradistinction to the rear areas. In the Vietnam War, when threats of punishment were made to line infantry soldiers for some misconduct, they would typically reply, "What are you going to do, send me to the field?" On this, see LBJ.
field strip — a procedure in which a weapon is completely disassembled, primarily for the purpose of cleaning or instruction on its components and operation.
fire mission — an assignment for the artillery to go into action. It most often referred to an order to begin an artillery bombardment.
firefight — a battle between isolated units, battalion size or smaller. So-called on account of their size and intensity.
First Air Cavalry Division — a division originally formed of old cavalry regiments. It was the first division to have been made air mobile. It operated in the Bong Song Plain and Central Highlands regions, with a base camp at An Khe. In 1968 it moved north into I Corps to assist the Marines, especially at Khe Sanh. It is the division to which the author belonged. One of the notable things about the division is its very distinctive patch (for an image of which, click here).
flank — a group of men placed at a relatively short distance on the flanks (or sides) of a formation. In common parlance, "to send out flank," meant to place maybe two men about 10 or 15 yards out from the main column. These men would be spread evenly, perhaps about 20 yards between each. The object of flank was to protect the main column from ambush, and functioned as the lateral equivalent of the point element.
FO — Forward Observer. An artilleryman usually assigned to an infantry unit where he coordinated supporting artillery fire.
foxhole — a hole in the ground for a small number of men, dug deep enough so that a sitting man would be completely concealed below ground. So called from its resemblance to a fox's den. Such a structure protects a man from level gunfire and the effects of artillery, the shrapnel of which blows over the hole. Too large a hole becomes vulnerable to artillery and grenades since it is a bigger target and an explosion within it will have a more devastating effect. Consequently, the ideal foxhole would be for one man, except in the case of the machine gun, which requires a hole large enough to accommodate the assistant gunner.
(a) fuck up — a serious error.
fucked up — ruined, seriously damaged, wounded, killed; highly intoxicated (dinky dau). As a verb,"'to fuck up," could also mean, "to make a mistake."
Gerry can — a can made of steel with a capacity of around 2 gallons. So called because it was invented by the Germans, whom the British styled "Gerries" (< Ger'y < Germany).
 |
Gerry Cans |
gook — a racial epithet and racial slur on orientals generally, although it was often used only with reference to the enemy. I do not condone its use, although I did use it at the time and am unwilling to alter the facts of usage to suit the political comfort of anyone. The origin of this term is quite bizarre. Originally it was synonymous with "slant," a reference to the almond shaped eyes of orientals and some American Indians. In 1900 a song entitled, "Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo Eyes," was composed by John Dobbs of Tin Pan Alley, with lyrics by Hughie Cannon (1877-1912). The slang expression "goo-goo eyes", which is still extant today, means, "amorously inviting glances." Inspired by the hit song, the Marines in the Philippines and in Central America saw the humor in calling the native women there, "goo-goo's." This was later shortened to the less effeminate sounding "googs," and finally to "gooks," which is more aspirate and aggressive. Here's the original song taken from an Edison wax cylinder, song by the composer himself on Dec. 29, 1901.
Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo Eyes
grass — marijuana, also commonly called "pot" or "weed". It was extensively smoked in Viet Nam, and could even be obtained in rolled cigarette form.
gunner — the man assigned the M-60 machine gun as his primary weapon. He had an assistant gunner whose responsibility was to feed ammo into the gun and to take over in case the gunner was hit. He also had two or three ammo bearers whose duty was to supply ammo to the assistant gunner. Being a gunner was an extremely dangerous job, since the enemy always tried to knock out the guns to reduce a platoon's firepower.
Guns à Go-Go — a C-47 aircraft armed with numerous modern weapons, including mini-guns. It had the highest firepower of any army aircraft.
gunships — helicopters, usually Hueys or Cobras, that were armed with mini-guns and rockets which they prep' an LZ, support infantry engaged in firefights, or fire directly at an enemy unit that they themselves have spotted.
H & I — harassment and interdiction. H and I was a procedure used to protect perimeters at night. At random intervals throughout the night, the person on guard at a foxhole would throw a grenade in front of his position to inhibit snipers or zappers from infiltrating the perimeter. The ultimate H & I was the Mad Minute.
hamlet — the conventional name given to a small village.
hitting the shit — becoming involved in a firefight, making contact.
Ho Chi Minh Trail — an important series of parallel roads running from North Vietnam south along the western border area of South Vietnam. Convoys carried supplies along this road system to the Communist forces in the south.
hooch — a grass hut or similar structure, never of any great size. Metaphorically, it could apply to any small building in which someone lived.
hot LZ — a landing zone entered under heavy enemy fire.
HQ — Headquarters. The place where the commanding officer (higher than company level) was situated with his staff and their personnel.
Huey — the standard army assault helicopter used mainly to carry troops and supplies. They were also used as gunships and Medevac choppers. Six or seven men could fit in the cabin, whose doors were either left open or removed altogether. The cockpit contained a pilot and a copilot, who were generally warrant officers. Between the cockpit and the cabin were two door gunners, one on each side, using a swivel mounted M-60 machine gun, the same used by the infantry.
hump — to carry; portage, a forced march. From a slang term for male activity during sexual intercourse. Usage: "we had to hump the mortar to the top of the hill," "we had a long hump to LZ English, "we humped for 5 clits."
humping the boonies — taking a long walk through a largely uninhabited wild area, often a jungle.
I Corps — Vietnam was divided into regions, north to south, and each was assigned to an Army Corps. A corps was composed of divisions. Most people were not conscious of the corps designation in their part of the country, but the I Corps (pronounced like "eye core") was an exception, since it was the scene of so much action. This was because it was on the border with North Vietnam, and the best units were stationed up there. "I Corps" was mostly used as a designation of a place rather than a unit.
infantry — foot soldiers. See legs.
KIA — (kay eye ay) killed in action.
KP — Kitchen police. This is the military sense of "police," now obsolete in the language spoken outside the military, and meaning "cleaning, straightening up." KP was duty in the mess hall that involved mainly washing dishes. It was an obnoxious job, and people often were assigned KP as a punishment.
Language School — a brigade run instruction course in the Vietnamese language which lasted 6 weeks. It was held in a large tent at LZ English with occasional excursions into the countryside. The course was given by an ARVN who was fluent in English.
LAW anti-tank rocket — a very light-weight anti-tank rocket about 24 inches long when collapsed. To activate it, it would be extended like a telescope. When thus pulled open, its plastic sight would pop up. It was fired from the shoulder and posed a danger of back blast as the rocket left the tube. As a result the area behind the shooter had to be cleared. The rocket itself was armour piecing which made it useful in penetrating coconut tree lined bunkers. The noise it made when fired was ear-splitting.
LBJ — (1)
Lyndon Baines Johnson, President of the United States during the
time that the author was in Vietnam (1967-68).
— (2) Long Bin Jail, a prison in Long
Bin, Vietnam, where the military sent Americans convicted of crimes
in Vietnam.
legs — foot soldiers who are not also airborne.
line (unit) — any kind of combat infantry unit. As a rule such units are found at the front line and even define its position, but in Vietnam there were no lines, so the nomenclature had become obsolete. A foot soldier combat veteran will still describe himself as "line infantry."
lurps (l.r.r.p.'s) — long range reconnaissance patrols, or those soldiers who specialized in the same.
LZ — Landing Zone. In the field, it was any place where a unit was set down by helicopters (see "prep'ing an LZ"). In another sense, it was a rear area fire base. In the Cav, it was not only a fire base for artillery, but a landing strip for helicopters. Most were not too large and had a perimeter surrounded by numerous rows of barbed wire. Bunkers were placed around the perimeter and many were armed with machine guns. "Forward LZs" were usually quite small and were guarded by a company, usually rotated in from the field for a short stay. To field troops, they were considered the rear.
M-1 — a semi-automatic rifle without automatic capabilities. It was the basic infantry weapon of WWII and Korea. It had a magazine that carried only four rounds.
M-14 — a conventional rifle with automatic capabilities, it was the true successor to the M-1. It fired 7.62 ammo, the same caliber as the M-60 machine gun. It had a wooden stock, and looked like a traditional rifle. It was favored over the M-16 by the Marines.
M-16 — an unconventional rifle with automatic capabilities manufactured by the Colt Arms Company. Much of it was made of high-endurance black plastic, so that it was light weight. It fired 5.63 mm. ammo, about the size of a .22. On automatic, it fired so fast that it was designated a gun, to the exasperation of drill sergeants everywhere. Its standard magazine carried 20 rounds, although there were banana clips that carried 30 rounds. It was the standard weapon of the army infantry in Vietnam, superseding the M-14. See the article on the M-16.
M-60 — the standard infantry machine gun. The M-60 fired 7.62 ammo, the same as the M-14. There were usually two per platoon. Two M-60s were mounted as door guns on Huey helicopters.
M-79 — a grenade launcher that fired a 40mm shell. It looked something like a giant one-barrel shotgun. Like a shotgun it broke open between the stock and the barrel to load. It had a wooden stock with a pad on the butt end to absorb the shock of its recoil. 79'ers were always cautioned not to wrap their thumbs around the stock, since the recoil was known to break thumb bones.
mad minute — an unusual practice in which a whole unit, usually an entire company, would fire all its weapons simultaneously for 60 seconds. This was done at a predesignated time, and its purpose was to discourage enemy OPs or probes of an American position. See "H & I."
mama-san— a married woman. From Japanese pidgin English.
Medevac chopper — Medical Evacuation helicopter. A Huey helicopter ambulance that picked up the wounded and flew them back to the forward LZ for initial emergency medical treatment.
mini-guns — a modern day Gatling Gun with rotating barrels, that fires an enormous amount of ammunition in a short amount of time. They were mounted on gunships and Guns à Go-Go.
Montagnards — a French term meaning roughly "mountaineers". It referred to the people living in the mountains who were not Vietnamese. They spoke the Hmong language, found also as far north as China. They were a rather abused minority, and naturally sided with the United States in the war. They were said to speak Vietnamese "flat" (without tones), which the Vietnamese considered to be barbarous.
MOS — Military occupation service. This term designated the army job category to which a soldier belonged. A rifleman was a 10B (ten bravo), a mortar man was a 10C (ten charlie).
NCO — noncommissioned officer. A person having the rank of sergeant.
NVA — North Vietnamese Army (soldiers). This was the regular army of Communist North Vietnam.
number ten — very bad, of extremely poor quality. An old pidgin English expression from the Orient of WWII or earlier.
number ten-thou' — an order of magnitude worse than numbah ten.
OP — observation post. Originally a place where a small group of soldiers posted themselves to observe enemy movements, especially at night. More typically, it meant the group of soldiers themselves. In A 1/8 Cav, an OP typically consisted of one man with a radio and two others armed with rifles (etc.) without any heavy weapons such as machine guns.
ordinance — equipment. More specifically, it usually referred to ammunition.
papa-san— a mature male. From Japanese pidgin English.
perimeter — a circular defensive line that marks the forward positions of a military unit. In the field a perimeter of foxholes was set up for the night. The usual pattern for setting up a company in the field was a circle in which each foxhole visible to the one adjacent to it. On LZs, the perimeter was marked with rows of barbed wire behind which were bunkers made of sandbags and steel plating.
platoon — a platoon was composed of four squads, one of which was a weapons squad devoted to machine guns and their crews. There were four platoons to a company with the CP functioning as a kind of independent platoon about the size of a squad. A platoon should have about 28 men, but in practice we probably had around 25 or less. A platoon was run by a lieutenant and a platoon sergeant. It was a miniature version of a company, which was run by a captain and a top sergeant. Everyone in a platoon knew everyone else in his platoon, but knew very few people in a platoon other than his own. This made the platoon a tightly knit social unit.
Pogo — the principal character in a comic strip of the same name by Walt Kelly that was quite popular in the '50's. It was set in Florida's Okeefenokee swamp, and its characters were animals who spoke in the folksy local dialect. Pogo himself was an opossum. The strip was highly political and sometimes controversial.
point — the first position in a moving column of infantry. The point man was usually the first to make contact with the enemy and the first to become a casualty. The danger of "pulling point," was so great that people took turns in a set order. Generally, machine gun crew never pulled point, nor radio operators, officers, or NCOs (unless the last volunteered). It has been said with conviction that if an officer wanted someone dead, he would assign him to point indefinitely.
prep'ing an LZ — before a unit was put down in the field, the area where they were about to land, the LZ, was prep'ed (prepared) by being shelled with artillery, then rocketed and mini-gunned by gunships.
pressure-plate device — a device used to detonate an explosive. It would set off the explosive if enough pressure, such as a person stepping on it, were applied to the device.
quad-fifty — four .50 caliber machine guns mounted in a square pattern with armor plates to the front.
 |
R&R — a one week period of leave granted twice a year. It is short for "rest and relaxation". One R&R was taken in-country at "pacified" places like China Beach (Da Nang), Camh Ron Bay, Qui Nhon, etc. R&R outside the country could be taken in Hong Kong, Australia, Bangkok, and maybe Singapore. I chose China Beach and Hong Kong.
the rear — formerly the rear areas behind friendly forward lines, but in Vietnam, where there were no lines, it meant any area other than the field.
rifleman — an infantryman whose primary weapon was the rifle, which in Vietnam was the M-16. He might also be armed with four or more grenades, a claymore, and even an anti-tank rocket. A rifleman is the most common member of a line unit.
saddle up — to put one's gear on. This may be a vestige of cavalry expressions, but non-cavalry units had the same expression. Our web gear was so heavy that we sometimes felt like we were pack mules, and the phrase may have originated, or at least spread, from this simile.
search and destroy missions — usually a company sized, occasionally a platoon sized, patrol in which villages were searched for enemy munitions and other supplies. These were destroyed on the scene as a rule.
shit hooks — Chinook helicopters. They were long, dark green, two-engine helicopters having a capacity of about 35 men.
shit list — an informal list, kept in the memory of hierarchical superiors, of subordinates who merit special ill treatment.
short — getting near the time when one would be leaving Vietnam.
shrapnel — fragments from an exploded shell. Named after an English officer who first invented a form of the exploding shell.
slicks — Hueys.
SNAFU — a WWII acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up". A snafu occurred when normal procedural expectations were frustrated by mistakes ("fuck ups") made somewhere in the military chain of responsibility. See fuck up.
SOP — standard operating procedure, the ways things were done according to general and specific orders; modus operandi.
squad — in a rifle platoon, a small unit of about 5 men or so. It was supposed to be broken into two fire teams, but in practice the fire team did not exist. Four squads made up a platoon, three rifle squads and one weapons squad. The rifle squads were composed of riflemen, as the name suggests. The weapons squad was made up of two machine guns, each with a gunner, an assistant gunner, and two or three ammo bearers. Squads were commanded by a sergeant E-5, although in theory the weapons squad was suppose to be commanded by an E-6.
stateside — back in the United States.
steel pot — the outer helmet made entirely of steel. Inserted inside the steel pot was a helmet liner made of light weight material. The steel pot was very heavy and cumbersome, which made it unpopular as a head gear. In the rear, people took them off whenever they thought they could get away with it. It rarely stopped bullets unless they struck it at an odd angle or were largely spent. It did stop shrapnel, however. The steel pot was often taken off, inverted, and filled with water to use in shaving. It could also be used as a water pitcher.
"strack" — highly ordered and strict in conformity with military ideals; in a "spit and polished" condition; sharp. Pronounced "strahk".
sump — a large and relatively shallow hole used as a garbage dump. Usually the person selected to dig the sump was someone who had made an egregious and conspicuous mistake during the day.
sweep — a maneuver done by a platoon or company sized unit, in which a village is systematically examined for contraband and the presence of enemy personnel. For a small village, the unit would often form a line rather than a column, and walk through shoulder-to-shoulder to the extent that this was possible.
thick shit — impenetrable jungle, no doubt so dubbed from the point of view of machete wielding point men.
Top — the top sergeant. He was usually a first sergeant or sergeant major. In practice, although out-ranked by any officer, he was functionally the most powerful person in the company next to the CO (a captain).
Tourette's syndrome — defined by one dictionary as, "a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary tics and vocalizations and often the compulsive utterance of obscenities." There may have been many people in the Army with this affliction, but there would be no way of discovering them.
tuöc-la den kai dau— "cigarettes [that make you] crazy in the head," that is, marijuana cigarettes. See dinky dau and grass.
twin forties — a two barrel anti-aircraft artillery piece that fired 40 mm explosive shells. The two barrels were side by side and fired alternately. In Vietnam, they were used as antipersonnel weapons, since enemy aircraft were never seen by the ordinary soldier.
VC — Viêt Cong. A slang term in Vietnamese for Viet Communists. It properly refers to South Vietnamese (Communist) irregulars. Frequently used by Vietnamese in the pidgin expression, no vee-see, "There are no VC here!".
Victor Charlie — 'VC' rendered in the American military phonetic alphabet.
wasted — a slang term for "destroyed," or more particularly, "killed." Anti-war people thought this term came from the sense meaning, "to use up to no effective purpose," and presupposed that those who were wasted were viewed solely as objects of utility. However, the term almost certainly comes from "to lay waste to," which has much the same meaning as the slang term, and was once common in military parlance. A person who was highly intoxicated was also said "to be wasted," which meant that the intoxicant had laid waste to his mind.
Willie Peter — 'WP' (qv) rendered in the old phonetic alphabet current in WWII and Korea.
The World — the United States. Commonly embedded in the expression, "back in The World ...". The implicit point of this expression was that Vietnam was so alien as to be extraterrestrial.
WP — white phosphorus, also known as "Willie Peter" (qv), an explosive that radiated bits of burning white phosphorus that would literally burn a hole through any object upon which it landed, including steel. It was found in bombs, artillery shells, and hand grenades.
xin loi — we pronounced this phrase as sihn loi. Sometimes pidgin English was used to render its meaning: "Sorry 'bout dat." If, for instance, the half dismembered body of a slain enemy soldier were viewed, someone would often say, "xin loi!" Also, if someone told you that you drew an unpleasant detail, he might say "sin loi," or "sorry 'bout dat, GI."
|Home Page |
