Viet Nam Journal

Jan 23, 1968 – Feb 21, 1969

John F. Wear, II

 

Part 4

Glossary of Terms

 

ALFA = The letter “A” in radio call signs.

A-4 Sky Raider = Single engine USMC attack jet.  Medium size and subsonic.

ARVN = Army of the Republic of South Vietnam.  In my openion, one of the worse fighting man ever to disgrace the name “soldier”.

Actual = The actual commander of the platoon, company, battalion, etc.

AK-47 = Main NVA and VC fully automatic battle rifle in 7.62 x 39 mm.

Air Strike = Air support.  When jets would fly in and attack enemy troops droping high explosives, napalm and shooting their 20-mm cannons.  The battle cry from the gound troops as an air strike is going on was “Get Some!”.

Ambush = A covert attach method employed by both Marines and the enemy by firing on an unaware enemy from seclusion, often employing booby traps or mines.

Ammo = Ammunition such as rifle bullets, machine gun rounds, tank shells, mortars, artillery shells, etc.

Amtrac = Marine tracked amphibious armored personnel carrier, troops loaded through rear ramp doors.

Arc Light = When up to ten B-52 bombers would let off their entire load of 2,000 pound bombs as they flew over an suspected concentration of enemy troops.  The sound and resulting clouds of explosive and flying dirt was like being in a tornado, a typhoon, a hurricane and an earthquake all at the same time.

Arty = Artillery used in fire support missions. Also cannons.  See “Incoming” and “Outgoing”.

Assult line = Marine attack formation with troops advancing abreast.

Azmuth = Compass heading toward an objective or target.  Used in firing tank main guns as indirect artillery fire.

BRAVO = The letter “B” in radio call signs.

B.L.T. = Not the sandwich!!!  Batallion Landing Team.  This is usually a Batallion of Marines.  That is, three Marine Companies supported by all the normal Marine Corps supporting arms: Tanks, amtracks, artillery, heavy weapons and the like.  This force comes off of Navy ships, lands on a beach and establishes the Beach Head to mount an attack on the enemy.  I believe that a BLT can support itself for a month before they need to be resupplied.  This is something the US Army could never do

Battalion = A Marine combat unit composed of four rifle companies and a headquarters company.  A tank battalion is composed of three medium tank companies and a head quraters company and one heavy tank company (the heavey tanks never made it to Nam).

Battle dressing = A rectangular three x five inch (approx.)medical dressing carried into combat by Marines.

Bandolier = A linked belt of machine gun ammo ofter worn by the grunts across the chest.

Betel nut = Narcotic seed nut chewed by Vietnamese villagers that colors the teeth and gums blood red.

Blooper = An M-79, 40-mm grenade launcher.  Every grunt squad had at least one assigned to it.  This mini shoulder fired “cannon” could shoot high explosive, flares, Willy Peter and double ought  (XX) buckshot shotgun shells.

Blown Away = To die.  To be greased, wasted, zapped.  To buy the farm or Killed in Action (KIA).

Boucoup = French and Vietnamese for many.  As in “We killed boucoup NVA yesterday.”

Body Armor = For ground troops, this was a flack jacket.  Marines had one made of fiber glass plates. It was very uncomprotable but it provided maximum protection.  The Army had a flack jacket that was made of spun Kavalar and was almost like wearing a down jacket.

Boondocks, boonies = The jungle or bush outside the perimeter wire.

Boots, jungle = Special canvas tops attached to light weight leather boots with steel-shank protective soles.

Bouncing Betty = A US mine that pops into the air at waist level when triggered before dedonation.

Bunker = A covered fighting hole or living space whose exterior is usually covered with sandbags.  The Navy Seabees built many huge bunkers whose interiors were a very large timber supestructure with sheet metal or wood planking skin and a thick sandbagged exterior.  These monster bunkers could house a squad or more of grunts and they could withstand a direct hit from incomming arty

Bust Caps = A fire fight.  To shoot weapons.  Usually during an ambush or firefight with the enemy.

Bust Heavies = Work hard.

To Buy the Farm = To die.  See also: Blown Away, Wasted or KIA.

The Bush = Outside the perimeter wire.  In hostile territory.   The boondocks, boonies.

Butter Bar = A second lieutenant.  A newly commissioned officer (and gentleman).  Skoff - skoff!

CHARLIE = The letter “C” in radio call signs.

C.A.P. = Combined Action Platoon.  This is where a squad size group of Marine grunts will go into a village or be assigned to an ARVN compound where they will administer first aid to the civilians, train the ARVN or PF’s, take them on patrol, feed some of the more needy civilians, guard the farmers as they worked in their fields, etc.  It’s part of the pacification and the Vietnamization of the war.

Cap = To “cap” the enemy is to bust a “primer cap” when firing a wapon at them.  To kill an enemy.

CO = Commanding Officer.

CH-46 = Sea Knight heliocopter, capable of lifting a rifle platoon.  Twin engines.

Charlie = Victor Charlie (VC), the (South) Vietnamese Communist soldier and the Marine’s main foe around Da Nang in southern I-Corps.

Chi-Com = Any weapon or explosive manufactured by the Chinese Communist.

Chieu-Hoi = A term used by the enemy to proclaim their unconditional surrender.

Choper = Heliocopter.

Chop-chop = Fast, quickly, soon. As in “You better get this done pretty chop-chop.”

Chow = Marine slang for mealtime, or to eat “chow”.  When a Marine is really salty, he may say, “Hey Boot, I got more time in the Chow line than you have in the Crotch.”  Meaning that the Salt has stood waiting for a meal outside the mess hall longer than the new guy has been a Marine.

Claymore = Directional mine armed with plastic explosive and a ball-bearing-studded face.  Antipersonnel defensive mine.

Click or Klick = A grid square on a military map was 1000 meters by 1000 meters.  One kilometer.

Clutch = To drive as in to clutch a vehicle.  A “clutcher” was the driver of the vehicle.

CO = Commanding Officer.

Command Dedination = When a mine or booby trap was set off by someone actually causing it explode usually by a battery (rathter than have it be set of by chance of pressure dedination).

Commo Wire = Telephone line.  Plastic coated steel or copper wire.

Concertina = Heavy duty barbed wire that is for military uses only.  The spikes are very long and very sharp.  The wire is usually in rolls (or coils) and can be deployed by two men.  One holds the end and the other walks the wire out in a line.  Many rolls can be stacked pyrimid style to form a very formidible barrier for perimeter defense.

CP = Marine Command Post.

C rations = The standard US government canned meal, ready to eat in the field.

The Crotch = Derogatory term for The United States Marine Corps.  See also “Green Machine”.

To Cut Some Slack = To give preferential treatment to anyone.  This sledom happened.

To Cut a Few Z’s = To sleep or to take a nap.

Cupola = The Tank Commander’s hatch.  It was a separate mini-turret, if you will.  The .50 caliber machine gun could be deployed independantly of the main turret.

DELTA = The letter “D” in radio call signs.

Dai we = Vitenamese for “Captain.”

Da Nang = The giant Marine base and seaport on the China Sea in southern I-Corps.

DEROS = Army term for rotate back to The World. Acrynym for “Depart and Return from Over Seas.”

Deck = The floor or ground.  “Hit the deck” is a command to get down, usually under fire.

Defilade = A cut or low spot in the ground.  Used as cover and concelement.  Tanks use hull defilade.

DMZ = Demitarize Zone that separated North and South Viet Nam…AKA The Trace, The “Z” and Mac’s Line (for Defense Secy MacNamara).

Deuce and a Half = a two and a half ton truck.  The work horse of the Marines in Viet Nam.  Also known as a “Six By” for six wheels on each side of the chassie or a “Multi-Fuler” for the engine was designed to burn diesel fuel, gasoline or jet fuel.

Devil Dog = A Mari ne.  During the Boxer Rebellion in China the Marines fought so hard and furiously (so expertly) that the Chinese fighters said that the Marines must have come from the Devil himself and that they were as tennacious as a dog.

Di – di mau = Vietnamese for “go away or run away fast”.  We would say, “Let’s di-di out of here!”

Dinged = To be wounded.   As in WIA…wounded in action.

Dink = Vietnamese or the enemy.

Dinky-dau = Vietnamese for “crazy”.  We use this term for the local marajuana.  It makes you act crazy.

Ditty dot = a radio operator (as in Mores Code that is a series of dots and dashes).

Divison = In Vietnam the USMC fielded the First, Third and Fifth divisions.  Each divisioin is composed of three grunt regiments and the supporting units (tanks, arty, motor-t, etc).

Doc = Corpsman…the Marines had Navy corpsmen.  As far as anyone that I knew was concerned, our doc’s were as good as any Marine.  These guys had a reuptation of fixing up wounded Marines who were in a world of hurt.  No one messed with our doc’s.  If the doc needed anything, he got it from us.

Doggies = US Armymen

Driver = The tank crewman who drives the tank.  Also known as the “clutch” or clutcher”.  Even thoughour modern tanks had automatic transmittions and not a clutch and manual gear shift.  

Dung Lai = Vietnamese for “Halt” or “Stop”.

Duster = The US Army had a tracked vehicle that had an open turret with two 40-mm anti-aircraft guns mounted on its chassie.  These were a good defensive wepon on a permiter but not a good offensive wepon in the bush.  One RPG could penetrate the fairly thin skin and kill the crew or a grenade could be tossed in the open turret with the same devistating results.

ECHO = The lette “E” in radio call signs.

“E” Tool = Entrenching tool.  This is the folding shovel that the grunts use to dig fighting holes, dig shitters and when necessary to kill gooks.

Escape Hatch = Located below the driver’s seat this armored hatch (door) when released allows the crew to escape the tank.  When the locking handle of the hatch is released the hatch falls out and the tank’s crew can crawl out of and under the tank.

FOXTROT = The letter “F” in radio call signs.

FO = Forward Observer.  The person usually an artillery officer or piolot who is attached to the grunts who calls in and adjusts the artillery support and/or air strikes.  Since this person is very familiar with the supporting fire power they know how to deploy it to its full advantage and lethal potential.

F-4 A = A twin engine jet fighter / bomber used by Marine air wings for ground support.  The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom.

 

FPL = Final Protective Line.  This is the time when the gooks are in the wire and you are about to be over ran by the enemy.  You shoot everything as fast and as furiously as you can.  Katie Bar the Door!  Machine guns blaring, M-79 bloopers blooping, mortars whooshing, artillery over head exploding.  Craziness.  You last act as an alive human being.  Many times it worked and the gooks were repelled or slaughtered in the wire.

Fart Sack = A mattress cover.  Usually made out of natural colored muslin.  It fits over the mattress and ties at the bottom.

Field = The field was any area outside the main base where combat readiness is mandatory.

Field of Fire = The radius that an automatic weapon can cover in an arc from port to starbord (left to right).

Firebase = An artillery support base.

Fifty or .50 = The .50 caliber machine gun.  Practically all Marine tanks had a .50 mounted inside the TC’s coupola.  Marine snipers used .50 calibe machine guns (set for single shots) for those million dollar shots over a mile away. According to the Geneva Convention, no one was to use anti-personel wepons whose ammunition was larger than .30 calibers.  Thus any .50-caliber wepon was considered either anti-aircarft or anti-vehicle but not anti-personnel.  Forget about it!  The .50 had ammo that could peform various tasks such as piercing light armor, piercing light armor and then exploding, igniting fires and some that simply killed well.

Fighting hole = The old fashioned “fox hole”.  A hole dug in the ground to keep the occupant (usually a grunt) safe during a fire fight.

Firefight = An engagement of small arm.  Shooting at and recieveing fire from an enemy force.

Fire in the hole = A correct verbal warning that something is about to explode.

Firing line = The place where shooters line up to shoot their wepons.  Normally at a firing range.

Fire Mission = The orders to which that artillery shoots their cannons.  Usually there are map coordinates given as to where the rounds are to be shot and usually what type target that they are to shoot at and the type of shell needs to be shot is given.

Fire pit = Artillery revetments to segregate guns to lessen fire hazards.

Fire Team = The basic building block of the Marine rifle squad.  A fire team contains a leader, two riflemen and an automatic rifleman (M-14 with selector).  A squad contains three fire teams.

Flack Jacket = For ground troops, this was body armor.  Marines had one made of fiber glass-panneled vest as protection from schrapnel.  It was very uncomfortable and heavy but it provided maximum protection.  The Army had a flack jacket that was made of spun Kavalar and was almost like wearing a down jacket

Flank = The side of a unit where it is waskest.  Either left or right.

Flag Officer = A US Marine general officer.

Flame = A flame-thrower tank.  These Korean-war relics were used by the Marine Corps in Viet Nam for close in support to burn out deeply dug in or bunkered enemy soldiers.  It also could be deployed to burn down hostile villages.

Flare Ships = This is a C-47 WWII-vintage twin propeller driven cargo plane equiped with huge parachute flares for seeing at night.  Whenever there was a threat of trouble (e.g.) a firebase being attacked and over run, the call for a flare ships went out.  They would fly over the area dropping flares on parachutes all night to keep the area lit and gook free.  Sometimes the flare ships would be called “Spooky”.  This is the same plane as the gun ship “Puff the Magic Dragon”.

Forty-five or .45 = The tank crewman’s personal wepon is the M1911-A2 .45-caliber automatic pistol.  It is a heavy and farily innaccurate wepon.  However if you can hit someone with it, it will stop a man running toward you at full gallop and pick him up and throw him down. 

Frag = Fragmentation grenade.  The US M-26 grenade was the standard.  The US M-34 was made with white phosphorous (Willy Peter).

Free Fire Zone = Most of the area along the DMZ is a no man’s land that the orders are if you see gooks, you can shoot them.  About ½ way through my tour, the new word was:  If you see them then you call it in on the radios and you get permission before you to shoot.  Yeah, sure!  When we saw, we shot then we called in.  Better safe than sorry!  It’s easier to get forgiveness (after) than it is to get permissin (before).

Fuckyou Bird = This is for real.  There is a bird in Viet Nam that makes this sound when it calls.

GOLF = The letter “G” in radio call signs.

Garbage burner = A derogatory name for a flame-thrower tank.

Garbled = Radio communication that is indeciperable.

The Green Machine = Derogatory for The United States Marine Corps.  I understand that the “doggies” used this same term for the US Army as well.

Grid Square = The grid squarres on a military map were 1000 meters by 1000 meters.  These would also be called a “click”.

Ground Guide = To walk in front of the tank, guiding the driver.  This is SOP in tank parks where there are a lot of people and a lot of equipment that the crewmen riding on top of the tank may not see on the ground.  Since the tank’s engine is so loud, there are a series of hand jestures that are used for nonverbal communitaiton.  For instance, clapsing your two hands together in front of your chest means “Stop”.

Ground Pounders = Infantry troops, grunts.

Grunt = Any USMC fighting man whose main conveyance are his feet.

Gook = A derogatroy term for the Vietnamese people (or any oriental person).  AKA slants, slant eyes, slopes, slope head, fender bellies, dinks, chinks.

Gooks in the open = Enemy soldiers in the clear.  Not hiding or concealing themselves.  A turkey shoot.

Greased = To die.  To be blown away, wasted, zapped. To buy the farm or to be KIA…killed in action.

Grease Gun = The .45 caliber submachine gun carried as part of the tank crewmen’s armament.

Gun Tank = An M-48A3 tank that has a 90-mm main gun, a .30-caliber machine gun and a .50-caliber machine gun.  The cannon is capable of shooting antipersonnel cannister and flachette rounds.  High explosive with regular fuses for antipersonnel, delayed fused for bunkers and concrete piercing fused for bunkers and houses.  White Phosphurs for marking targets (for air strikes) or burning out the enemy.  There were also two anti tank rounds that they gun tank could shoot but there were little or no tanks to shoot at in Viet Nam so what’s the use?

Gung Ho = Marine spirit and enthusiasm.  From a Chinese term meaning the same spirit.

Gunner = the tank crewman who aims and shoots the guns.  He is usually the most miserable crewman since he must saty inside the tank at all times.  He cannot look out and see what is going on.  His whole perspective on the war is through his parascope.

Gunner = also an acrynim for the highest rank of a Warrant Officer.

Gunny = Gunnery Sergeant. It is abbreviated: GySgt.  This man is usually the platoon’s highest ranking NCO (Non Commissioned Officer).  This Marine is usually very “salty” and he usually has seen two or three armed conflicts (wars) for every one that the enlisted men below him in his outfit.

HOTEL = The letter “H” in radio call signs.

H-34 = Sikorsky UH-34 resupply and medevac chopper, used as the main Marine workhorse.

Halozone = Water purification tablet.

Ham and motherfuckers = The most reviled C-ration meal, which you could not give away – even to the dinks.  The other part of this meal was appricots.  The dead man’s meal.  If you ate appricots when you were in the field, you stood a good chance of getting dinged or killed.

Hamlet = A small village with less than 100 population.

Hatch = Door or opening.  The tanks steel doors are hatches.  Pretty sure this is an old Navy term.

H & I = Harassment and interdiction artillery fire.  Sometimes called “We don’t give a shit what we hit” fire.  Designed to alter and hamper the enemy movement.

HE = High explosive shell or bomb.

HQ = Headquarters.

Hooch = Anywere you rest your head that is usually covered from the elements. A “home” or a fairly safe place to sleep.  Most hooches in Nam were elevated buildings that had corrugated sheet metal roofs, plywood and screen sides and wooden floors.  A door at each end and a few steps to get up to the floor level.  These buildings could house a squad or more of men.  We also considered bunkers, lean to’s and thatched huts hooches as well.

Hump = To walk a long distance on patrol or operation, usually loaded down with ammo and gear.

INDIA = The letter “I” in radio call signs.

Incendiary = A shell that burns upon impact.  Also a white phosphorous shell.

In Country = The term that means that you are In Viet Nam.  Such as, “I got In Country in January.”

Incoming = Enemy artillery, rockets or mortars that are coming in on your positon.

Intercom = The intercommunications system of a tank whereby the crew could talk to one another.  The crew helmets had switches that could lock the intercom to the “on” positon.  Most TC’s did not allow anyone to do much “chattering” between one another espcecially during operations.

Illunimation = Night artillery fire used to illunimate an area using a phosphorous filament suspended by a parachute.

Indian Territory = Hostile area controlled by enemy forces.

JULIET = The letter “J” in radio call signs.

Jarhead = A Marine.  Derogatory term thusly named for the flat top of one’s head and quite possibly due to the empty contents (?).

John Wayne = The Marine’s Marine that Holiwood created in the movies.  Usually the expression was, “Who do you think you are, John Fuckin’ Wayne.”

KILO = The letter “K” in radio call signs.

K-44 = Chinese Communist battle rifle.

K-Bar = A W.W. II-vintage USMC combat knife.

KC – 130 = The US Air Force main trasnport plane with four engines and a rear ramp loading.  Can carry a combat-ready rifle platoon.

KIA = Killed in Action.  To be wasted or blown away by the enemy (or friendly fire).

LIMA = The letter “L” in radio call signs.

Land mine = Various types were constructed by the VC and NVA utilizing undetonated US bombs.

LAW = Light Antitank Weapon, contained in a collapsable, disposable fiberglass tube.

Leatherneck = A Marine.  When the Maines were attacking Triploi in North Africa (…from the shores of Tripoli…) in order to protect themselves from swords being swung at their necks, the USMC uniform had a leather band around their jacket collar.

Leatherneck Square = The area south of the DMZ with the following outposts in its corners:  Con Tien (NW), Cam Lo Hill (SW), Cua Viet (SE) and Gia Linh (NE)…later the Marines build “Ocean View” to the east of Gia Linh and along the ocean for better control of enemy troop movement.

Loader = The tankcrewman on a gun tank who was responsibel to keep the .30 caliber machine gun “talking” as well as loading the 90-mm cannon.

LP = Listening post or sentry post, fielded at night to provide warning of an enemy attack.

LZ = Landing zone for hilocopters.

MIKE = The letter “M” in radio call signs.

M-1 = W.W. II-vintage main battle rifle.  Air-cooled, clip-fed, semiautomatic, shoulder-held .30 caliber rifle.  Arguably the finest battle rifle ever fielded by the Untied States. 

M-1/M-2 = The .30 cal. carbine.  Favorite weapon of officers and ARVN due to the light weight.

M-2 = The .50 Caliber machine gun.

M-14 = The early standard USMC main battle rifle.  Air-cooled, magazine-fed, shoulder-held semiautomatic rifle in 7.62 mm NATO.

M-16 = The later standared USMC main battl rifle.  Air-cooled, magazine-fed, shoulder-held, semi and automatic rifle in 5.65 mm or .222 cal.

M-48A2 = The USMC main battle tank.  It sported a 90 mm main gun, a coaxially mounted .30 caliber machine gun and a coupola mounted .50 caliber machine gun.  It carried a crew of 4.  The cruising range was about 200 miles.  Weight 52 tons.  

M-60 = The US air-cooled, belt-fed, fully automatic, shoulder-fired standard infantry machine gun.  7.62 mm NATO with bipod and replacement barrels.

M-67A3 = The USMC flame=thrower tank.  It sported a 360-gallon bottle of napalm, a coaxially mounted .30 caliber machine gun and a coupola mounted .50 caliber machine gun.  It carried a crew of three.  The cruising range was 200 miles.  Weight 50 tons.

M-79 = The US shoulder held, 40 mm, singel shot grenade launcher with a range of 400 meters.  AKA a “blooper” for the noise it made when fired.

MPC = Military Payment Certificates.  Instead of using normal “greenback” dollars in Viet Nam, US military personnel were issued our pay in MPC.  We used this as money on base.  We were not supposed to use this when dealing with the civilians.  The US military authorities would change the design of the MPC about once a year, thus keeping the civilians at bay for collecting too much of them.

MIA = Missing in Action.

Main Battle Tank = The M-48A4, 90-mm gun tank.  With a crew of four this highly mobile killing machine was the boon and the bane of the US Marine grunts.  It protected them as it acted as anti-personnel artillery, a machine gun crew, an ambulance.  Plus it definately made the enemy very nervous when they were around.  But the tank also made a lot of noise and attracted a lot of attention, it could get stuck in mud or hung up on boulders and it tended to drive over (and crush) grunts’ equipment…Shock, Mobility and Firepower. 

Main bottle = The flame-thrower tank’s 360-gallon bottle of napalm.  There were a cluster of nine air bottles that surrounded the main bottle.  These air bottles supplies the air the conveyed the napalm out of the tank and on to the enemy’s positon or the grabage dump if that is what you were burning at the time. 

Medevac = Medical evacuation, usually by H-34 heliocopter, although sometime the CH-46 Sea Knights were used.

Mike – Mike = Radio code for artillery pieces defined by caliber in millimeters.  Example: 155 mike-mike would be a 155-millimeter howizer.

Mortar = US mortars are 60-mm portable, 81-mm fixed position and the 4.2” firebase mortars.  The main NVA mortar was the Chi Com 82-mm.

MOS = Military Occupational Specialty or job description.  Marine tankers were 1811and a Marine infantry rifleman was 0311.  

Motor T = Truck drivers as in “Motor Transport”.

Mustang = a Marine officer who originally came into the Corps as an enlistedman.  These officers had been a snuffy once and usually knew the ropes better than their “gentlemen” buddies.  They had been there and had done that so that they were sensative to the needs of the snuffy’s.  These guys are the best officers.

NOVEMBER = The letter “N” in radio call signs.

NCO = Non Commissioned Officer.  Like a Corporal or a Sergeant.

Naval Gun Fire = An artillery fire mission but conducted by US Navy ships stationed off the coast of Viet Nam.  This is as opposed to land based arttillery.  Whenever we were in the field and Naval Gun Fire was announced over the radios, we would button up our tanks and the grunts would dig in…why?  Because the squids were lousy shots, usually causing a few “friedndly fire” incidents each time they would shoot.  The most awasome display of Naval Gun Fire was the USS New Jersey.  When she shot a three gun salve with her 16” cannons, the fire ball would be as long as the entire ship.  The projectiles fired would weigh 2,000 pounds and they say that the three rounds could level anything inside a qrid square (1000 yds x 1000 yds).  

Napalm = Jellied gasoline in cannisters dropped by jets and/or carried on flame-thrower tanks.  It sucked all available oxygen into its fireball thus smothering the enemy.

Nuber One = Vietnamese slang for “the best”.

Number Ten = Vietnamese slang for “the worst”.

NVA = North Vietnamese Army.

OSCAR = The letter “O” in radio call signs.

Office Pogue = An office clerk. AKA “Remington Raider”…as in Remington typwiters.

Oki = Okinawa.  An island south of Japan that was “owned” by the US Government until the 1970’s.  It was used as the staging area for all Marine Corps personnel who were going to and coming from Viet Nam.  The “stay” was usually two or three days.  It was bedlam with New Guy’s and Salt’s mixing together.

0h dark thirty  = A Marine slang term for very early in the morning.

On line = In a row.  As in, ten tanks on line which is ten tanks in a row.

On the line = When you are at the perimeter wire.  Usually on guard duty.

Ontos = A mechanized anti-tank vehicle that has six 106 mm recioless rifles and a .50 caliber spotting rifle.  It has a Dodge or Chrysler V-8 water-cooled truck engine and a crew of two.  The word is Greek meaning “The Thing.”

OP = Observation Post. 

Ops = Operations.  When you go out to the bush and snoop and poop (search) for the enemy.

Outgoing = Friendly artillery, rockets or mortars that are going out to the enemy’s positon.

PAPA = The letter “P” in radio call signs.

P-38 = A small collapsable can opener that is of most importance when attempting to prepare a C-ration meal.

PF’s = The Popular Forces.  These are like the local National Guard.  They are farmers by day and friendly forces at night.

PM = Preventative Maintenance.  This is a function that the tank crew performs non-stop.  Whenever the tank pulls to a halt in a non-hostile area, the crew bails out of the tank and checks the fluid levels (both the transmittion and the engin oil) by having the turret move sideways and using a large dip sitck.  The track, suspension and road wheels are also checked on a regular basis.  Following the rule, an ounce of prevention is worth (in thiscaes) a TON of cure.  This is a fighting vehicle, it must preform in an exemplary manner at all times (especially when you come under fire by the enemy).  Some of the other PM functions are cleaning all of the guns, making sure the batteries are not carroded, bleeding the water out of the fuel filter, cleaning the air filters, greasing the road wheels and tightening the tension on the track.

PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  This is what they used to call Battle Fatigue or Shell Shock in the Big One (WWII).  I am not psycologist so I don’t know how it effects people and what casues it.  I do know that when Viet Nam vets do something crazy, like shoot innocent civilians, the first defense is PTSD.

PX = Post exchange, a store where Marines can buy bogy bait, shoe and brass polish and toiletries.

Paddy = The rectangular rice field boardered by dikes and footpaths.

Pancho = A rectangle of rubberized canvas that was worn as a rain coat.  It has a hole In the middle that is hooded to protect the wearer’s head from the rain.  Also could serve as a shelter half (tent).  This piece of equipment was also used to carry wounded Marines and/or bodies.

Pancho Liner = A camofladged, quilted, light weight (nylon) blanket that fit inside a rubber a pancho to turn the rain coat into a water proof bed roll.  Most Marines used the panch liner as their only blankets for sleeping.  Most field Marines had no sleeping bags, sheets or blankets. 

Pay back = When one get paid back for some transgression real or imagined.  The saying goes: “Remember, pay back’s a mother fucker.”

Pogy Bait = Candy, cookies and other sweets.

Point = Lead Marine in a patrol.  Lead element in a company column.

Police = To clean up or sanitize.

Pop Up’s = Hand held flares.  These shiny aluminum tubes held a small parachute flare.  One would take the cap off the top and insert the cap on the bottom.  Holding the business end of the tube away from you in your right hand, you pop the cap end to ignite the propellant.  The flare would pop out the tube and travel between 50 and 100 yards, ignite and bathe the area in light.  The flares came in white, green and red.  Most of  the time the colors were used to singnal  where red meant a gook ground attack and green meant an artillery attack (gook or US). 

Puff the Magic Dragon = A C-47, a WWII vintage two-engine propeller driven airplane that had three mini-gattling guns that are able to shoot out the left side of the plane as it slowly circled the enemy.  The firing rate of the guns was 40,000 rounds per second.  At this rate of firing, anything on the ground below the plane is turned into “chopped salad” or “hamburger”.  Also the same plane as the flare ship, “Spooky”.

Probe = To attack a defensive perimeter line to analyze weapon placement.

QUABEC = The letter “Q” in radio call signs.

Quad 50’s = The US Army employed another anti-aircraft wepon (see Duster) that was four .50 caliber machine guns mounted on an open turret and this was mounted on the back of a 2 & 1/2 ton truck (AKA Duce and ½).  Quad 50’s were used primarily as a convoy defensive wepon.  According to the Geneva Convention, no one was to use wepons larger than .30 calibers on personnel.  Thus a .50-caliber wepon was considered either anti-aircarft or anti-vehicle but not anti-personnel.  Forget about it!

ROMEO = The letter “R” in radio call signs.

RF’s = The Regional Forces.  These are like the Army Reserves.  They are not site specific local but could have been living nearby or within the providence that they served.  They are usually not farmers by day but are not part of the regular ARVN either.

RPF’s = The Regional Popular Forces.  These local militia troops (I will be kind and use that term loosly) are made up of civilians (usually farmers) who put on the ARVN uniform at night for guard duty and at other times when a specific duty is called for.  These are like the Home Gurad.  We called them “Ruff – Puff’s”

R.L.T. = Regimantal Landing Team.  This is usually a Regiment of Marines.  That is, three Marine Batallions supported by all the normal Marine Corps supporting arms: Tanks, amtracks, artillery, heavy weapons and the like.  This force comes off of Navy ships, lands on a beach and establishes the Beach Head to mount an attack on the enemy.  I believe that an RLT can support itself for a month before they need to be resupplied.  This is something the US Army could never do.

R & R = Rest and relaxation.  A short term leave from combat duty.  A slang and offensive term for this was also know as “I & I” or intoxication and intercourse.

Rack Out = to sleep…Also known as “To cop Z’s”.  Sleeping in a rack (bunk or bed).

Rail road tracks = Slang for a Captain’s rank…two parallel silver bars.

Ranks =                 ENLISTED MEN:

PVT – Private (E-1); PFC – Private First Class (E-2); LCpl – Lance Corporal (E-3).

NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (NCO / Staff NCO):

Cpl – Corporal (E-4), Sgt – Sergeant (E-5); SSgt – Staff Sergeant (E-6); GySgt – Gunnery Sergeant (E-7), MSgt - Master Sergeant & 1stSgt - 1st Sergeant (E-8), MGySgt – Master Gunnery Sergeant & SgtMaj - Sergeant Major (E-9); SgtMajMC - Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (only one) (E-10).

                WARRANT OFFICERS:

            CWO1 – Warrant Officer (W1); CWO2 – Chief Warrant Officer (W2); CWO3 - Chief Warrant Officer (W3), CWO4 - Chief Warrant Officer (W4), CWO5 - Chief Warrant Officer (W5).  All Warrant Officers designated as a “Marine Gunner” must have a combat arms MOS (i.e. 0302, 1802, etc). They wear a bursting bomb insignia on their collar and shoulder if wearing a coat. All Warrant Officers are commonly called “Gunner” although only those designated are truly “Marine Gunners”.

OFFICERS:

                2^nd Lt. – Second Lieutenant (O-1); 1^st Lt. – First Lieutenant (O-2); Capt – Captain (O-3); Maj. - Major (O-4); Lt Col – Lieutenant Colonel (O-5); Col – Colonel (O-6)

                GENERAL OFFICERS:

Brig Gen – Brigadier General , one star (O-7); Lt Gen – Maj Gen – Major General, two stars (O-8); LtGen - Lieurenant General, three stars (O-9); Gen – General, four stars (O-10).

 

Rat Patrol = Something that the Stateside Marine Corps would never condone.  Where we go out looking for the enemy with two or three tanks and no supporting infantry.  This term came from the 1960’s televison show about the US Army fighting Rommel’s troops in Northern Africa in WWII.

Razor Wire = Like barbed wire or concertina wire but with a sharp edge on one side and a spike like knife protruding every inch or two.

Rear Area = The combat base or any secure area outside of Indian terriroty.

Recon = To patrol looking for enemy movements in order to collect information.  Recon patrols avoided combat if possible.

Recon By Fire = When you need to know what is behind a bush or in a stand of trees, a tank would regularly fire into the unknown area (if it was within a free fire zone) in order to either flush out the enemy or to assure that the area was safe.

Rear Pogue = Someone who is in the rear area…in the rear with the gear.

Repeat = An artillery term to shoot again.

Rock n’ roll = On full automatic.  The grunts had an M-16 rifle that was capable of single shot firing and fully automatic. When the grunt put his gun’s selector on rock ‘n roll he would fire his 20 round magazine in a few seconds. The gun would make a lot of noise and spray 20 bullets all over the area but it usually hit nothing.

Raod Sweep = Every morning, engineers take their metal detectors out on the highways sweeping them for mines that might have been buried the night before.  There would usually be a squad or more of grunts, a tank or two for protection and a truck to take the grunts back to their base camp.  Why all of the protection?  The gooks would many times hide nearby after they laid the mines so protect the mines until they could be set off by a vehicle rolling over the mine or by command dedination.

Rubber Whore = An air matress.  Usually a very heavy-duty, government issue, green pad.  Usually used for sleeping on hard surfaces but occassionally used for surfing or swimming.

SIERRA = The letter “S” in radio call signs.

SKS = Simonov Soviet or Chinese made semiautomatic 7.62 x 39 mm rifle.  This was the standard VC infantry weapon and is very accurate and reliable. 

SSgt = Staff Sergeant.  See “Ranks” above.

Salt (or Salty) = When there is a Marine who has the most time in, he is usually refered to “The Salt”. Of course, this is a reference to the Marine Corps when the Marines were on sailing ships, the longer you were exposed to the ocean, the “saltier” you were.  In the Old Corps, when you washed your clothes with sea water, your clothes got salty.  The more faded they were, the saltier you were.

Say Again = This is the radio term for repeating yourself.  One never says “repeat” because that is an artillery term to shoot again.

Scuttlebutt = Rumor or unfounded facts passed between Marines.  Pretty sure that this is a Navy term.

Seabees = US Navy combat construction Batallion (C.B.).  These are the guys who did most of the major bunker complexes as well as the air fields, hooch, bridge and road building in Nam.

Sea Story = A tall tale.  Usually one with some truth but with a bit of fiction to make it sound more “salty”. When a sea story teller starts the story, he usually starts the story with, “And this is no shit..” or at the end he says, “…I shit you not.”  As in bullshit.

Shelter Half = One half of a pup tent…a two man tent.

Shit Can = A trash can.  Also the act of shit canning is to get rid of something.  As in:  “They shit canned the loot and acted like it never happened.”

Shit Fister = A mechanic (usually one that workd with engines and transmittions.

Short Timer = A Marine who has less than 60 days left on hisr tour in Nam.  The one word cry can be heard shouted out loud each morning and each evening…“SHORT!”

Short Round = An artillery shell fired short of the target.  This is a grave danger when firing over a unit of Marines toward the enemy.  Also a Marine slang for a short person.

Six By = A two and a half ton truck.  It had six wheels on each side of the chassie.  It was the wheeled work horse of the Marines in Nam. Also known as a “Deuce and a Half” for its two and a half ton pay load or a “Multi-Fuler” for the engine was designed to burn diesel fuel, gasoline or jet fuel.

Slack = Any easy treatment by the Marines toward anyone.  This seldom happened.

Snoopin’ and Poopin’ = Term used for partoling or walking in the bush.  Such as, “The grunts were out in the bush snoopin’ and poopin’ all day.”

Snuffy = A low ranking enlisted man (ususlly a Pvt or PFC).  Looked on pretty much as a low life.  If you call yourself a snuffy to a salt, you defuse any issue that he may have with you seemingly acting superior.

Spider Hole = An enemy fighting hole camouflaged to the eye.

Square Away = To make orderly and neat, specifically uniforms and equipment.

Squid = A member of the US Navyal service, sailors.  Remember Marines do not consider their Navy Corpsmen as squids…they are Marines!

Star light scope = A night vision device to aid in watching for and identifying enemy movement.

Stateside = The United States of America…”The World”.

TANGO = The letter “T” in radio call signs.

TAOR = Tactical Area Of Responsibility.  The land that your outfit is responsible to keep the gooks out of.

TC = The Tank Commander.  He rides on the top of the tank for a commanding view of the area.

TI = Tank / Infantry.  The Marine Corps almost always deploys tanks and infantry together.  The infantry “takes care” of the tank and the tank acts as a “protector” to the infantry.  Most US infantry commanders did not have a clue as to how to deploy tanks in conjunction with their grunt outfits therefore there was little or no coordinated support offered or given to the grunts exept whatever the tank commander felt that needed to be given.

TI Phone = On the right rear fender of a tank was a box with a telephone that was hooked in to the tank’s intercommunication (intercom) system.  The infantry was supposed to be able to talk to the tank commander as they walked along behind the tank.  These TI phones never worked properly and many times were simply missing.

Tanker = Any fighting man who main conveyance is a tank.

Track = The heavy butyl rubber treads of a tank.  Each track block weighted about 25 pounds and the entire track weighted over a ton on each side of the tank or two tons total.

The Top = The Top Sgt. or First Sgt. He is the most senior enlisted man in a company and he is really the one that is in charge.  When the Top speaks, usually everyone (including the Company Commander) listens to what he has to say. 

UNIFORM = The letter “U” in radio call signs.

Utilities = Green Marine combat uniform made of lightweight cotton.  In Vietnam, combat utilities were called “jungles.”

VICTOR = The letter “V” in radio call signs.

Victor Charlie = Radio call signs for VC (Viet Cong).

VC = Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communist) soldier.

Vile = A hamlet or a larger village.

Vision Ring = The thick safety glass and steel ring that was added to the Tank Commander’s cupola for additional vision capability.

WIA = Wounded in Action.  You usually got a Purple Heart for your wounds.  AKA “dinged.”

Wasted = to die with our mercy.  AKA KIA…killed in action, greased, blown away, to buy the farm. 

Water Buffalo (Water Bu) = Sometimes referring to the real animal and sometimes to a large trailer with a water tank on top.  These water sources usually have four or six spigots for Marines to dispense the water.

The Wire = The perimeter.  There was always barbed wire, concertina wire or razor wire separating your position from the outside or the bush.

Wigged out = Crazy. Flipped out. To flip your wig.  Dinky Dau.

Willie Peter = White phosphorous (incendiary) ammo.  Used to start fires, to chemically burn personnel and to mark locations for artillery spotters and air strikes.

Willy Peter bag = Water Proof bag that originally was designed to protect a rolled up sleeping bag.  Resourceful Marines used these bags for carrying any soft gear in.  These bags had canvas outsides and rubber insides and could be practically submerged in water keeping the contents dry.

Wing Wiper = Anyone who is part of the Marine air wing who does not fly.

WHISKEY = The letter “W” in radio call signs.

The World = The good old United States of America (home).

XRAY = the letter “X” in radio call sign.

XO = Executive Officer, second in command of a company or battalion.

YANKEE = The letter “Y” in radio call signs.

ZULU = The letter “Z” in radio call signs.

ZAP = To shoot or hit with a bullet.

Zippo = The cigarette lighter made in Bradford, PA.  Also the term for a Flame-thrower tank.

Zoomie = Derogatory for the United States Air Force.