ANNEX G-3

Glossary of Terms, Acronyms, and Abbreviations

     This document is intended to provide the reader a better understanding of some of the many abbreviations and Marine (specifically Grunt) jargon used during the Vietnam War era by the men who served there - then. For example, “LCM” may mean nothing to the average reader and an entry “Landing ship, medium” only a little more. But to those who brought their tanks and Ontos to the fight from the well decks of amphibious ships across the beaches of Vietnam the term “Mike Boat” says it all. And, to the others it provides some understanding of a small but ever-so-important piece of the Vietnam War.

     Early in the planning stage of the content of this 3 Book, Six Volume historical series the discussion was about the need for a “Glossary of Terms, Acronyms, and Abbreviations”: The need, in some form, was agreed upon for at least two reasons: To refresh the memories of the Vietnam Veteran and to introduce the non-veteran and the younger generations the “language” used during that period of our history.

     And the “F” word, heavily used as an adjective, noun, verb, unknown particle, and as an “oral pause” stands on its own.

            30* The .30 cal. machine gun. See Co-ax. Infantry units traded in their .30 cal. for the M-60 machine gun but the difficulty in adapting the tank to accommodate the M-60 was just one of the factors that retained the .30 cal. There are no reported critical shortages of the .30 cal. ammunition or spare parts.

            45* Standard-issue .45 cal. semi-automatic pistol. It was issued during the Vietnam War to officers, noncommissioned officers, corpsmen, and machine-gun, and mortar crews of infantry organizations and was standard issue to all Tankers and Ontos men as their “personal weapon”. The holster of choice was the shoulder holster. The .45 fires a very heavy bullet, at low velocity, and will knock a man down (or off his tank) when it hits him in nearly any part of the body. The disadvantage of the .45 is that it is notoriously inaccurate. The reputation for inaccuracy is somewhat unfair because accuracy up to fifty feet is quite good with practice and that’s all that’s required to “repel boarders” i.e., knock the enemy off your tank or away from your Ontos.

            50* The .50 cal. Machine Gun was mounted inside the Tank Commander’s Cupola. The method of installation “from the factory” had the gun on its side making the operating – loading/unloading difficult resulting in the sky mounting of the weapon outside of the cupola. This modification increased the effectiveness of the weapon but exposed the TC to hostile fire. The Ontos also used the .50 cal.

60-mm mortar* This weapon was considered the infantry Company Commander’s “weapon of opportunity.”

81-mm mortar* This weapon was considered the infantry Battalion Commander’s “weapon of opportunity.”

82 mm mortar The Russian-designed, Chinese-built, slightly larger version of the U.S. 81mm. Employed by both the VC and NVA with great accuracy.

            90* The 90 mm main gun of the M48 Tank had a maximum range of 19 miles. The tank’s range finder could range out to 4,500 meters and, when properly bore sited, could get a first round hit at that range. The 90 mm outranged the 105 mm and 155 mm howitzer and was used at Khe Sanh to hit targets across the border into Laos.

105* The M101 105 mm howitzer was the standard artillery piece used by the Marines in Vietnam.

120 mm mortar Soviet-designed, it fired a thirty-four pound round up to three and a half miles. It took a crew of five or six to operate,

            155* The American-made M114 155mm howitzer. The 155 was already obsolete at the time of the Vietnam War, having been put into service in 1942, but its replacement was self-propelled and couldn’t be used in the jungle or easily transported by helicopter, whereas the older but lighter version could.

            175* The American made M107 self propelled 175 mm gun. The Marines in western I Corps most often used Army 175’s when there was no other available artillery support, but did not use them for close support because at long ranges the 175 was not nearly accurate enough. For heavy close support the Marines relied on the eight-inch howitzer.

782 gear Standard-issue Marine combat gear, mainly the pack, poncho, first aid pouch, utility shovel (entrenching tool), ammunition belt and suspenders. (Also “Deuce gear”).

AAR After Action Report

Actual The Specific person commanding a unit, as opposed to just the unit in general. For example, if someone calling on the radio said, “This is Charlie One” this would mean that it could be anyone on the radio, usually the radio operator, calling from First Platoon of Charlie Company. If the person said, “This is Charlie One Actual”, it would mean that the speaker was the actual commander of First Platoon. “Put your Actual on” meant “I want to talk to your Commanding Officer”

AdCon Administrative Control of a unit and it's personnel. Example, a tank platoon may be OpCon (i.e., under the operational control) to an Infantry Battalion but the parent tank/Ontos unit still retains Administrative Control for purposes of administration and logistics.

AdminO Administrative Officer

AGC Amphibious Command Ship. The commander of the Amphibious Operation and his principle staff operated from this ship.

            A.J. Squaredaway Marines used made-up names to personify conditions or standards. “A.J. Squaredaway” meant looking sharp. There were others e.g., “Joe Shit the Rag Picker” was the opposite of “A.J. Squared away”.

AKA Attack Cargo Ship. This ship configuration best accommodates cargo and light vehicles and is loaded and unloaded by cranes – both shipboard and pier- located.

AK-47 Standard-issue automatic weapon used by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Viet Cong. It fired a 7.62 millimeter bullet at a lower velocity than the M- 16. It was much less accurate than the M-16, but far easier to maintain under jungle conditions; and, in close-in jungle fighting, accuracy at a distance was not a significant factor.

AOA Amphibious Objective Area is a geographical area (delineated for command and control purposes in the order initiating the amphibious operation) within which is located the objective(s) to be secured by the amphibious force.

Apricots An omen of bad luck for Tracked Vehicles and their crews, believed to have started during WW II with tanks and other tracked vehicles, re-surfaced in Korea, and then again in Vietnam. Bad things happen to the vehicles or crew members when apricots are brought on board. Apparently still in vogue during the First Iraq War.

Area Fire (Also known as the KILLING CROSS) Fire at the target, fire Over, fire Under, Fire Left, Fire Right

Arty Generic Artillery

ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the South Vietnamese army- allies of the United States.

ASAP “As soon as possible”. Can imply that “ASAP” is has ominous connotations.

Ballistic Computer Hand operated “computer” with mechanical “cams” that would allow the Gunner to index the type of 90 mm rounds, adjusting to compensate for the unique ballistic characteristic of that round, to be fired with accuracy by putting the proper Super Elevation on the gun.

BAS Battalion Aid Station

Battalion A battalion, usually about 1,200-1,300 Marines and sixty naval medical personnel, had four rifle companies, and one larger headquarters and service company (H & S) that held the 106-millimeter recoilless rifles, the 81-millimeter mortars, and the supply, maintenance, communications, mess, medical, and administrative personnel. Each battalion usually had a specific 105-millimeter artillery battery attached to it permanently from the regiment’s artillery battalion. A battalion was usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel, often called a “light colonel.” That rank is designated by a silver oak leaf. In the Marine Corps during the 1960s, command of a battalion was critical for advancement to high rank of an infantry officer.

Battery An artillery unit roughly equivalent in size to a rifle company. A battery in Vietnam had six 105-millimeter howitzers. One battery was normally assigned to one infantry battalion and whenever possible was situated on the highest ground in the area it was intended to support. The battery often sent out forward observers to move with the infantry to help call in artillery missions. All Marine infantry officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) can call in artillery fire; however, lacking detailed knowledge of the immense amount of technical difficulties faced by artillerymen, they are usually more impatient than the forward observers.

BDA Bomb Damage Assessment, also known as battle damage assessment, is the practice of assessing damage inflicted on a target from a stand-off weapon, most typically a bomb or air launched missile. When an enemy-fired incoming artillery round impacted it left a “signature” at the point of impact. That “signature” provided the direction of the point of firing and the type of round fired.

Beehive 90mm round full of little darts called Flechettes, with settable fuse for range.

BGen Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer. He wears one silver star.

Bird Any helicopter, but for the Marines it was usually a CH-46 helicopter.

BLT Battalion Landing Team is the task organized, reinforced infantry battalion which is the ground combat element a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)

Bore Sight To align the .90 mm bore with the tank’s sights, or to have the target “Bore Sighted”.

                        Bug Juice: In context it referred to the bug (mosquito) repellent that came in a small, translucent, squeezable, plastic bottle. Occasionally seen worn in the field on the helmet held to it by a rubber band around the helmet rim. From “Boys for Men”  “-- the mosquitoes are insufferable. We slather ourselves with bug juice, and it is somewhat effective. But there are so many insects it's a constant buzz inches from your face with occasional landings and take offs, so that you're constantly being awakened. Most guys can never fall deep asleep anyway. I know I don't."

Busting Track To break the tanks track, for whatever reason.

Butterbar A second Lieutenant, often new and inexperienced, so called because the rank was designated by a single gold bar.

BLT Battalion Landing Team is the task organized, reinforced infantry battalion which is the ground combat element a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)

Bush or Boonies Slang for an undefined area in the field

Bustle Rack The official name for the rack on the outside of the tanks turret rear used for storing the crew’s personal gear. AKA “Gypsy Rack”.

Button up The act of closing all the tanks hatches, usually when under fire.

C-4 Composition C-4 plastic explosive was used for virtually anything from cooking coffee to blowing up ammunition dumps and clearing landing zones. It came in white bars about one foot long, one inch thick, and three inches across, wrapped in olive drab cellophane. It could be safely dropped, cut, pulled into long cords, or stuffed into cracks. It was detonated by blasting caps, which had to be carried in special small wooden boxes and were much more dangerous. When ignited in the open, C-4 burned with an extremely hot white flame but did not explode. Its primary use in this configuration, strictly against policy, was for heating C-ration cans. When detonated by a blasting cap, C-4 was a powerful explosive. A thin cord wrapped around a two-foot-diameter tree would cut the tree in two, although a preferred method was to put one charge slightly higher than another on opposite sides and cut the tree between the two offset blasts. While not authorized to do so, Tankers used C-4 to blow broken torsion bar pieces out of the torsion bar housing and other parts damaged by mines.

CAG Acronym for Combined Action Group. This was a small group composed of Marines and local militiamen called popular forces (in slang, ruff-puffs, from Republic of Vietnam Popular Forces) that was placed in a small specific area to protect villages from intimidation and terror. This idea achieved considerable success, and the Marines who fought in CAG units were brave and competent, having to operate on their own away from traditional unit structures. Unfortunately, following the iron law of manipulation-that if a system can be invented, a counter system can be invented-Marine infantry commanders would often “volunteer” shirkers and troublemakers for duty with CAG to get them out of their own units.

Canister 90mm Canister round full of little pellets about .45 Cal size.

Canoe U United States Naval Academy.

CAS Close Air Support is that which is provided by fixed wing aircraft to the ground combat units. www.http//defensemedianetwork.com/stories/naval-aviation- centennial-the-marines-pioneer-air-support-in-central-america/

C/C Command Chronology is a documented, formatted report provided by Marine units of battalion and similar size to the Commandant of the Marine Corps describing the activities and significant events of that unit each month.

CH-46 Twin-rotor assault helicopter called the Sea Knight, used by the Marines for assaults, resupply, and medevacs. It had a crew of five; pilot, copilot, crew chief, and two aerial machine gunners. It had a long fuselage and a ramp at its tail where Marines got on and off. This ramp was pulled up to serve as the rear door when the CH-46 was airborne. Depending on the altitude, temperature, how many gunners were carried aboard, and how much risk the pilot was willing to take, a CH-46 would carry from eight to fifteen Marines as far as 150 miles. In emergencies more people were carried, but then the risks went much greater. Alternatively, the CH-46 could carry about two tons of “external load,” slung beneath it in a cargo net. The CH-46 Sea Knight was smaller and carried less load than the more familiar CH-47 Chinook used by the Army, although the two helicopters looked similar. Because of the requirement for folding rotors and efficient storage aboard ships, the Marine CH-46 was not capable of carrying the heavier loads that the Army CH-47 helicopter-with its permanent rotor blades and larger engines-could manage. The Marine Corps depended primarily on the CH- 46 to deliver its units to combat. The CH-46 also doubled as the supply and medevacs workhorse because the Marines were insufficiently supplied with the more mobile and versatile Huey.

Chieu Hoi South Vietnamese program to encourage defectors (also known as “Open Arms” program.

Chi-comm Hand-thrown antipersonnel fragmentation grenade used by the NVA and Viet Cong. It had a wooden throwing handle and a round cylindrical form; hence the nickname “potato masher”.

Chopper Any helicopter.

CID Today’s N.C.I.S.

Clacker A hand held trigger that produces a small electrical charge when squeezed.

Claymore Popular concave-shaped antipersonnel land mine that used composition C-4 as its explosive. It produced a directional, fan-shaped pattern of fragments and was usually placed above ground forward and, because of its severe backblast, well to the side of fighting holes or alongside a trail for an ambush. When detonated, from a fighting hole using a “clacker”, the M18A1 Claymore delivered 700 spherical steel balls over a sixty-degree fan-shaped pattern that was more than six feet high and fifty yards wide by the time the fragments reached fifty yards out. It was named after a large Scottish sword by its inventor, Norman A. MacLeod. One side of the mine was inscribed with the bold embossed words, THIS SIDE TOWARD ENEMY.

CMC Commandant of the Marine Corps

CO Commanding officer

Co-ax The co-ax .30 Cal. Machine gun aligned to fire on the same axes as the main gun.

Copula The dome on top of the tank where the TC is. It is where the .50 Cal. MG was mounted on its side fed by a 50 round box. It usually jammed after 4-5 rounds due to the link shoot jamming.

Col Colonel

Company During the Vietnam War a Marine rifle company consisted of 212 to 216 Marines and seven Navy Hospital Corpsmen. It was designed to be led by a Captain (two silver bars), and at the beginning of the war the majority of companies were. By 1969, however, many were being led by a first lieutenant (one silver bar); and during intense periods of fighting, a second lieutenant (one gold bar) could end up running a company until a higher-ranking replacement arrived. The company consisted of three rifle platoons and a weapons platoon. The weapons platoon was designed to have a second or first lieutenant in charge and consisted of nine M-60 machine-gun crews and three 60-millimeter mortar crews. But in the jungle and mountain fighting during the Vietnam War, machine guns, which were originally in the weapons platoon, were attached directly to the rifle platoons, usually one per squad. This left only the 60-millimeter mortar squad as the entire weapons platoon, usually led by a corporal or sergeant who reported directly to the Company Commander. Companies usually operated with 160 to 180 Marines, because of attrition. And, from time-to-time, much less.

Comshaw Old Marine term picked up in China, means to acquire something by trade or deception, even to steal.

ComUSMACV Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam the senior officer in charge of all military, and most civilian-related, operations in Vietnam. He was a Four-Star Army General. There were 4 during the Vietnam War.

General Paul D. Harkins	1962–64
General William C. Westmoreland	1964–68
General Creighton Abrams	1968–72
General Frederick C. Weyand	1972–73

CP A command post. Technically, the term refers to a spot on the ground where the company or platoon commander set up with his radio operators and staff. An equally common use of the term referred to the group of people, not the place, as in “the CP group.” In a typical Marine company in Vietnam, there was no “post”- that is, no physical structure such as a bunker (as seen in movies). Instead, there were just fighting holes like those on the lines or, when a unit was on the move or in action, simply any place from which a company or platoon commander would direct the unit.

Cordon and search Operation in which an entire village or even an area (if enough troops were used) was surrounded: i.e., “cordoned off.” Units were then sent in to search the houses and hiding places for NVA or Vietcong. If any were flushed out, they could not escape through the ring of surrounding troops. (See also “Search and Destroy”)

Corpsmen Navy medical personnel assigned to Marine units, the equivalent of the Army Medics. They provided the first medical care received by a wounded Marine and were highly respected. Many sacrificed their lives trying to save wounded Marines. At full strength, every Marine rifle company had two Navy Corpsmen assigned to each of the three platoons, and one additional senior Corpsman, usually an HM-1, their boss, assigned to the small company command post or CP. Because of shortages later in the Vietnam War, many platoons got by with a single Corpsman, and companies got by with HM-2s instead of HM-1s. And, while the infantry units had regularly assigned Corpsmen on operations, the Tank and Ontos units were less formal, with Corpsmen being assigned as determined by the type of operation, among other factors.

COC Combat Operations Center. This was usually a tent with sandbag walls, or, if the unit had been in place long enough, a bunker made entirely of sandbags with a roof usually made from steel runway mat, also covered with sandbags. It contained all the maps, radios, and personnel that ran a battalion or regimental combat headquarters. It was the tactical nerve center of the battalion or regiment.

C-ration Often called C-rats or by less neutral nicknames. The standard C-ration, used beginning in World War II and believed by most Marines in Vietnam to have been packed at the same time, came in three “styles” or “units,” contained in thin cardboard boxes. The B1 style had a single can, the size of a tuna fish can, full of chopped ham and eggs, ham slices, beef, or turkey loaf; and a larger can of fruit, such as applesauce, fruit cocktail, peaches, or pears. The B2 had larger cans of beans and wieners, spicy meatballs, beefsteak and potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, and ham and lima beans aka-“Ham & M----r F-----s” (considered inedible except under extreme duress). This package also contained a small can of pound cake, pecan roll, or fruit cake, and cheese spread (caraway and pimento) and thick crackers. The B3 unit contained meat loaf, chicken and noodles, spiced meat, and boned chicken. All three styles also came with an accessory pack containing a white plastic spoon, instant coffee, sugar and nondairy creamer, two Chiclets, cigarettes in a four smoke mini pack (Winston, Marlboro, Salem, Pall Mall, Camel, Chesterfield, Kent, and Lucky Strike), a small roll of toilet paper, moisture-resistant paper matches, and salt and pepper. Caned stuff that was passed off as food, some had some kind of mystery meat, 12 meals to a case.

Cowboy Radio call sign for Tanks, Grunts sometime called Tankers “Cowboys” because of this.

Dee-dee To run away or exit quickly. From the Vietnamese didi mao, “go away.” One example would be “Lets dee-dee,” meaning, “Lets get out of here fast.” Another would be “The enemy dee-deed,” meaning that they left quickly.

Division Large unit, approximately 13,000 to 14,000 Marines, usually commanded by a major general (two stars). It included an artillery regiment, three infantry regiments, and supporting units such as engineers, heavy artillery, intelligence, reconnaissance, and supply.

DMZ A demilitarized zone. In Vietnam the DMZ was a zone about five kilometers (just over three miles) wide on both sides of the seventeenth parallel, established by a treaty that attempted to disentangle the French forces from the Vietminh forces. It came to form the border between North and South Vietnam. The Ben Hai River ran through its center in its eastern half. The eastern end stopped at the China Sea. The western end stopped at the Laotian border.

DRV Democratic Republic of Vietnam i.e., North Vietnam

Duster An Army twin 40mm Anti-Aircraft gun mounted on a light M41 tank hull.

Elephant grass Huge stalks of bamboo-like grass. It grew higher than a man’s head in thick, nearly impenetrable stands that could cover an entire valley floor. Its sharp edges drew blood. When, at its impenetrable thickness, Tanks and Ontos were a welcome tool to create pathways, facilitate movement, and expose the enemy.

E-tool Entrenching tool. A small folding shovel about two feet long, carried by all combat Marines (usually on their packs). Designed primarily to dig fighting holes, it was also used to dig latrines, bunkers, and firing pits and to clear brush for fields of fire. On rare occasions it was used as a weapon.

Executive officer, XO The second in command of a Marine Company. The XO handled the administrative details of the company and acted as general counsel to the commanding officer (CO) and platoon commanders. On combat operations, the CO and the XO were usually physically separated so that if the commanding officer was hit the executive officer would probably be able to take command. He was assigned specific duties of administrative and logistics support of his company.

FAC The forward air controller, an enlisted Marine from the Air Wing who was attached to a company-size (infantry) unit to coordinate all air support - from resupply to bombing and strafing. An officer pilot usually occupied the same position at battalion headquarters. The Marine Corps pioneered close air support (CAS) tactics and procedures in World War II, and the close working relationship between Marine Air and Marine Ground (MAGTF) is a specialty of the Marines.

Five In radio code, the company executive officer, the second in command; for example, Bravo Five.

Fragging Murdering someone, usually an unpopular officer or NCO, by throwing a fragmentation grenade into his living quarters or fighting hole. The Marine Corps had forty-three fragging incidents during the Vietnam War, although not all ended in fatalities.

Frag order Fragmentary order. The term has nothing to do with fragging. It was an addendum to a larger original order. Frag orders were usually more prevalent than original orders and were done for the sake of efficiency (at least as far as issuing orders was concerned). For example, an original order might have told a unit to enter a certain valley, destroy what it found, and return. A frag order could amend that original order, telling the unit to continue the mission for another week, or to proceed to a certain place, with the same mission but without having to repeat everything over the radio.

G-2 G-2. Division-level intelligence. American military organizations designate staff functions and organizations with letters and numbers. “G” stands for a division- level staff, “R” for regimental level, and “S” for battalion level. Staff functions are designated by numbers: “1” for Administration, “2” for Intelligence, “3” for Operations, and “4” for Logistics. So, at the division level, the intelligence staff would be G-2 and at the battalion level it would be S-2. The officer in charge of that staff function would be called “the S-2,” or just “the Two.” Major Blakely, as head of operations at the battalion level, is called “the Three,” because he is in charge of battalion operations, S-3.

Grease Gun The M-3A1 .45 Cal. Sub machine Gun.

Grid coordinates All military maps are divided into one-kilometer squares (that is, each side of a square is six-tenths of a mile). A baseline point is established and designated 000000. The first three digits refer to the distance east from the base in tenths of a kilometer, and the last three refer to the distance north. For example, grid coordinates 325889 would refer to a point 32.5 kilometers (about 20.3 miles) east and 88.9 kilometers (about 55.5 miles) north of 000000.

Ground Guide A crewman guiding the tank driver from the ground outside of the tank.

Grunt Nickname for an Infantry Marine. Used most often used as a generic term of respect.

Gunny A Company Gunnery Sergeant. During the Vietnam War, with the companies operating at long distances from headquarters, the company gunny was usually the highest-ranked noncommissioned officer out in the bush. The company first sergeants, one rank higher, usually handled administrative functions in permanent headquarters at locations like Quang Tri. The company gunny, who reported directly to the company commander, handled most of the supply functions and had a strong tactical and personnel advisory role. Although the gunny was not directly in charge of the platoon sergeants, who reported to their platoon commanders, he had a very strong dotted-line relationship with the platoon sergeants. A gunny’s “request” was the equivalent of an order. A platoon sergeant could go around the gunny by working through his commanding officer, but was exceedingly rare. In peacetime the company gunny would normally be an E-7 gunnery sergeant, but because of wartime shortages this position was often filled by E-6 staff sergeants (or even lower).

Gypsy Rack The rack on the outside of the tanks turret rear used for storing the crew’s personal gear.

GVN Government of Vietnam – South Vietnam

HAWK A mobile, surface-to-air, guided missile designed to defend against enemy aircraft flying at low altitudes and short-range missiles. HAWKs were organized into LAAM’s – Light Anti-Aircraft Missile units with a T/O similar to that of artillery. Several LAAM batteries were early arrivals in Vietnam intended to defend the Marine Air assets and provided some of the rational to introduce ground troops i.e., to protect the Da Nang Airfield.

H. E. 90mm High Explosive round.

H & I Harassment and interdiction fire employed by both artillery, tanks, and Ontod.

Head Space The space between the rear of the barrel and the face of the bolt in a .30 and.50 Cal. Machine-Gun. To “adjust”, a not too-bright Marine.

H. E. A. T. 90mm High Explosive, Anti Tank round.

H & S Stands for Headquarters and Service

Heat tabs Blue, 1, 3, 5-Trioxane (sometimes called trioxin) wafers about one inch in diameter that could be placed in the bottom of “field stoves” made by punching holes in C-ration tin cans using a P-38 (nickname for the small can opener) Because the heat tabs didn’t oxidize well in the field stoves, they gave off noxious fumes that stung the nose and eyes. Heat tabs also took too long to heat anything. In the bush, most Marines preferred to cook with C-4 plastic explosive, often doffing apart claymore mines (this was very dangerous and strictly forbidden) to get something less noxious with which to heat their C- rations.

Hooch Any shelter, permanent or temporary. A hooch could be anything from a rough plywood building in a rear area to a couple of rubberized ponchos strung together over some communication wire out in the bush. Sometimes spelled “hootch”.

Huey The UH-1 single-rotor helicopter. There were several variations, such as UH-1B and UH-1G, ranging from a “slick” (which had little armament and firepower and was used for evacuating the wounded and inserting ground forces” to a “gun ship” (which was armed with rockets, machine guns, or 20-millimeter cannons and was used for close air support). Hueys had many uses beside close air support; medical evacuations, inserting and extracting reconnaissance teams, and transporting high-ranking officers. The Army used them as assault helicopters, and Army Airborne and Cavalry units had the use of many times more Hueys than similar-sized Marine units.

Humping Aside from the obvious sexual connotation, humping meant hiking out into the bush, most often, with seventy or more pounds of gear on one’s back, the normal weight carried by the Marine infantryman. “They humped me to death” was a common complaint about being forced to do more walking than one thought reasonable.

Immersion foot A condition in which the foot becomes numb and then turns red or blue. As the condition worsens, the feet swell and open sores break out, leading to fungal infections and ulcers. If left untreated, immersion foot usually results in gangrene, which can require amputation. Immersion foot develops when the feet are constantly cold and damp and are enclosed in constricting footwear. It is also known as “Trench Foot”.

I. R. The Infer-red Light of the Xenon Search Light.

JCS U.S. Military Joint Chiefs of Staff.

John Wayne Small thumb-size can opener that folds the blade against itself and is usually worn with the Marine’s identification tags (dog tags). Its official military designation is the P-38 can opener. Also the Crackers in the C-Rations were called “John Wayne Crackers” as they were as hard as rocks.

K-bar Knife with a seven-inch blade and a wrapped-leather handle. It looked like a large bowie knife and has been standard issue to all Marines since World War II. It could be a lethal and effective weapon, but it was most often used for numerous more utilitarian jobs, such as cutting brush, opening cans, whittling short-timers’ sticks, and cleaning fingernails. The name is of obscure origin, but the likely source is “Knife Accessory Browning Automatic Rifle”.

KIA Killed in action and is applied to both friendly and enemy casualties.

Kool Aide A flavored drink usually received in individual packets from home and mixed with whatever liquid available, or it might be delivered already mixed in large containers from the mess tent/hall. Often as not, the “water” was fetid, at best, then treated with bacteria killing (tasting just as bad but better for you) drops, so the Kool Aide made a foul tasting and smelling drink taste and smell somewhat less so.

LCM Landing Craft, Mechanized. There were several variations of this open boat but all were designed with a front- loading ramp and able to transport equipment and personnel from amphibious shipping stationed off-shore to the beach in amphibious assault operations i.e., sea-to-shore. Could accommodate one tank or two Ontos.

Lifer Someone who is making the military a career. “Lifer” was quite often a derogatory label, obviously connoting a prison sentence. It also implied that the lifer put career, military rules, and decorum above the welfare of the troops.

Light Up To turn on the Xenon’s white light or smoke a cigarette. Also used by the Flame Tanks to “Light up an area”.

Lima Lima Which defined phones attached to one another by “hard wire”: As opposed to radio phones i.e., the PRC-25

LP A listening post, usually a team of two Marines placed outside the defenses at night with a radio. Their job was to listen (since they could not see) for enemy movement and warn their units of an enemy attack. All Marines on LP hoped they could hear the enemy coming, give their warning, and make it back to safety or simply hide in the jungle until the fight was over. They were well aware, however, that the job was sacrificial. A company in the jungle would normally have three LPs out at the same time, one in front of each platoon.

LPD Amphibious Transport Dock

LSD Dock Landing Ship

LST Tank Landing Ship

Lt Lieutenant. A Marine Second Lieutenant wears one gold bar. A First Lieutenant wears one silver bar. The Army referred to their lieutenants by “LT’s”. Not so in the Corps.

LtCol Lieutenant Colonel. A Marine LtCol wears one silver oak leave.

LtGen Lieutenant General. A Marine LtGen wears 3 silver stars

LZ A landing zone for helicopters. Such zones ranged from uneven, often sloping, semi-cleared patches of ground deep in the jungle or elephant grass, whose diameter was only about twice the expected chopper’s length, to larger, better- constructed zones on permanently occupied hilltops. LZ could also refer to something as sophisticated as a large, permanent, often blacktop area at the rear base that accommodated several choppers at the same time.

LVTP-5 Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Personnel. This was truly “amphibious” in that it could operate both as a “swimmer” in ship-to-shore movement and as a tracked armored personnel carrier once ashore. It also served as a Command, Howitzer, Recovery, and Engineer vehicle as well in its various configurations and modifications.

M-14 Standard-issue semi-automatic rifle used early in the Vietnam War. It fired a 7.62- millimeter round at high velocity. It was replaced by the M-16 an automatic rifle with its lighter weight and higher fire power.

M-16 Standard-issue automatic rifle used during the Vietnam War. It fired a 5.56- millimeter spitzer boat-tail bullet at a very high velocity, the object being to wound rather than kill. (Wounds tax an army’s medical and personnel systems more than kills do.) The M-16 is still in use today, but the bullet is slightly heavier (62 grains versus 55 grains) and is fired at a slightly lower velocity (3,100 feet per second versus 3,250 feet per second).

M-26 Standard issue fragmentation (hand) grenade during the Vietnam Way. It was also referred to as a “Mike twenty-six,” or a “frag” (as opposed to a “smoke” or an “illume”) It weighed 21 ounces, and looked like a fat egg with an olive drab smooth steel skin. It came with a “spoon” on the top-a spring-loaded arming device that was activated by removing a wire ring holding the spoon to the grenade’s side. Once the ring was removed, the thrower had to keep the spoon in place by holding it against the grenade with his hand. Once the grenade was thrown, the spoon was released and started a chemical reaction that set the grenade off in four to five seconds. The grenade was filled with coiled perforated metal, which blew into pellet-like projectiles that could kill people within a radius of about fifty feet. The effective killing radius of the grenade however was actually only about ten feet. An average Marine could toss an M-26 thirty or forty yards. The explosive was composition B, a mixture of mostly TNT and cyclonite (or hexogen).

M-48 Medium (Main battle tank) “Patton”. Full tracked, main armament is a 90mm gun firing a number of different types of rounds. Also, a cupola-mounted .50 cal. and coaxially (with main gun) – mounted .30 cal. machine gun (See Annex for full description)

M-50 Ontos, officially, “Rifle, Multiple 106mm, Self-propelled” was a lightly armored, full- tracked anti-tank vehicle developed as a fast tank killer. It mounted six M40 106mm recoilless rifles as its main armament, which could be fired in rapid succession.

M-60 machine gun Standard-issue Marine machine gun in Vietnam. Its maximum range was 3,725 meters (2.3 miles), although its effective range was closer to 1,100 meters (about 0.7 mile or twelve football fields). It fired the standard NATO 7.62-millimeter round (.308 caliber) using linked belts with 100 rounds each. These belts were often carried crossed over the body, but in jungle warfare carrying them that way would expose them to small sticks and leaves, which would stop the firing, so the belts had to be contained in metal cans that were very heavy and very awkward to carry. The M-60 was designed to be manned by three Marines: a gunner and two assistants to help carry the ammunition. In Vietnam, however, because of attrition, the teams were usually only two men. A good gunner could fire 100 rounds per minute at a sustained rate. Firing at the gun’s maximum rate of 550 rounds per minute would soon generate too much heat and destroy the barrel. The M-60 had a folding bipod on the front of the barrel and weighed 18.75 pounds. Marines loved this weapon and generally admired the guys who carried and fired it.

M-67 Flame tank on an M48 tank platform was equipped with a flamethrower from a tube resembling the 90mm main gun of M48. It was armed with a .30 cal. machine gun with a crew of 3 Marines.

M-79 A hand-held Grenade launcher, which fires a 40mm round, and looks very much like a short, fat shotgun. It can fire high-explosive grenades (HE round), heavy buckshot (shot-gun round), or flechettes, small arrowlike projectiles, in a wide arc, so it is a very good jungle weapon where targets are hard to locate quickly. (Nickname “Blooper”)

MAG Marine Air Group a unit in the Marine Air Wing (MAW) comprising squadrons of aircraft.

Maj Major. A Marine Maj wears a gold leaf.

MajGen Major General. A Marine MajGen wears 2 silver stars.

Marine Amphibious Force (MAF) Two or more Marine divisions plus necessary Marine air support. During the Vietnam Way the MAF was led by a lieutenant general (three stars) and based in Da Nang. It reported operationally to MAC-V, Military Assistance Command Vietnam, headed by an Army General (four stars) located in Saigon. For administrative and logistical support it reported to the commanding general, Fleet Marine Force Pacific (three starts), located in Hawaii. MAC-V reported to U.S. Pacific Command, headed by a four star admiral.

MEB Marine Expeditionary Brigade. “Expeditionary” conveyed negative connotations among the Vietnamese so in deference to their sensitivities it was replaced with “Amphibious”.

MedCap Medical Civic Action Program

Medevacs Medical evacuation

MEF Marine Expeditionary Force (See “MAF”)

Mess duty The menial chores of running a kitchen: peeling potatoes, washing dishes, etc. Usually, in peacetime, mess duty is considered something to avoid and is often assigned as a punishment for mild infractions. In Vietnam, however, if a Marine got mess duty, he got out of the bush and into a place of safety, so the punishment became not allowing the Marine to get mess duty.

MIA Stands for missing in action

Mike Boat See “LCM”

Mike Mike Millimeter. As in M48’s have a 90 mike mike main gun.

Mike 26 The M-26 hand grenade

Montagnard From the French for generic “mountain dweller”. In this context, any person belonging to one of the many indigenous tribes that inhabited the western mountains and jungle of Vietnam.

                        MOS Military Occupational Specialty. (Infantry man 0311, Machine Gunner 0331, Tank Crewman 1811)

Motor-T Motor transportation. Support troops that operated and maintained trucks and other vehicles used primarily to move people and material on the ground. This vital function is often overlooked, much as football fans overlook linemen who seldom score, but without whose contribution no team can win. (See Annex “Rough Rider Convoy”).

Mustang Officer who came up from the enlisted ranks

NCO Non commissioned Officer

NCOIC Non-commissioned Officer-in-Charge

NVA North Vietnamese Army, the regular army of the Peoples Republic of Vietnam, a well-equipped, well armed, and well-trained regular fighting force, in contrast to the VC or Vietcong, which was a guerilla force.(Also PAVN)

On line A military formation. When not fighting, infantry units normally move in columns, one man behind the other. In the jungle, there is almost no other way to move and maintain any control. When men who are in a column have to engage an enemy in front of them, they would be able to use only the fire of the first two or three people, otherwise the others could get shot in the back. The solution is to“go on line”. This means that the column spreads out in a long line facing the enemy so that every rifle can be brought to bear on the enemy without risk of shooting a friend in the back. This maneuver was easier to think about than to accomplish while under fire, particularly in a jungle, where visual contact could be lost within twenty feet. Opposite when crossing open areas like rice paddies.

OP Stands for outpost. An OP served the same purpose as a listening post (LP) but was used in daylight. It was less frightening than an LP because one could see as well as hear and smell and the company usually had small units patrolling out beyond the OPs; these units afforded the OPs extra protection and warning time.

Opcon Verb formed from operational control. Often, Marines will simply switch units from one command to another if that best served a tactical situation. For example, if a company from one battalion found itself operating to support a company from a different battalion, the battalion commander of the first company would hand over operational control to the commander of the second battalion, thereby eliminating the useless and even possibly destructive delays and misunderstandings that could arise if the two battalion commanders had to coordinate with each other. The first battalion’s company would thus be “op- conned” to the second battalion.

From the Tankers and Ontos Crewmen knothole, while OPCON was theoretically as it was for the Infantry, in fact it was of much greater impact.

OQR The Officers SRB. Officers Qualification Record.

Patrol Mission assigned to a smaller unit. A patrol involved walking outside the sight and rifle range of the larger unit and would range anywhere from five to ten kilometers (about three to six miles) and last up to a full day, depending on the terrain. Patrols were used to locate the enemy and enemy supplies and to destroy them or fix them in place until reinforcements could arrive. Patrols also were used to screen the enemy from approaching the larger unit and give warning if an enemy approach was detected.

PAV People’s Army of Vietnam (North). Also “NVA”

Periscopes In the M48 tank, the driver had three (2”x6”), the gunner had one with an infinity sight for the co-ax (he also had a telescope sight and a periscope sight), the TC had a periscope sight for the .50 MG in the copula.

Platoon Three squads (of 12 Marines) form a platoon. During the Vietnam War a platoon was designated to be forty-three Marines, but in combat conditions the platoon was usually manned at levels in the low to mid-thirties. A platoon was supposed to have either a second lieutenant (one gold bar) or a first lieutenant (one silver bar) as its leader, a platoon sergeant (four stripes - 3 up, 1 down), a platoon guide (Sergeant w/three stripes), and the platoon leader’s radio operator. In Vietnam by the late 1960s, there was a shortage of staff NCOs, so three-stripe sergeants often became platoon sergeants. Platoon guides were often done away with, and a second radio operator was added (along with a second radio) to assist the platoon sergeant- who in mountain and jungle fighting often operated independently from the platoon commander. Both the platoon sergeant and the platoon commander led squad-size patrols.

Poag An overweight rear-area do-nothing. The term is derived from the time when the Marines were in China before World War II. They were issued candy (Baby Ruth, Tootsie Rolls, etc.) to supplement their rations. Sugar and other sweets were rare commodities in China, so the troops found candy useful for barter in towns. The Chinese word for prostitute sounded something like “pogey.” Thus, the candy became “pogey bait” and the expression eventually became Marine slang for junk food and candy bars in general. There is more than one story behind the word. In the sailing days when crews were males only, boy apprentices - Poges - were substitutes for female “company” and sweets – Pogey Bait - was used as compensation.

Point The first man in front of a column is said to be the point man or simple the point. The act of being the first in the column is called “walking point.” It is probably the most frightening and nerve-racking job, short of an actual assault, that an infantryman does-and some claim it’s worse than the actual assault.

Poncho liner Thin blanket of camouflaged nylon (5 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 10 inches) quilted to a polyester fill. It was tied, by attached strings, underneath a Marine’s rubberized-canvas poncho to provide warmth. It was most often used as blanket, the only source of warmth for most Marines in the field. Marines employed local tailors to fashion vests and jackets from the liner material.

POW Prisoner of War

PRC 25 Pronounced “prick twenty-five.” This was the AN/PRC 25 FM radio used by all Marine infantry units and often in tanks to better communicate with their supported Marines when operating in the field in Vietnam. It used early solid- state technology and weighed about twenty pounds, with its battery. It was carried like a backpack by the radio operator. It had 1.5 watts of power and could broadcast three to seven miles, depending on the terrain. Unfortunately, high hills blocked the signal, making it less effective in the mountains. Also, although the radio itself was waterproof, the handset was not. The handset looked like a black 1960s telephone handset attached by a long spiral cord. When the radio was turned to maximum volume, a person could hear easily with the handset a couple of feet from the ear. The handsets were often wrapped in plastic to protect them from the constant rain of monsoons. Radio operators were prime targets, easily spotted by the large FM antenna, which also identified the person closest to the radio as the unit leader. Tanks were equipped with a TI (tank/infantry) phone mounted on the rear fender of the tank that communicated between the ground infantry and the tank commander.

PX Postal Exchange, like a department or grocery store.

R & R Stands for rest and relaxation. Marines were given a five-day R & R once during their thirteen-month tour of duty in Vietnam. Because some places were more popular than others, the most desired places to go on R & R were allocated according to how much time a Marine had spent in-country. Sydney was a first choice among white Marines. Bangkok was a favored choice among black Marines. Hawaii was a favorite of married Marines. Some Marines waited until their twelfth month in order to get enough seniority to go where they wanted. Also called I & I (Intercourse and Intoxication).

Radio alphabet code Because letters can often be mistaken when transmitted orally, (“m” as “n”, “b” as “d”) the military uses the phonetic alphabet, the universal standard code designating each letter by a word. Alpha is “A”, Bravo is “B”, and so on through Zulu for “Z”. Because NVA intelligence units would intercept radio messages, Marines were leery of saying last names over the radio, so Jones would become “character Juliet,” Smith would become “character Sierra,” and so on.

Radio brevity code An unsophisticated, informal, and continually changing shortcut code used for concealing information from the enemy in speaking over a radio. For example, beer brands could be used to designate different categories of casualties: e.g., “Coors” killed in action, “Oley” for wounded in action. After a short time a new “system” might be established, such as cigarette brands: “Camels” would mean killed in action and “Luckies” would mean wounded in action. A few days later professional quarterbacks could be the general category, so “Namath” could mean killed in action; “Hornung”, wounded in action; and so on. Brevity code was applied to anything that was dangerous to transmit in the clear. For example, “cars” would be the brevity code to transmit locations. A specific car name would refer to a designated grid coordinate. “The person radioing in a position would say, “From Cadillac up two point four and right three point one. The listener would go to the designated “cars” grid coordinate for the day and calculate (in kilometers) from there to locate the transmitting party. Sending one’s location in the clear would invite artillery or rockets to that location.

Radio unit designators To confuse enemy intelligence when transmitting the names of units, a battalion-size unit would have a radio name that it changed frequently. For example, here the First Battalion of the Fourteenth Marines is designated “Big John.” Bravo Company of the First Battalion would thus be designated “Big John Bravo.” The First Platoon of Bravo Company would be called “Big John Bravo One.” At the company level, for convenience, the battalion designator would be dropped. The company would just be Bravo, and the First Platoon would be Bravo One. First Squad in the First Platoon would be Bravo One One, and so on. It should be noted that the enemy most likely was not fooled – at least not for long – by using made-up call signs. The official call signs were changed by higher authority on a routine basis. 2/4’s call sign was “sudden death”. When a new call sign was assigned, something like “pink rose”, LtCol P.X. Kelley refused to use the new one.

Ramp up To build a hole or ramp to elevate the tanks main gun to be used as artillery.

Range Card A drawing of the area covered by tank fire, showing targets, azimuth, range, elevation, terrain features and what we would to know to fire at night. Also used by most crew served weapons.

Recon by Fire To use the tanks machine guns to fire into suspected ambush areas. Hopefully to cause the enemy to think they have been seen.

Regiment Traditional core unit of the Marines, about 4,000 Marines. It consisted of three infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, and supporting staff and was usually commanded by a full colonel, often called a “bird colonel” because the rank was designated by a silver eagle. When someone is asked what unit a Marine served with, the answer will usually be in the form of the individual’s regiment, such as “Fourth Marines,“ “Ninth Marines,” or “One-Nine,” meaning First Battalion Ninth Marines. Regiment Command of a Marine regiment is a very prestigious position.

Request mast Every Marine has the right to request an interview with his commanding officer. The term “request mast” hasn’t changed since the days when Marines served on wooden sailing ships and the interview took place “before the mast.”

RLT Regimental Landing Team

ROE Rules of Engagement

Route 1 The main (only) road that connected the DMZ and northern provinces along the coast and through the port cities with the Saigon and the southern provinces.

Route 9 A mostly dirt or gravel two-lane east/west “highway” that connected the coastal plain around Dong Ha and Quang Tri on the coast to Vandergrift Combat Base, Khe Sanh (FSB), and Laos. During the Vietnam War it was the only easy way to cross the mountains and supply Marines operating in them with land- based transportation. It also ran through the only easy way to get from Laos into the populated coastal lowlands, and was the most direct way for the NVA to reach Quang Tri, particularly with armor, hence, it was of immense strategic value.

RPD Ruchnoi Pulemet Degtyarev, one of the lightest and most effective machine guns ever produced, was the standard machine gun used by the NVA and the Vietcong. It used the same 7.62-millimeter bullet as the AK-47 and the SKS.

RPG Stands for rocket-propelled grenade. This is a small rocket with an explosive head that is shoulder-fired by a single man. The RPG-2 was used early in the war. It was replaced by the RPG-7 that was lighter, more accurate, and more lethal using both anti-armor and anti-personnel ammunition. Because the weapon was so portable and could inflict such damage, the Marine Tankers and Ontos crewmen depended heavily on the supported infantry to keep the enemy at distance. Operation Starlite – “The First Battle”- was an eye-opener about the danger posed by an RPG-armed enemy and the necessity to understand the meaning of “Tank/Infantry Team”.

RVN Republic of Vietnam i.e., South Vietnam

RVNAF Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces

SAM Surface-to-Air Missile (See “LAAM)

            Sandbag or “To Sandbag” A plastic or cloth bag that is filled with sand or dirt. To goof off and not do what you are supposed to even when you say you are doing it. To avoid your duty.

            Sateen’s Utility uniform worn before the “Jungle” uniform. They were too hot for Vietnam, but that's what was worn until you could get a set of the Jungle uniform.

Scuttlebutt Gossip, rumor. A scuttlebutt is slang for a water fountain on a ship, i.e., a place where people congregate and exchange informal talk.

Semper Fi Short for Semper Fidelis, Latin for “Always Faithful”, the Marine Corps’ motto. It means always faithful to the country’s call, but for Marines it primarily means always faithful to each other.

Search & Destroy The traditional methods of "taking ground" was not used in Vietnam for several reasons so a “war of attrition” was implemented consisting of eliminating the enemy: "Search" for (and find) them, then "destroy" them. The number of enemy killed (i.e., “body count”) would be the measure of success of any operation and of the overall strategy of the war.

Search Light The M48 tank originally had an 18 inch searchlight (white light only), aligned with the main gun. Later a Xeon search light was added. The Xeon had four positions, White light, wide and narrow beam and infer-red wide and narrow beam.

Shit Fister Tank Mechanic.

Short-timer A standard tour of duty for a Marine in Vietnam was thirteen months. Around month eleven or twelve, most Marines began behaving differently in contrast to the previous months; they could entertain the hope that they were going to get through alive and unscathed, but this hope destroyed the earlier psychological numbness and fatalistic thinking of the combat infantryman that had made fear easier to deal with. Short-timers’ behavior took all sorts of forms, like wearing two flack jackets, refusing to come out of a fighting hole to urinate, or refusing to brush one’s teeth (on the assumption that brushing made one’s smile too bright). Some of these behaviors were consciously opera buffa, but others were a result of serious psychological disturbances.

Short-timers’ stick Though of various materials and configurations, a Wooden staff from three to five feet long and about two inches in diameter. It was marked in some way each day, elaborately or simply, depending on the skill and taste of the carver. A few contrarians would mark all the days at once and then lop off a mark for each day that passed, until the lucky ones carried just a stub. The sticks served as walking stick, canes, tent poles, and even weapons in a pinch. Some of the short-timer’s sticks were works of art.

Shotgun See “Canister”. Also a shotgun.

                        Short Track To shorten the track after mine damage. This was usually done after using C-4 to blow off damaged road wheel arms, shock absorbers and anything else in the way.

SHUFLY The designation for the Marine Aviation Task Unit in RVN until January 1965 when it was redesignated Marine Unit, Vietnam (MUV)

Sick bay This is where the battalion medical staff was available for nonemergency illnesses and injuries. The term also meant the activity of providing routine medical care, as in “Sick bay will be at 0830 hours every day.”

SitRep Situation Report

Six Radio code for the commanding officer of a unit the size of a company or larger

Skipper Casual term of affection and respect used by Marines to designate a company commander, no matter what his rank. Sometimes it is used for the leader of larger formations, such as a battalion or Marine Air Group or squadron. In the Navy, it refers to the commanding officer of a ship or boat, no matter what his rank, and has much the same connotation.

Skivvies The issued military issue boxer shorts or underwear.

SKS Standard-issue semiautomatic weapon used by the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong. It fired the same 7.62-millimeter bullet as the AK-47, but it did not fire automatically: the trigger had to be pulled for each shot. Being longer than the AK-47, it was much more accurate.

Sky Mount To mount a machine gun (usually the .50) on top of the TC's copula.

SLF Special Landing Force

Snuff or Snuffy A young Marine of low rank

Song Vietnamese word for river

SOP Standard operating procedure

Sponson Box Storage boxes/bins on the tanks fenders for tools and equipment for tank maintenance/repair.

                        SRB Service Record Book, the history of one's enlisted service.

Squad Unit deigned to consist of thirteen Marines: three four-man fire teams and a squad leader. Usually, however, it operated with about ten or eleven Marines. A squad was designed to be led by a sergeant (three stripes), a noncommissioned officer with at least four years of experience or more; in Vietnam, though, most squads were led by corporals (two stripes) or even lance corporals (one stripe), most of whom were teenagers.

Squid Slang for Navy personnel. The Navy provides all the medical services for the Marine Corps. (The Army, by contrast, has its own medical services; the Army equivalent of a Corpsman is called a Medic.) Corpsmen wore Marine uniforms and trained for service with the Marine Corps in special schools run by the Navy at Marine Corps facilities called field medical services schools (“Field Med” for short). The table of organization called for two Corpsmen for each infantry platoon, but there was often only one. Routinely, Tanks and Ontos elements attached to or in direct support of infantry units depended upon that unit to provide them Corpsmen.

Super Elevation The difference between the line of sight and the trajectory of the round to hit the target.

Super-grunts Reconnaissance Marine. Reconnaissance personnel were all volunteers who operated far from friendly units in very small groups. Only highly recommended and experienced Marine infantry personnel were selected from the rifle companies; hence the half-derogatory, half-admiring nickname “super- grunts.” Marines still in rifle companies had mixed feeling about reconnaissance teams. On the one hand, these teams were admired because they were brave, were frequently sent on dangerous missions, and had already proved themselves as ordinary grunts. On the other hand, they lived in relative comfort near the rear when they weren’t out in the bush, and if they got into trouble they sometimes had to be bailed out by a rescue operation, which usually involved a firefight. There were two levels of reconnaissance: Division and Force. Force Reconnaissance personnel received more extensive training than Division Reconnaissance personnel; for example Force Recon were all highly trained scuba divers and parachutists. Force Recon is generally considered to be the crème de la crème of the Marine Corps, equivalent to (although the Marines would say better than) The Navy’s SEAL’s.

Tank Slot Either hand dug or bull dozed slot in the ground where a tank can park without the hull showing.

TAOR Tactical area of responsibility. A geographic area assigned to any unit for which that unit has sole operating authority and responsibility.

TBS See Basic School

                        TC The Tank Commander.

Three The officer in charge of the staff tasked with planning operations – the S-3 Shop. He is called “The Three.” In some organizations and at various times and situations an S-(“G”, “N”, “J”) 5 “Plans” is established. In these cases, at those levels, “The Five” is responsible for planning operations and “The Three” is responsible for implementing the plans. In Tank and Antitank Battalions where most of the assets were under the OpCon and in support of infantry units, the 3 had neither control nor, often, knowledge of tanks and Ontos action – depending on the supported unit to report to their respective parent unit. While this activity was often abbreviated what was not ignored was the logistics needs of the equipment – most of which was unique to the tanks and Ontos and was met by the activity of the S-4 (Logistics) or the Four Shop.

T. I. Phone The Tank –Infantry phone mounted on the right rear tank fender.

Tet Vietnamese Holiday, kind of like New Years, July 4^th, Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one.

                        Top Off To fill the fuel tank.

                        Torsion Bar What usually breaks when a tank hits a mine. Normally it has rusted in place and has to be blown out with C-4.

                        Track Block A single block of tank track.

                        Track A lot of track blocks held together with center guides and end connectors. This is what the tank rides on.

The Trace A plowed track about six hundred yards wide just below the DMZ. Also called the “McNamara Line”,

Tubing When an armed mortar shell is dropped into the mortar tube, an explosion propels it from the tube toward its target. The sound of this explosion is very distinct “thunk” and is called tubing. Usually, if one hears tubing, because the sound of tubing arrives much faster than the high-arching trajectory of mortar round itself, there are several seconds before the round hits.

Twelve and twenty A Marine’s tour in Vietnam was thirteen months, as opposed to the Army’s standard tour of twelve months. The thirteenth month was added because initially Marine’s were transported to Vietnam and back by sea, and the two voyages took roughly a month. Even though the Marine Corps later adopted the Army’s practice of moving personnel by air, the tour of duty remained unchanged. However, there was an unwritten policy that no Marine would spend his last ten days in Vietnam out on an operation. Marines would often get so nervous and spooked, worried that they would die just before they were to be sent home, that many stopped functioning. This unwritten policy of getting out of the bush on one’s “twelve and twenty” was generally adhered to.

USMACV U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

Utes or utilities Camouflaged trousers and jackets used by Marines in the jungle. Also called jungle utilities, cammies, and jungle utes. Marines referred to their working non-dress uniforms as utilities, the Army referred to them as fatigues.

VC Vietcong, the guerrilla army based in South Vietnam and supplied by the North Vietnamese. The Vietcong were the “peasants in black pajamas” of folklore, but this force ranged in quality from “peasants ill-trained and ill-equipped” to well- equipped cadres virtually indistinguishable from a traditional regular NVA army. Early in the war the Vietcong had nationalist as well as communist elements, having grown out of the Vietminh movement that opposed French colonial rule. The Vietcong were purposefully virtually eliminated as a fighting force by the North Vietnamese during the Tet Offensive of 1968. They were deliberately thrown into battle, inadequately equipped or inadequately trained to withstand American firepower, while the regular NVA units, better equipped and better trained, were held back. This was done because the North Vietnamese government feared that the Vietcong would form an opposition to its eventual rule.

VCC Viet Cong Confirmed (dead)

VCS Viet Cong Suspect (captured)

Vision Blocks Another modification to the M48 tank was the addition of a ring of vision blocks added between the turret and the copula. It had nine vision blocks of layered glass and raised the height of the tank by about a foot.

Wake-up It was extremely important, psychologically, to know exactly how many days a man had left until his tour of duty was over and he could leave Vietnam. However, there was an ambiguity. Do you call the day you board the plane for home your last day in Vietnam or your first day out of Vietnam? This was resolved by calling that day a “wake-up.” It didn’t count as in or as out, and this was the most accurate way of expressing how much time was left until the date of departure. (That date was called the RTD, “rotation of tour date,” by the Marines, and DEROS, “date eligible for return from overseas,” by the Army.) It is the day you wake-up in Vietnam, but the day you go to sleep somewhere else, e.g., “ten days and a wake-up”.

Walk on To work or walk on a thrown track using a track block.

WIA Stands for wounded in action

Willie Peter 90mm White Phosphorus round or hand grenade.

White Light The White Light of the Xenon Search Light.

XO Stands for executive officer

Zippo M67A2 Flame Tank.

Zeon The Xenon Searchlight.