Glossary
AK-47 A fully automatic 7.62x39 Russian-made assault rifle with thirty-round magazines.
APC An armored troop carrier with tracks and a .50-caliber machine gun.
ARVN The South Vietnamese Army or a soldier in that army.
BAR An automatic .30-06 rifle used by the USA in WWII and the Korean War.
battalion (B) A unit that contains three or four rifle companies and Headquarters Company.
Brigade A unit that contains three battalions.
caliber Size of a bullet fired by a weapon, such as a 7.62 mm is a .308 caliber.
Cavalry A cavalry unit with tanks and armored personnel carriers.
CIB Combat Infantry Badge. Awarded to an infantry soldier that has been in combat.
I Corps The northern quarter of South Vietnam. US Marines fought here.
II Corps An area that included the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The Fourth Division, 173 rd Airborne Brigade and 101 st Airborne Division were here.
III Corps An area that included Saigon and northwest to the Cambodian border. The First Infantry Division and the Twenty-Fifth Infantry Division were here.
IV Corps An area known as the Mekong Delta. The US Ninth Division was stationed there.
Chinook helicopter A huge helicopter capable of carrying a platoon of troops.
Cloverleaf A two-man patrol that moves a short distance from the main body.
Cobra helicopter A high-tech gunship.
COL A Colonel O-6 who commands a brigade of three thousand to four thousand soldiers.
combat patch The patch of the unit a soldier served with in combat worn on right shoulder.
Company An infantry company should have about 180 men, usually had about 120.
Corporal An E-4 like a specialist 4 except a corporal is an NCO and has command authority. During the Vietnam War, infantry soldiers were not promoted to this rank. There were two corporals in Bravo Company when I arrived in 1966, but they were demoted sergeants.
C rations Meals in cans that the soldiers carried with them in the field.
DI Drill Instructor who trains new troops.
dusted off When a wounded soldier is taken out of the combat area by helicopter for medical attention.
green tracers Enemy bullets with green paint on the tips.
Gooks North Vietnamese Army soldier or Viet Cong soldiers.
105 howitzer A large American artillery cannon with a barrel diameter of more than four inches.
155 howitzer A very large American artillery cannon, self-propelled or towed by truck. Has a barrel diameter of more than six inches.
75 mm howitzer An artillery cannon used by NVA and VC forces, usually on wheelswith a barrel diameter of three inches.
Huey helicopter Troop carrying helicopter that was introduced in the early 1960s.
Infantry Ground troops.
infantry regiment Old unit description used in the 40s and 50s which includes around two thousand men.
LT (a first or second lieutenant) A platoon leader or Company Executive Officer.
LTC A Lieutenant Colonel. The Commanding Officer of a battalion of five hundred to seven hundred men.
LZ Landing zone, an opening in the jungle where we land helicopters.
hot LZ Area where troops on helicopters are brought in with the enemy shooting at them in a barrage of gunfire.
M-1 An eight-shot semiautomatic .30.06 rifle used by USA in WWII and Korean War.
M-14 Fully automatic, twenty-shot, 7.62 rifle used by the USA early in Vietnam.
M-16 Fully automatic, twenty-shot, 5.56 rifle used by USA, prone to jamming early in the war.
M-60 A belt-fed 7.62 machine gun, weighs twenty-three pounds when empty.
M-72 A short light rocket launcher that is thrown away after firing.
M-79 A single-shot, break-down grenade launcher.
M-1 carbine A small light caliber US rifle used in WWII and Korea, used by the Viet Cong early in the Vietnam War.
60 mm mortar A small weapon that can be carried.
82 mm mortar An enemy medium-sized mortar.
81 mm mortar A US medium-sized mortar.
4.2 mortar A very large US mortar.
NCO A noncommissioned officer or different levels of sergeant.
NVA North Vietnamese Army.
place guard A unit that guards a perimeter while other units are on patrol.
Platoon An infantry unit that should be forty-three men but was seldom over thirty.
Pathfinders A special unit that sends two-man patrols deep in enemy areas.
PX Post Exchange.
Quarter Cavalry The First Squadron of the Fourth Cavalry Regiment in the First Division.
Regiment A unit containing three battalions, could be over two thousand men.
red tracers USA bullets with red paint on the tips.
RPD-56 An enemy machine gun that fires same round as the AK-47.
RPG-7 An enemy shoulder-fired rocket launcher.
saddle up Infantry troops putting on web gear getting ready to move out.
SFC-E7 Sergeant First Class E-7 who is usually a platoon sergeant.
SGT A sergeant E-5, supposed to be in charge of a five-man team but usually leads a squad.
SKS A Russian-made light ten-shot semiautomatic rifle, fires same round as an AK-47.
SPC4 Rank between private first class and sergeant.
SPC5 Same pay grade as a sergeant E-5 but is not an NCO.
SSG Staff Sergeant E-6, should be a squad leader.
Stevedores Soldiers who unload ships.
sticks of men Number of soldiers set to ride on a helicopter.
sticks of helicopters Number of helicopters set to land at the same time.
Squad An infantry rifle squad is supposed to be ten men, but it seldom is.
Tanks USA used M-48 tanks in Vietnam, armed with a cannon and two machine guns.
VC Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communist).
white mice Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military Police. They wear white caps.