AK-47: Soviet design assault rifle used by NVA and PLAF troops. 

Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN): South Vietnamese army that fought alongside American soldiers. According to US historians it is estimated that 171,000 to 313,000 ARVN soldiers were killed during the war. It is hard to accurately determine the amount of combat deaths due to the unreliability of casualty assessments by both sides. As of 2017, the Vietnamese Government’s estimates of military personnel dead and still missing due to the war from 1960 – 1975 is 1,081,000. 

AWOL: Absent Without Leave. Short AWOLs might result in a minor penalty, like verbal reprimand or extra duty. Longer absences can lead to more serious consequences, such as court-martial or prison sentence. 

Article 15: Non-judicial punishment for minor disciplinary infractions without going through regular criminal court process. It can result in extra duty, confinement to quarters, or a reduction in rank and pay.

B-52 Bomber: B-52s were originally designed to deliver nuclear bombs. During the Vietnam War they were modified to drop conventional high explosive bombs. Each plane carried a payload of 30 tons of bombs. According to The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF), from June 1965 to August 1973 B-52s flew 126,615 combat sorties (missions) with seventeen B-52s shot down. B-52s conducted bombing campaigns in the jungles of South Vietnam to destroy NLF bases. From 1965 to 1968, and in 1972, B-52s relentlessly bombed cities and towns in North Vietnam.

Bloods: Term used by Black soldiers to refer to themselves, because they considered themselves family in the face of bigotry and danger. 

Brass: Slang referring to high-ranking officers in the military.

Brig: Navy or Marine prison.

CID: Criminal Investigation Division. The law enforcement and investigative agency for the U.S. Army.

C-130: Transport and air cargo military plane.

Claymore: Anti-personnel mine carried by infantry soldiers.

CO: Commanding officer; or conscientious objector or objection.

Court-martial: Military trial.

C-rations: Canned food carried by American GIs during combat operations.

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ): The 17th Parallel at Bến Hải River where Vietnam was divided into North and South by the Geneva Accords. 

Fragging: Murder or attempted murder of U.S. military officers by U.S. troops; derived from fragmentation grenade, a grenade often used in the assaults on officers.

Geneva Accords: After the Việt Minh defeated the French forces at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ in 1954, an international convention was held in Geneva, Switzerland to determine the future of Indochina. Many of the participating countries pledged to guarantee the agreements, but the United States made it clear that it was not bound by them. The accords divided Vietnam into North and South, imposed a cease-fire, and called for free elections (held under the committee’s supervision) before July 1956 to reunify the country. However, when it appeared that Hồ Chí Minh had a majority of support in both the North and South, the U.S. and South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm scuttled the elections.

GI: Government issue.

Hooch or Hootch: Slang used by GIs to describe their living quarters on bases in Vietnam, or to refer to Vietnamese villagers’ homes, such as thatched roof dwellings.

In-country: Term used by GIs to refer to being in Vietnam.

KIA: Killed in action.

Law 10/59: Law instituted in May of 1959 by the Diệm regime to crackdown on the opposition. Even though the Geneva Accords prohibited retaliation, Law 10/59 was used to arrest former Việt Minh fighters and sympathizers. Under Law 10/59 “anyone who committed or tried to commit the crime of sabotage or made an attempt against the security of the State” could be arrested, tried by a military tribunal, and executed within three days, with no possibility of appeal.

M14, M16: Two rifles used by the U.S. The M14 was adopted by the U.S. military in 1957. It was replaced for combat in 1967 by the M16 in 1967 because it was lighter, could hold more ammunition, and could spread firepower over a wider area faster.

MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam): Overall command of the United States Department of Defense, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and their respective special operations forces. 

Medevac: Medical evacuation by helicopter.

MI: Military Intelligence.

MIA: Missing in Action

MP: Military Police.

Mỹ Lại: Refers to the Mỹ Lại Massacre, a U.S. war crime. In March 1968, a U.S. infantry unit mass murdered between 347-504 South Vietnamese unarmed civilians in the village of Mỹ Lại. News of the massacre, the largest in the 20th century perpetrated by U.S. Soldiers, was made public in 1969 due to the efforts of veteran Ronald Ridenhour and journalist Seymour Hersh.

National Liberation Force (NLF): The NLF was formed in 1960 as an umbrella organization that included Communists and nationalists united to oppose Ngô Đình Diệm. 

NCO: Non-commissioned officer; an enlisted leader, typically a corporal or sergeant, who is appointed to a position of authority within a unit but does not hold a commission. NCOs are often experienced soldiers who have risen through the ranks and play a key role in the daily military operations. 

Ngô Đình Diệm: Diệm returned from exile in 1954 to become prime minister under the Emperor Báo Đài. The following year, Diệm assumed the presidency after ousting Báo Đài. Diệm, a virulent anti-communist, was a Catholic in a predominantly Buddhist country. He suppressed the insurgency against him by rounding up suspected Việt Minh and their sympathizers and subjecting them to arrest, torture and death. In 1963, Diệm’s brother Ngô Đình Nhu, head of Vietnamese Special Forces, launched an attack on Buddhist dissidents. In November 1963, a coup — tacitly supported by the United States — overthrew the Diệm regime. Diệm and Nhu were killed.

NVA (North Vietnamese Army): American term for the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

People’s Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF): Military force of the National Liberation Front.

Phoenix Program: Covert CIA campaign designed to wipe out the NLF’s rural structure, resulting in the imprisonment, torture, and murder of over 26,000 Vietnamese. 

Platoon: United of approximately 45 soldiers assigned to a company (3-4 platoons per company). In Vietnam, the average platoon size was 25-30 soldiers. 

PSYOP: Psychological Operation; military propaganda unit.

Recon: Abbreviation for “reconnaissance” a small scout patrol to search for enemy activity.

ROTC: Reserve Officers’ Training Corps; a program that trains university students to become commissioned officers in the U.S. military.

RTO: Radio telephone operator (“radioman”).

SDS: Students for a Democratic Society. American student organization that was active against the Vietnam War.

Skying Up: GI slang for flying back to the US.

South Vietnam (officially known as the Republic of Vietnam, also referred to as the Sài Gòn Government or Southern regime): The name given to the American-backed South Vietnamese government, as created in 1954 by the Geneva Accords. Many people in Vietnam today refer to South Vietnam as the puppet government.

Stockade: Army prison.

Tết: Vietnamese lunar New Year, the biggest holiday of the year in Vietnam. 

Tết Offensive (known as Tấn Công Tết in Vietnamese): A major military offensive launched by North Vietnamese Army troops and People’s Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) in early 1968, which U.S. intelligence failed to predict. U.S. and ARVN troops quickly regained control of the areas taken by NVA and PLAF troops. However, the strength of enemy forces shocked the American public which had been told the war would soon be won. The Tết Offensive was a turning point in swinging U.S. public opinion against the war. 

[Đường] Trường Sơn (Trường Sơn Trail; also known as the Hồ Chí Minh Trail): A series of roads and paths running through the Trường Sơn Mountains that made up the main north to south supply route. Some 300,000 men and women worked full-time to build the trail and repair it from constant bombings. More than 10,000 people are known to have died building and maintaining the trail.

UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice): A set of laws that govern the U.S. military justice system for all branches of the military.

VA: Veterans Administration. Federal agency responsible for administering veterans’ benefits.

Veterans for Peace (VFP): Organization of military veterans of all wars dedicated to the furtherment of peace.

Việt Cộng (VC): A derogatory term meaning “Vietnamese Communist,” coined by Ngô Đình Diệm and used by Americans to refer to anyone associated with the southern resistance movement. It is the only term most Americans know for their former enemies, and therefore, many Vietnamese today use the term when speaking to American visitors. 

Việt Minh: Nickname of the League for the Independence of Vietnam, the resistance force led by Hồ Chí Minh that fought against the Japanese and French.

VVAW: Vietnam Veterans Against the War. The VVAW is widely considered to be among the most influential anti-war organizations of the American Vietnam War era

The World: Term used by GIs to refer to the United States or to home.