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Project Jenny KLIK - 1st Inf Di v Women in Vietnam RELATED-- To AFVN To Saigon To Vietnam Further Afield Index
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B-40 - A shoulder fired Chinese rocket propelled grenade (RPG).
B-52 - Largest US Air Force bomber used in Vietnam. Nicknamed “BUFF” – big ugly friendly fellow/big ugly
fat f***er. Capable of carrying one-hundred-eight 500 lb bombs; 84 internally and 24
externally. It originally joined the Air Force inventory in the 1950’s replacing the B-36.
B-57 - A bomber user in the early years of US involvement in Vietnam. Originally named the Canberra,
it was primarily designed for night attacks.
Bac Si - Vietnamese term for a medical corpsman; doctor.
Badlands - The - US Marine nickname for the An Hoa Valley.
Baez, Joan - Folk singer strongly opposed to war. She later recanted her position after she saw what happened when
we left Vietnam and has become a supporter of veterans. She (December 72) and Jane Fonda (August 72)
went to North Vietnam. Although Ms. Baez did not believe in the Vietnam War, she refused to cooperate
with the North Vietnamese. "Hanoi Jane" made a radio broadcast, as well as the infamous photo of
posing with North Vietnamese forces on an anti-aircraft weapon.
Bamboo Viper – A small, deadly snake - nicknamed by GI’s as the two-step snake.
Banana Clip – A banana-shaped ammunition magazine – originally manufactured as an optional magazine for the M-1/M1A1
carbine and later as an option for the M-16 rifle. It was standard issue on the Soviet AK-47 asault rifle.
BAR - Browning Automatic Rifle - .30 cal automatic weapon.
Bars, John Wayne - Nickname for the chocolate bars in the C-rations pack.
Base Camp – Semi-permanent field headquarters and center for a given unit – usually within that unit’s tactical areas
responsibility. A unit may operate in or away from its base camp. Base camps usually contained
all or part of a given unit’s support elements and materials.
Battalion – Organizational institution in the Army and Marine Corps. Commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel (O-5), an
infantry battalion usually has around 900 people, and an artillery battalion about 500 people.
During the Vietnam War, American battalions were using much smaller and there was a very high
turnover of personnel.
BB - Battleship
BDA - Bomb Damage Assessment.
Beaucoup - French, meaning, a lot, or very many.
Beaver - US Army U-6A, air utility transport.
Beehive Round - An artillery shell used as a last resort for the artillery when they were about to be overrun. The round
was composed of "fleshettes," small arrow projectiles. Sort of a super shotgun shell. Its main
function was as a ground base defense munition against ground attack.
Bennies - Warm beer and mail from the world.
BIC – A Vietnamese word meaning “understand.” Used by US personnel as slang – “Do you understand?”
Berm - An earthen embankment (normally around a perimeter).
Bien Hoa – A major US air base in III Corps, formerly a French airfield.
Bipod – A two-legged support stand placed on the front of many weapons; BAR, M-14, etc.
Bird - Any aircraft, a plane or helicopter.
Bird Dog - O-1 reconnaissance plane, used by Forward Air Controllers (FAC).
Black Boxes - Sensors dropped from helicopters during the Vietnam War to detect enemy movement.
Black Bird - Nickname of the SR-71 reconnaissance plane. Also known as the "SLED."
Black Spot – A C-123 cargo plane that was converted as a strike aircraft. It had infrared red and laser capability, advanced
navigation equipment, and assorted weapons dispensers.
Black Panthers - A radical African-American group of the sixties. The Black Panthers were also the 9th Div., 2/47th
Mechanized Bn. The patch had a black panther coming out of a jungle, fangs bared. It was the logo
the logo above the Bear Cat EM club. The Black Panthers of the 9th Division in no way were related
related to the radical group.
Black Power - An African-American theme to gain equality in the sixties.
Blackhorse - The name of the code used for sending numbers on the radio (ten digits (zero through nine)).
Blasting Cap - A device used to detonate explosive materials.
Bloused - Pants tucked into boots.
Blown-Away - To be killed, or get really high on drugs.
Blue-Eyed Soul Brother - A white man who related well with blacks (African Americans).
Blue leg – Infantryman, “grunt.”
Blue-Max - Slang term for the Medal of Honor.
Blues - A slang term for quick response reinforcements, normally called for by another field unit (Reaction Force).
Bn - Battalion.
Body Bag - A black plastic bag used to transport dead personnel.
BOHICA – Slang expression used by GI’s – “Bend Over, Here It Comes Again.”
Bombs - A day's worth of bombs and shells cost US taxpayers $1,000,000. Eight million tons of bombs were dropped
during the Vietnam War. Three times as many bombs were dropped during the Vietnam War as
were dropped during WWII.
Boom Boom – A slang expression signifying sexual relations.
Boonie rat - An infantryman.
Boonies or Bush - Informal term for the field or jungle.
Booby Trap - An explosive device used to wound or kill personnel. It is estimated that booby traps accounted for
25%-30% of injuries to U.S. military personnel in Vietnam.
Boot - Someone fresh out of Boot Camp.
BOQ - Bachelor Officers' Quarters.
Boston Five - Dr. Benjamin Spock was known as one of these people who were anti-war.
Bouncing Betty - (DH-10) A conical three pronged mine. The bouncing betty mine would jump about three feet in the air
when triggered, and explode at waist level.
Bowl - A pipe for smoking marijuana, or other drugs.
Bring Smoke – To direct intense fire on an enemy position.
Break Squelch – Used by radio operators when silence was required. The response when the push-to-talk button was
was depressed was a “click-hiss” signal.
Bro - Short for Brother.
Bronco – An OV-10 aircraft. Also a Ford-built small utility vehicle. The AFVN OIC used one in 1970-71.
Bronze - A metal used extensively in South East Asia (commonly for flatware, dishes, and statuary); harder than brass.
(from which its made). Also, a slang term for a Buddhist monk. [From "Bonzu," the Japanese word for
a Buddhist pries.]
Brown Power - A Mexican-American theme to gain equality in the sixties.
Buddhist - The religion of the majority of the Vietnamese people.
BUFF - Nickname of a B-52 bomber - Big Ugly Friendly Fellow/Big Ugly Fat F***er.
Buffalo, Water - The big, horned creature often used on a farm in South Vietnam.
Bush or Boonies - Informal term for the field or jungle.
Bush Masters – A group highly skilled in jungle operations.
Butter bar - A Second Lieutenant – insignia of rank a single gold bar.
Buy (bought) the farm - To die, or death.
BX - Base Exchange.
An "Unofficial" Vietnam
Dictionary
Written by Paul Kasper
Edited by Bob Nelson
Dedicated to all Vietnam Veterans--"Especially those who didn't come home."