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Project Jenny KLIK - 1st Inf Di v Women in Vietnam RELATED-- To AFVN To Saigon To Vietnam Further Afield Index
-- W --
WAC - Woman's Army Corp. Female US Army personnel not in the medical branches.
War of Deception - The name used by many in the media (and young people) for the war in Vietnam.
Wart Hog – The A-10 “tank killer” US plane that mounted a cannon in its nose. It was so named by US personnel due its
appearance and was primarily designed to serve in the European/NATO theater of operations.
Waste - Kill
Watcher – Enemy soldiers, as in, the enemy was “watching.”
Watts - A section of Los Angeles that erupted in race riots in August 1965.
Weathermen - The name of a radical (and often violent) group in the sixties.
Weapons - Estimated Number of Personal Arms Left Behind, 1975
Web Gear – The canvas belt, shoulder straps, back pack, etc. used primarily by infantry soldiers during field operations.
All of their ammunition, water, first aid kits, and personal gear is carried using this equipment.
Also called “LBE” – load bearing equipment.
Weed - Marijuana
WESPAC – The US Navy and Coast Guard “Western Pacific” areas of operation which included the Asian Pacific areas.
Westmoreland, William H. - The US Commander of military forces in Vietnam until August 1968.
WHEC - USCG High-Endurance Cutter Craft
White Bird - A LOH (OH-6 helicopter)
White Mice - South Vietnamese Police, who served primarily in Saigon and wore white uniforms – uniform, helmets/hats,
and gloves.
White Whale - The nickname of the C-123 airplane used by General Westmoreland.
Whitewalls - A military haircut – sides cut to the scalp leaving only a small amount of hair on the top.
WIA - Wounded In Action
Wild Weasel - F-105F jet . Specifically one equipped for ECM.
Willie Peter, Willie Pete, Willie Papa, WP - A white phosphorus grenade, bomb, or artillery round. The phosphorus would burst
into flames when exposed to oxygen – it would keep burning until either the chemical burned away or
the oxygen supply was stopped.
Wise Men - US Government officials Dean Acheson, McGeorge Bundy, and Generals Ridgeway and Taylor.
Withdrawal - All US troops were to be withdrawn from Vietnam by August 1972.
WOC – Warrant Officer Candidates. Most of the WOC’s during the Vietnam era were being trained as helicopter pilots
at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Women - 11,000 U.S. women served in Vietnam during the war years.
1st Lt. Hegwig (Heddy) Orlowski, a nurse, was killed in Vietnam, Nov. 30, 1967, along with two others
with the same military occupation (nurse) on board a helicopter. Heddy was from Michigan.
36 U.S. Marine women served in Vietnam from 1965 through 1973. The least of all military branches.
The combat occupation of pilot was prohibited to US military women during the Vietnam War.
Eight (8) women (US Veterans) appear on the Vietnam Memorial, the Wall, in Washington D.C.
No women deserted from service in Vietnam.
The average age of the US military female in Vietnam was 23.
The rank of the US (military) women killed in Vietnam was officer.
The US Air Force had the most women serve in Vietnam.
US Army nurses were assigned to the 44th Medical Brigade in Vietnam.
US military female classifications were nurses, or administrative.
Woodstock - A music festival held during the summer of 1969 at a farm near this city in New York State.
World, The - The United States, home, or anywhere other than Vietnam. The term was later frowned upon by top US leaders
as being derogatory to Vietnam.
WPB - 82-foot USCG Patrol Craft
An "Unofficial" Vietnam
Dictionary
Written by Paul Kasper
Edited by Bob Nelson
Dedicated to all Vietnam Veterans--"Especially those who didn't come home."