Glossary
Agent Orange
the most common defoliant/herbicide used in Vietnam to clear away jungle
cover in which the Vietcong moved and fought. So called because its drums
were marked with orange bands. It is widely believed to have been
responsible for birth defects among Vietnamese and children of US veterans
(also defoliation).
Bomblet
also known as a "bombi"; this was a large piece of ordinance that exploded
into hundreds of smaller bombs which caused devastation and injury over
an area of approximately one square kilometre.
Containment
the foreign policy of the US stated by President Truman after the Second
World War which aimed to stop the spread of communism throughout the
world and became one of the foundations of the Cold War.
Forward Defence
the Australian defence policy in the Asia-Pacific area which stated that it
was necessary to fight an enemy [communists] overseas before Australia
was threatened.
Fragging
the deliberate killing or wounding of US officers by their men. The
expression comes from the means that was often used: a fragmentation
grenade.
Free Fire Zones
designated areas when American soldiers were free to fire at anything that
moved.
Geneva Accords
the agreements signed in Geneva which gave Cambodia and Laos their
independence and divided Vietnam at the 17th Parallel; never ratified by the
US.
Grunt
American infantry soldier.
Coup d'état
often abbreviated to "coup"; usually an armed rebellion against a
government.
Hawks
Domino Theory
US foreign policy in Asia, proclaimed by President Eisenhower and an
offshoot of the Containment Policy. It aimed to stop the spread of
communism from the Peoples Republic of China. The division of Vietnam
at the 17th Parallel was the line drawn in the sand.
Ho Chi Minh Trail
more correctly a transport system used by the North Vietnamese to supply
the Vietcong and later regular troops of the North as they infiltrated and
attacked the South. It ran through Laos and Cambodia and was the target of
frequent US bombing.
Doves
Huey
opponents of the war in the government and administration of the US.
First Indochina War
the war fought between the French and Vietminh after the Second World
War and which ended at the Geneva Conference in 1954.
the opposite to "Doves", i.e. US supporters of the war.
American UH-1 helicopter.
Indochina
The term used for the region governed/administrated by France from the
1860s to 1954, inluding: Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Kent State Massacre
Four students shot dead by the U.S. National Guard at a student protest at
the Kent State University 1972.
Khe Sanh
a US base in South Vietnam attacked a few days before the Tet Offensive as
a diversionary attack.
Khmer Rouge
the name given by Sihanouk to the Cambodian Communists.
Strategic Hamlet Program
the policy of the Americans and supported by the RVN by which
Vietnamese peasants were removed from their traditional villages and farms
and forced to live in "protected" villages that were supposed to be safe from
Vietcong infiltration; most commonly used in the Mekong delta. Needless
to say, it was a dismal failure.
My Lai
Tet
the village in South Vietnam which became famous for the massacre of the
people by US troops under the command of Lt William S. Calley.
Napalm
jellied petrol, a mixture of gasoline and other chemicals which burst into
flame upon exposure to air. It was especially nasty for people as it stuck to
the skin while it burned.
National Service
conscription into the armed services; called "the draft" in America.
Pacification
the policy which attempted to eliminate Vietcong influence in villages in
South Vietnam to try and win the peasants over to the side of the Republic.
It failed.
Peace with Honour
the policy proclaimed by President Nixon as the context in which the US
and North Vietnamese sought to end the war.
Re-education Camps
after the communist victories in Vietnam and Laos, thousands of people
who were thought to have supported the former government were sent to
these camps in remote areas to be instructed in Marxist theory and recant
their former ways.
Search and Destroy
the main tactic used by American and Australian forces in Vietnam which
sought to find Vietcong in villages and then set the village on fire.
Second Indochina War
The main war studied in the HSC course, also known as the Vietnam War
or the War of American Aggression, depending on one’s perspective.
the Vietnamese Lunar New Year between late January and mid-February.
The Tet festivities in 1968 were marked by a massive communist offensive
against the RVN and Americans, which was a turning point in the war as a
military defeat but a propaganda victory for the communists.
Tonkin Resolution
(1964) also known as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution by which the Congress
gave President Johnson extraordinarily wide powers to increase US
involvement in the war. It was declared following an alleged attack on the
US battleship Maddox by North Vietnamese gunboats in the gulf of the
same name. Some historians have seen this as a de facto declaration of war
against North Vietnam.
Vietcong
the common name given to the National Liberation Front (NLF), the
guerrilla army that waged much of the war in South Vietnam. Most of its
members were from the South, but its strings were pulled from Hanoi. Also
known as "Charlie" from "Victor Charlie".
Vietminh
the umbrella nationalist movement founded by Ho Chi Minh in 1940 with
the aim of founding a united and independent Vietnam.
Vietnamisation
the policy followed by the US towards the end of the war by which the US
would withdraw its troops and hand over more of the fighting to the ARVN.
Watergate
the political scandal which forced President Nixon to resign in 1974 before
he was likely to be impeached.