P: Slang for the Vietnamese piaster. One piaster was worth one cent or less. Same as Dong. Terms were interchangeable.
P-38: A tiny collapsible can opener which came in C-Rations, also known as a "John Wayne"
PAPA: Military phonetic for the letter 'P'
PAPA SIERRA: Slang for platoon sergeant
PAPA-SAN: Slang for a mature or elderly Vietnamese man
PATHET LAO: The Laotian Communists who, from their inception have been under the control of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
PAVN (Pavin): People's Army of Vietnam; also known as the NVA.
PBR: Short for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the only beer a PBR sailor would drink; warm (always) -- tastes terrible, cold (never happened in Nam) -- tasted terrible.
PBR: Short for PATROL BOAT RIVER. A high-speed, fiberglass craft; about 31' beam of 11' 7" and weighing 15,500 without the crew; manned by a four-man crew and mounting armament sufficient to perform all normal river, canal, and tideway patrol activities. Powered by 2 diesel engines with waterjet pump drives. Also referred to as PROUD BRAVE RELIABLE.
PEANUTS: Wounded in action.
PERIMETER: Outer limits of a military position. The area beyond the perimeter belongs to the enemy.
PETER PILOT: Co-pilot, the less-experienced pilot in a Huey.
PF: Popular Forces. South Vietnamese National Guard-type local military units
PFC: Private First Class.
PH: Purple Heart
PHOENIX: Intelligence-based campaign to eliminate the Viet Cong infrastructure
PIO: Public information officer, or a person who works for that office piss-tube: a vertical tube buried two-thirds in the ground
PISS-TUBE: A vertical tube buried two-thirds in the ground for urinating into.
PLATOON: Approximately 45 men belonging to a company. Commanded by a lieutenant, a platoon is an organizational unit composed of two or more squads. A sergeant is usually second in command.
POGUE: Derogatory term for military personnel employed in rear echelon support capacities.
POINT MAN: Lead soldier in a unit cutting a path through dense vegetation if needed and constantly exposed to the danger of tripping booby traps or being the first in contact with the enemy. Use in terms such as "on point", "take the point", etc.
PONCHO LINER: Nylon insert to the military rain poncho, used as a blanket.
POP SMOKE: To mark a target, team sight (location), or Landing Zone (LZ) with a smoke grenade. During extraction, the inbound helicopter crew would call out the color of the smoke they were seeing, normally yellow, purple, or green. This allowed a team on the ground to confirm for the chopper that the chopper was "on our smoke" because the enemy would occasionally pop a smoke grenade in an effort to lure the chopper to their location where they could have 'em for lunch. Many units reserved red smoke grenades for marking targets for gunships.
POP: Generically, to 'trigger' or 'initiate', as in "...pop a flare."
POPEYE: Expression used by a pilot to indicate that he was flying in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC); i.e., in the clouds.
PORT: On the left of the ship or boat when facing forward.
POS: Slang for position, usually meaning a friendly location.
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD): Development of characteristic symptoms after the experiencing of a psychologically traumatic event or events outside the range of human experience usually considered to be normal. The characteristic symptoms involve re-experiencing the traumatic event, numbing of responsiveness to, or involvement with, the external world, exaggerated startle response, difficulty in concentrating, memory impairment, guilt feelings, and sleep difficulties.
POW: Prisoner of War.
PRC-25: Portable Radio Communications, Model 25. A back-packed FM receiver-transmitter used for short-distance communications. The range of the radio was 5-10 kilometers, depending on the weather, unless attached to a special, nonportable antenna which could extend the range to 20-30 kilometers.
PRC-77: A radio similar to the PRC-25, but with a cryptographic scrambling / descrambling unit attached. Very heavy. Transmission frequencies on the PRC-77 were called the secure net.
PRICK 25: PRC-25 radio.
PROFILE: A prohibition from certain types of military duty due to injury or disability.
PROJOS: Howitzer projectile: term used by pilots transporting same.
PROVINCE CHIEF: Governor of a state-sized administrative territory, usually a high ranking military officer.
PRU: Province Reconnaissance Unit. Irregular unit organized within each province for the official purpose of reconnoitering guerrilla sanctuaries and collecting intelligence on guerrilla activities. These units were operated under the auspices of the CIA and were also the operating arm of the Phoenix program.
PSDF: Peoples Self Defense Force. Lcal South VietNamese citizens banded together in something of an armed "neighborhood watch." Primarily useful against local terrorists and squad-size VC units.
PSEUDOMONAS: A genus of bacteria causing various suppurative infections in humans. It's presence gives pus a blue-green color.
PSP: Perforated Steel Plate. Construction panels, about 3'X8', made of plate steel, punched with 2" holes, and having features on the sides for interlocking together. PSP could be linked together to surface a road, airstrip, etc. or several sheets could be linked into a large plate to form the roof of a bunker, fighting hole, etc., usually covered with sandbags.
PSYOPS: Psychological operations
PT: Physical training.
PUCKER FACTOR: Assessment of the 'fear factor,' as in the difficulty/risk in an upcoming mission.
PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON: These were AC-47 propeller-driven aircraft with 3 Miniguns - capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute per gun for a total of 18,000 rounds per minute - The mini guns were on one side of the plane. The plane would bank to one side to aim and fire. Devastating Firepower.
PULL PITCH: Term used by helicopter pilots that means they are going to take off.
PUNJI STAKES: Sharpened bamboo sticks used in a primitive but effective pit trap. They were often smeared with excrement to cause severe infection.
PURPLE HEART: U.S. military decoration awarded to any member of the Armed Forces wounded by enemy action. Any soldier who was awarded three Purple Hearts was allowed to leave Vietnam.
PURPLE OUT-ZONE: Emergency evacuation.
PUSH: Refering to a radio frequency, ie 'PUSH 71.675' meaning a frequency of 71.675 megahertz.
PX: Post Exchange. Used by the Army.
PZ: pick up zone.
QC: Quan Canh. Vietnamese equivalent of an American MP. Often referred to derogatorily as "White Mice", since they wore white helmets and white gloves.
QUAD 50s: A World War II vintage, anti-aircraft weapon used in Vietnam as an anti-personnel weapon. It consisted of four electric, selenoid-fired, 50 cal. machine guns mounted in a movable turret, sometimes put on the back of a deuce and a half. It was used for firebase and convoy security.
QUEBEC: Military phonetic for the letter 'Q'.
