Matterhorn (85 page)

M-60 machine gun
Standard-issue Marine machine gun in Vietnam. Its maximum range was 3,725 meters (2.3 miles), although its effective range
was closer to 1,100 meters (about 0.7 mile or twelve football fields). It fired the standard NATO 7.62-millimeter round (.308
caliber) using linked belts with 100 rounds each. These belts were often carried crossed over the body, but in jungle warfare
carrying them that way would expose them to small sticks and leaves, which would stop the firing, so the belts had to be contained
in metal cans that were very heavy and very awkward to carry. The M-60 was designed to be manned by three Marines: a gunner
and two assistants to help carry the ammunition. In Vietnam, however, because of attrition, the teams were usually only two
men. A good gunner could fire 100 rounds per minute at a sustained rate. Firing at the gun’s maximum rate of 550 rounds per
minute would soon generate too much heat and destroy the barrel. The M-60 had a folding bipod on the front of the barrel and
weighed 18.75 pounds. Marines loved this weapon and generally admired the guys who carried and fired it.

M-79
Grenade launcher that looks very much like a short, fat shotgun. It can fire high-explosive grenades (HE round), heavy buckshot
(shotgun round), or fléchettes, small arrowlike projectiles, in a wide arc, so it is a very good jungle weapon where targets
are hard to locate quickly.

MAG
Marine Air Group.

Marine amphibious force (MAF)
Two or more Marine divisions plus necessary Marine air support. During the Vietnam War the MAF was led by a lieutenant general
(three stars) and based in Da Nang. It reported operationally to MAC-V, Military Assistance Command Vietnam, headed by an
Army general (four stars) located in Saigon. For administrative and logistical support it reported to the commanding general,
Fleet Marine Force Pacific (three stars), located in Hawaii. MAC-V reported to U.S. Pacific Command, headed by a four-star
admiral.

mast
See
request mast.

medevac
Medical evacuation.

MIA
Stands for missing in action.

mike mike
Millimeter.

Mike 26
The M-26 hand grenade.

montagnard
From the French for mountain dweller. In this context, any person belonging to one of the many indigenous tribes that inhabited
the western mountains and jungle of Vietnam.

motor-T
Motor transportation. Support troops that operated and maintained trucks and other vehicles used primarily to move people
and matériel on the ground. This vital function is often overlooked, much as football fans overlook linemen who seldom score,
but without whose contribution no team can win.

mustang
Officer who came up from the enlisted ranks.

Mutter’s Ridge
Strategically important east-west chain of high hills in northern Quang Tri province that paralleled the DMZ. The origin
of the name is uncertain, but it has been attributed to several Marines named Mutter, most prominently Staff Sergeant Alan
Mutter, USMC, who was killed there. The name has also been attributed to the radio call sign of Third Battalion Fourth Marines,
which fought an early battle there. Mutter’s Ridge paralleled Route 9 for most of its eastern half and was vital to the control
of Route 9 and the valley of the Ben Hai River to the north, another access route to penetrate from Laos and North Vietnam
into the Quang Tri plain. In the novel it extends much farther west than it does in reality.

Nagoolian
Usually a name for the enemy, specifically the North Vietnamese Army, but often used to designate any Vietnamese unit or
even a hypothetical individual. It is derived from Nguyen, the most common Vietnamese name.

NCO
Noncommissioned officer.

NCOIC
Noncommissioned officer in charge.

NIS
Naval Investigative Service. This organization was like the detective force of the Navy, as opposed to the shore patrol,
whose members
acted more like uniformed police. NIS also was involved in covert operations that attempted to find criminal activity such
as drug dealing.

numby or numbnuts
A stupid or incompetent person. Numby is pronounced “nummy.”

NVA
North Vietnamese Army, the regular army of the People’s Republic of Vietnam, a well-equipped and well-trained regular fighting
force, in contrast to the VC or Vietcong, which was a guerrilla force.

Oley
Radio brevity code for wounded in action.

on line
When not fighting, infantry units normally move in columns, one man behind the other. In the jungle, there is almost no other
way to move and maintain any control. When men who are in a column have to engage an enemy in front of them, they would be
able to use only the fire of the first two or three people, otherwise the others could get shot in the back. The solution
is to “go on line.” This means that the column spreads out in a long line facing the enemy so that every rifle can be brought
to bear on the enemy without the risk of shooting a friend in the back. This maneuver was easier to think about than to accomplish
while under fire, particularly in a jungle, where visual contact could be lost within twenty feet.

OP
Stands for outpost. An OP served the same purpose as a listening post (LP) but was used in daylight. It was less frightening
than an LP because one could see as well as hear and smell and the company usually had small units patrolling out beyond the
OPs; these units afforded the OPs extra protection and warning time.

op-con
Verb formed from
op
erational
con
trol. Often, Marines will simply switch units from one command to another if that serves a tactical situation. For example,
if a company from one battalion found itself operating to support a company from a different battalion, the battalion commander
of the first company would hand over operational control to the commander of the second battalion, thereby eliminating the
useless and even possibly destructive delays and misunderstandings that could arise if the two battalion commanders had to
coordinate with each
other. The first battalion’s company would thus be “op-conned” to the second battalion.

OV-10
The OV-10 Bronco was a two-engine, twin-boom observation and close-air-support plane. With its twin booms and large connecting
horizontal stabilizer it looked much like the old P-38 Lightning. It carried four M-60 machine guns and two 4-missile Zuni
pods outboard on each wing, as well as smoke rockets. It could also be configured for small bombs.

patrol
Mission assigned to a smaller unit. A patrol involved walking outside the sight and rifle range of the larger unit and would
range anywhere from five to ten kilometers (about three to six miles) and last up to a full day, depending on the terrain.
Patrols were used to locate the enemy and enemy supplies and to destroy them or fix them in place until reinforcements could
arrive. Patrols also were used to screen the enemy from approaching the larger unit and give warning if an enemy approach
was detected.

platoon
Three squads form a platoon. During the Vietnam War a platoon was designated to be forty-three Marines, but in combat conditions
the platoon was usually manned at levels in the low to mid-thirties. A platoon was supposed to have either a second lieutenant
(one gold bar) or a first lieutenant (one silver bar) as its leader, a platoon sergeant (four stripes), a platoon guide (three
stripes), and the platoon leader’s radio operator. In Vietnam by the late 1960s, there was a shortage of staff NCOs, so three-stripe
sergeants often became platoon sergeants. Platoon guides were often done away with, and a second radio operator was added
(along with a second radio) to assist the platoon sergeant—who in mountain and jungle fighting often operated independently
from the platoon commander. Both the platoon sergeant and the platoon commander led squad-sized patrols.

poag
An overweight rear-area do-nothing. The term is derived from the time when the Marines were in China before World War II.
They were issued candy (Baby Ruth, Tootsie Rolls, etc.) to supplement their rations. Sugar and other sweets were rare commodities
in China, so the
troops found the candy useful for barter in towns. The Chinese word for prostitute sounded something like “pogey.” Thus, the
candy became “pogey bait” and the expression eventually became Marine slang for junk food and candy bars in general.

point
The first man in front of a column is said to be the point man or simply the point. The act of being the first in the column
is called “walking point.” It is probably the most frightening and nerve-racking job, short of an actual assault, that an
infantryman does—and some claim it’s worse than an actual assault.

poncho liner
Thin blanket of camouflaged nylon (5 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 10 inches) quilted to a polyester fill. It was tied, by attached
strings, underneath a Marine’s rubberized-canvas poncho to provide warmth. It was most often used as a blanket, the only source
of warmth for most Marines in the field.

pos rep
Position report.

PRC 25
Pronounced “prick twenty-five.” This was the AN/PRC 25 FM radio used by all Marine infantry units in Vietnam. It used early
solid-state technology and weighed about twenty pounds, with its battery. It was carried like a backpack by the radio operator.
It had 1.5 watts of power and could broadcast three to seven miles, depending on the terrain. Unfortunately, high hills blocked
the signal, making it less effective in the mountains. Also, although the radio itself was waterproof, the handset was not.
The handset looked like a black 1960s telephone handset attached by a long spiral cord. When the radio was turned to maximum
volume, a person could hear easily with the handset a couple of feet from the ear. The handsets were often wrapped in plastic
to protect them from the constant rain of monsoons. Radio operators were prime targets, easily spotted by the large FM antenna,
which also identified the person closest to the radio as the unit leader.

R & R
Stands for rest and recreation. Marines were given a five-day R & R once during their thirteen-month tour of duty in Vietnam.
Because some places were more popular than others, the most desired places to go on R & R were allocated according to how
much time a
Marine had spent in-country. Sydney was a first choice among white Marines. Bangkok was a favored choice among black Marines.
Hawaii was a favorite of married Marines. Some Marines waited until their twelfth month in order to get enough seniority to
go where they wanted.

radio alphabet code
Because letters can often be mistaken when transmitted orally, the military adopted a standard code designating each letter:
Alpha is “A,” Bravo is “B,” and so on through Zulu for “Z.” Because NVA intelligence units would intercept radio messages,
Marines were leery of saying last names over the radio, so Jones would become “character Juliet,” Smith would become “character
Sierra,” and so on.

radio brevity code
An unsophisticated but continually changing shortcut code used for concealing information from the enemy in speaking over
a radio. For example, beer brands could be used to designate different categories of casualties: e.g., “Coors” for killed
in action, “Oley” for wounded in action. After a short time a new system would be established, such as cigarette brands: “Camels”
would mean killed in action and “Luckies” would mean wounded in action. A few days later professional quarterbacks would be
the general category, so Namath could mean killed in action; Hornung, wounded in action; and so on. Brevity code was applied
to anything that was dangerous to transmit in the clear. For example, “cars” would be the brevity code to transmit locations.
A specific car name would refer to a designated grid coordinate. The person radioing in a position would say, “From Cadillac
up two point four and right three point one.” The listener would go to the designated “cars” grid coordinate for the day and
calculate (in kilometers) from there to locate the transmitting party. Sending one’s location in the clear would invite artillery
or rockets to that location.

radio unit designators
To confuse enemy intelligence when transmitting the names of units, a battalion-size unit would have a radio name that it
changed frequently. For example, here the First Battalion of the Fourteenth Marines is designated “Big John.” Bravo Company
of the First Battalion would thus be designated “Big John Bravo.” The First Platoon of Bravo Company would be called “Big
John Bravo One.” At the company level, for convenience, the battalion designator would be dropped.
The company would just be Bravo, and the First Platoon would be Bravo One. First Squad in the First Platoon would be Bravo
One One, and so on.

Red Dog
Radio brevity code for any squad-size patrol.

regiment
Traditional core unit of the Marines, about 4,000 Marines. It consisted of three infantry battalions, one artillery battalion,
and supporting staff and was usually commanded by a full colonel, often called a “bird colonel” because the rank is designated
by a silver eagle. When someone is asked what unit a Marine served with, the answer will usually be in the form of the individual’s
regiment, such as “Fourth Marines,” “Ninth Marines,” or “One-Nine,” meaning First Battalion Ninth Marines. Regiments can be
shifted to various divisions or task forces, depending on need. Command of a Marine regiment is a very prestigious position.

regular
The Marine Corps divides its officers into two categories: reserve and regular. A reserve officer has USMCR placed after
his name and rank; a regular officer has only USMC placed after his name and rank. All enlisted personnel are regulars, unless
they specifically join a reserve unit after active service. Reserve officers are expected to serve three or four years of
active duty and then either join a reserve unit or quit the Marine Corps altogether. The bulk of junior officers are reserve
officers, the exceptions being graduates of the Naval Academy and some graduates of Naval ROTC who have already chosen the
Marine Corps as a career. If a reserve officer wants to make the Marine Corps a career, he “goes regular” and is then viewed
very differently by the Marine Corps personnel system. He no longer has a set time commitment to the Corps, but is expected
to serve at least twenty years until retirement, and in most cases longer. In exchange, good positions such as command of
company-size or larger units and advancement in rank are easier to attain. Very few reserve officers ever attain a higher
rank than first lieutenant or get assigned to career-enhancing positions.