Saigon's final collapse April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, effectively the end of the Vietnam War.
Saint George Patron saint of England.
salt tabs Tablets made of salt that servicemen placed along the inside of their cheeks to forestall dehydration by hastening the production of saliva.
SEATO Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (1955–1976).
seven honeys Seven medals.
shipped off to Japan To be sent to an American military hospital in Japan, usually for serious wounds.
shrapnel Any fragments scattered by an exploding shell or bomb.
Silver Star A U.S. military decoration in the form of a bronze star with a small silver star at the center, awarded for gallantry in action.
sin loi From Vietnamese, literally meaning excuse me, though servicemen came to understand the term as meaning too bad or tough luck.
snipe hunt A futile search for something that does not exist.
sniper A soldier who shoots from a hidden position.
SOP Abbreviation for standard operating procedure.
Spec 4 Specialist Rank, having no command function; soldier who carries out orders.
stand-down A period of rest for combat soldiers during which they return to a base and halt all operations except security.
Starlight scope A night-vision telescope that enables a user to see in the dark.
Sterno Trademark for gelatinized methyl alcohol with nitrocellulose, sold in cans as a fuel for small stoves or chafing dishes.
summa cum laude With the greatest praise: a phrase signifying above-average academic standing at the time of graduation from a college or university: the highest of three categories.
Than Khe (also Khe Sahn) A major battle in the Tet Offensive, the siege lasted well over a month in the beginning of 1968. Khe Sahn was thought of as an important strategic location for both the Americans and the North Vietnamese. American forces were forced to withdraw from Khe Sahn.
The Lone Ranger Famous cowboy hero and the star of first a radio show and then a television show in the 1940s and 1950s.
The Man Who Never Was (c. 1956) A movie which was a spy thriller about a World War II British spy trying to fool the Nazis into believing false plans for a British invasion of Greece. His nemesis is a German spy who tries to verify the identity of the British corpse on whom these false plans were planted.
The Stars and Stripes A newsletter-style publication produced for servicemen by the U.S. Army.
the Y Abbreviation for the Young Men's Christian Association. A social center for recreational activities.
Tot Dong Field in 1426 where the Vietnamese routed the Chinese. Two years later, the Chinese recognized Vietnam's independence.
tracer rounds A harmless projectile that lights a path for soldiers to aim projectile weaponry.
Tran Hung Dao Famous general who defeated two Mongol invasions in late thirteenth-century Vietnam.
trip flare A flare rigged to ignite when an intruder moves a thin wire hidden along the outside perimeter of a base or encampment meant to signal the approach of enemy troops.
Trung sisters (d. 42 C.E.) Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, were daughters of a powerful Vietnamese lord who lived at the beginning of the first century.
truth goose A fictitious story that feels as real as the truth.
tunnel complexes The use of tunnels by the Viet Cong as hiding places, caches for food and weapons, headquarter complexes and protection against air strikes and artillery fire was a characteristic of the Vietnam war.
USO United Service Organizations, a civilian arm of the U.S. Army that offered diversions and entertainment for soldiers both on the homefront and in active combat areas overseas.
USS Maddox American destroyer stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin.
