<P> The term Việt Cộng appeared in Saigon newspapers beginning in 1956 . It is a contraction of Việt Nam Cộng - sản ( Vietnamese communist ) , or alternatively Việt gian cộng sản ( `` Communist Traitor to Vietnam '' ) . The earliest citation for Việt Cộng in English is from 1957 . American soldiers referred to the Việt Cộng as Victor Charlie or V-C . `` Victor '' and `` Charlie '' are both letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet . `` Charlie '' referred to communist forces in general , both Việt Cộng and North Vietnamese . </P>
<P> The term Việt Cộng appeared in Saigon newspapers beginning in 1956 . It is a contraction of Việt Nam Cộng - sản ( Vietnamese communist ) , or alternatively Việt gian cộng sản ( `` Communist Traitor to Vietnam '' ) . The earliest citation for Việt Cộng in English is from 1957 . American soldiers referred to the Việt Cộng as Victor Charlie or V-C . `` Victor '' and `` Charlie '' are both letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet . `` Charlie '' referred to communist forces in general , both Việt Cộng and North Vietnamese . </P>
where did the term viet cong come from
where did the term viet cong come from
a contraction of Việt Nam Cộng - sản ( Vietnamese communist ) , or alternatively Việt gian cộng sản ( `` Communist Traitor to Vietnam '' )
a contraction of Việt Nam Cộng - sản ( Vietnamese communist ) , or alternatively Việt gian cộng sản ( `` Communist Traitor to Vietnam '' )