[aft_lizard]

Read the wiki article and was surprised to see it having originated from the French. I was always told it was based off of the VC because the VC sapper would come in and ‘sap’ morale by picking people off. I am also glad to see they finally made a tab for them. Learn something new everyday I suppose.

[sinanju]

I believe the word goes all the back to medieval times when the besieger’s engineers would dig to undermine castle walls.

[Stoat]

I was always told it was based off of the VC because the VC sapper would come in and ‘sap’ morale by picking people off.

Apparently this definition is correct also

CAP Glossary

sappers -- Skilled VC or NVA infiltrators sent to damage fixed defenses before an attack.

The Americans in Vietnam had our own unique language, and each unit had its own dialect. In the CAPs, our dialect took words from English, Vietnamese and French, with expressions borrowed from street slang, Marine jargon, rock-and-roll and many other sources.

This glossary is an attempt to record some of the unfamiliar words you're likely to encounter when reading about the CAPs, with rough pronunciations and definitions. CAP Marines, please e-mail your additions and corrections to the glossary.

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I am also glad to see they finally made a tab for them.

Me too!