...The preferred monikers were "gook," "slant," slope," and a few others that have mercifully been eradicated from the memory banks. They were NEVER referred to as "people."
There was a reason for that. If we thought of them as "people" we might be more hesitant to shoot them. The intent, of course, was as described -- to make the soldiers more effective. ...
...I suspect if you were to be able to monitor contemporary training and briefings, the terms "gook" and "slant" would have been replaced by "raghead" and "camel jockey" and would otherwise be indistinguishable from a Vietnam-era version.