The tunnels were frequently incredibly hot and humid, cramped, sometimes as small as 2. The tunnel rats used a host of specialized weapons that helped them to be effective at their job. Press button download or read online below and wait 20 seconds. Tunnel rats, as american soldiers who worked in the cu chi tunnels during the vietnam war were known, used the evocative term black echo to describe the experience of being in the tunnels. During the vietnam war our government never anticipated that tunnel warfare would be so prominent or important in waging ground combat. Now, in an unfinished, unsupported tunnel like he was in, a rainstorm usually meant death for a tunnel rat. Most of the tunnel rats were from the 25th infantry division and 3 field troop. It also illustrates that french control of the city, the. Of course, the local vietnamese population designed the tunnels with their own size in mind. The 50th anniversary tunnel rats tour back to vietnam if you have been on our tours before you know you cant miss this one sign up for the tour now and start lobbying for your leave pass if you havent been on one of our tours before this is the one you must be on. Non gratus anus rodentum is a latin phrase that, when translated into english, means not worth a rat s ass.
Jack flowers, us army vietnam war patch amongst the most revered and feared elements of the allied military in vietnam were the tunnel rats. This movie copyright by boll ag uwe boll hope you enjoy the movie. Payne, a tunnel rat, bravely searches a tunnels entrance during vietnam war. Tunnel rats in vietnam knuckledraggin my life away. The vietcong had been using tunnel systems for many years against the chinese, japanese and french invaders. By kevin dockery during the vietnam war, the united states fought the viet cong and north vietnamese army forces with some of the most hightech weapons the us could produce.
Vietnam tunnel rats with a colt and flashlight in hand, wearing a gas mask, tunnel rat richard winters of battalion, infantry, infantry division cautiously lowers himself into a viet cong tunnel found in vietnam s iron triangle. The tunnels also hosted armament workshops, training depots, headquarters, and a variety of other facilities. The nook book ebook of the tunnel rat in vietnam by gordon l. While tracking down specific statistics on fatality rates among the tunnel rats is not easy, it is not a stretch to venture that they had one of the most dangerous jobs you could undertake as a soldier in vietnam. American officers in vietnam viewed the short, wiry combat engineers as swat teams to be summoned whenever a suspicious hole was found in the ground. Would love to see some pics of real rats no not the rodents. In the mekong delta of vietnam, rats are commonly trapped in rice fields before and after harvesting and sold live for food consumption. Rats tunnel in the war of vietnam learning history. If that is a squad, the smallest of the ten would do it and the rest of us would prot. Download tunnel rat in vietnam or read tunnel rat in vietnam online books in pdf, epub and mobi format.
Pdf vietnam infantry tactics by gordon l rottman download. Their unofficial moto was non gratum anus rodentum in latin. The cold war had been drifting on for a number of years with the. Special us soldiers called tunnel rats would crawl through the systems to find the enemy. Tunnel rats in vietnam cherrieswriter vietnam war website. They helped conduct military operations on behalf of communist forces. Carefully probing the floor, sides and roofs of the tunnels became second nature to the tunnel rat as he gently inched and probed his way along. Several of these tunnels had sharp ubends which could be easily flooded to trap and drown intruders. Saigon was the capital city of south vietnam and the tunnels served as a means to move supplies, communications, troops, and equipment, while also providing the ability to perform sneak attacks. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Those were the guys who wriggled their way through the ridiculously narrow tunnels the viet cong used to transport personnel and weapons, set boobytraps, and all that. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times. For them, thats what they do and only they will do it, normal infantry within australian rank would not go into tunnel system, and they are the only unit tagged with tunnel rat acronym. He served in the 5th special forces group in vietnam in 196970 and subsequently in airborne infantry, longrange patrol and intelligence assignments until retiring after 26 years.
Since there were no tunnel rat units as such, they being ad hoc teams and volunteering individuals, there are few separate studies and reports other than those buried within unit records. It is a story about the first allied tunnel rats in the vietnam war jan 1966. They came to be known simply as tunnel rats with the unofficial motto non gratum anus rodentum not worth a rats ass. Vietnam infantry tactics by gordon l rottman available for download and read online in pdf, epu. Our tunnel rat vietnam patch is a full color, embroidered military patch. Download pdf vietnam infantry tactics by gordon l rottman ebook full free. John olson stars and stripes south vietnam, november, 1967. Don miller of north port became scared tunnel rat in vietnam during the war by don moore. Rottman, served in vietnam with the 1st cavalry division in the late1960s, and witnessed some of what tunnel rats did personally.
Later, similar teams were used by the soviet army during the sovietafghan war and by the israel defense forces in campaigns in the middle east. For a soldier during the vietnam war, one of the most dangerous of obstacles was faced by a select few soldiers known as tunnel rats. Later, similar teams were used by the soviet army during the soviet war in afghanistan, and the israel defense forces. Search and destroy missions tunnel rat documentary the. This is the same patch that is supplied to the military and sold in military base exchanges. These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat. American officers in vietnam viewed the short, wiry combat engineers as swat teams to be summoned whenever a suspicious hole was found. In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a. The french also influenced architecture in vietnamese cities and towns, which remains to this day. Tunnel rats would clear tunnels armed only with a flashlight and a pistol. Reviews of the tunnel rat in vietnam until now with regards to the publication weve got tunnel rat in vietnam feedback end users never have however quit their overview of the sport, or otherwise make out the print still. Davis, when i was drafted into the army in july, 1969. Though americans, australians, and new zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed. The tunnel rats encounter on reddit, a terminallyill vietnam veteran recounted a story of his time in vietnam that he was going to take to his grave but opted to put it on rnosleep instead.
I watched this movie the other day called tunnel rats somewhat bizarre but anyways, are there any real tunnel rat patches or are they just made up post war. Tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand military soldiers who went inside viet cong vc tunnels to kill any vc inside. What was the mortality rate of the vietnam era tunnel rats. These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat in. The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the vietnam war. The tunnel rats went into the holes with no idea of what they might encounter below the ground. Aug 06, 2017 vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library.
They were usually the smallest guy in your group when a hole is found. The army division i was assigned to was the americal division. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the. Soldiers seen slowly lowering a tunnel rat into a tunnel during operation oregon in vietnam. Tunnel rats as a unit is indeed exist for australian force in vietnam, they are the men of 3 troop, 1st field sqn, royal australian engineer. Jan 01, 2012 another short osprey book that i read quickly for a section of my dissertation. Vietnam is considered primitive by more advanced countries, which do not respect the peasants ways. These unsung heroes of the vietnam war were american, australian, and new zealand soldiers specially trained as combat engineers, who carefully crawled through the cramped viet cong underground to perform perilous. During the vietnam war, tunnel rat became an unofficial specialty for volunteer combat engineers and infantrymen from australia and the united states who cleared and destroyed enemy tunnel complexes. This experimental sidearm from 1966 included a highintensity aiming light and came in a kit with a headlamp and a communications system.
Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be. Originally called tunnel runners by the 25th infantry division, and ferrets by the australian army, the term tunnel rat became the official accepted name during the vietnam war for men who would descend into a pitch black, claustrophobic, dank hell, to play a deadly game of hide and seek with the enemy. To a man, volunteers only volunteers were permitted to join tunnel rat units they would enter the tunnels network systems of the viet cong armed with nothing more than a pistol and a knife. What specialized weapons were used by the, tunnel rats. Small villages dot this land, worked by peasants, who have lived there for centuries.
There were numerous underground guerilla bases in south vietnam that had been built and supplied by forced labor from the surrounding villages. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand and australian soldiers who. Ultimately, shooting underground was a last resort. The underlying nature of the role created very particular requirements for who would be a rat.
This network connected villages, cities, and districts. A few silenced pistols made their way to vietnam and some of them were used by the tunnel rats. The tunnel rats did exist in vietnam and the vietnamese did wage war from the tunnels. All proceeds go to the vietnam tunnel rats association to help cover the costs of producing and posting out our fascinating newsletter holdfast.
Disrespectful occupiers alienated locals, so revolutions developed. Later, similar teams were used by the soviet army during the sovietafghan war and by the israel. Many of the tunnel rats from austraila, new zealand, south vietnam, and america volunteered for the dangerous position. The tunnel rats in the vietnam war the military history blog. Sometimes while on the mission, a tunnel rat would meet a viet cong soldier, and would then have to engage in exceedingly close combat. Click download or read online button to get tunnel rat in vietnam book now. Vietnam war during the vietnam war tunnel rat became a more or less official specialty for volunteer. Sep 05, 2011 chris masters, a great tv journalist, did this story for page 1 channel 10 more than 20 years ago in 1988.
The trip is for ten days and nine nights in vietnam, two nights in saigon, then five nights in vung tau followed by two more nights in saigon. American, australian, and new zealander soldiers who performed underground search missions. If you wish to stay extra nights in saigon be fore the tour, we can extend your booking at the same low rate we negotiated at the hotel. The worst thing for a tunnel rat to find in one of these tunnels would be a booby trap or a vietcong soldier waiting for them. Oct 09, 2017 i was a marine grunt in vietnam during 67. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand and australian soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. The tunnel rat would descend into a pitch black, claustrophobic, dank hell, to play a deadly game of hide and seek with the enemy. This title will be based on the personal accounts of those who served in this unique role and will describe the specialist training and equipment, not to mention the tactics and combat experiences, of those who fought an underground war against the viet cong in vietnam.
Tunnel rats were us, australian and newzelander soldiers who went inside viet cong vc tunnels to kill any vc inside, gather any intel, recover arms and finally demolish the tunnels by planting explosives. Their motto was the tongue in cheek latin phrase non gratus anus rodentum not worth a rat s arse. By the time the vietnam war broke out, the viet cong had over 100 miles of tunnels from which to spring deadly ambushes on american and south vietnamese. The viet cong sometimes sent a spear through the throat of the tunnel rat, impaling him in the tunnel opening. We have a variety of great tunnel rat related items for sale. This patch would be a great gift idea and a wonderful addition to your patch collection. It had to be the worst job an american soldier could have in the southeast asian war. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was not realized just how extensive they were in some areas, how important they were to the viet cong, and how difficult it was to detect and neutralize. Tunnel rat in vietnam download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. These weapons were used in against some of the most lowtech forces the us military had faced in a long time.
Their unofficial motto was non gratum anus rodentum in latin. The tunnel rat tells the other marines where on the surface the man is beneath and start digging to get down to him from the top. They dig several feet down and then suddenly the earth in. Eightyfive percent rural, the few large cities and towns. A solitaire dungeon crawl inspired by the tunnel rats in vietnam not worth a rat beneath the battlefields of the vietnam war massive tunnel networks contain everything from livi. Hed heard horror stories from the squadmates whod lost others underground, never to be seen again. Nov 16, 2017 to clear out the dangerous enemy tunnels, brave infantrymen from australia, new zealand, south vietnam and the united states volunteered for this unenviable job. However, the brave troops that were picked for the job were commonly the shortest grunts in the platoon for obvious reasons. Tunnel rats in vietnam posted on 02282020 by wirecutter if fighting the welldefended viet cong on their home turf wasnt dangerous enough, imagine having to crawl your way through a series of extremely tight and narrow underground tunnels to capture or kill them.
Comme on hoodedheifer, if you dilike vn, and in doubt about its cleanliness, just stay home or travel in. Don miller of north port became scared tunnel rat in. Payne, a tunnel rat, bravely searches a tunnel s entrance during vietnam war. After reading about the tunnel rats its clean that these were some of the bravest men that fought in the war. I got volunteered to be a rat because of my size, he said. Vietnam s littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. Consequently, given the average smaller size of vietnamese men, tunnel rat soldiers, by necessity, were the shortest, skinniest, and most limber men in the army. The vietnam war was a mess from the start to the end even though the united states had the superior technology and more men to throw into combat they ultimately had to pull out of the vietnam war. In 1965, soon after the first us combat troops had arrived in vietnam, it was realized that in some areas the viet cong had developed vast tunnel complexes in which to hide from the enemy.
Wikipedia commons in 1946, the viet minh were the viet cong resistance fighters who began digging the tunnels and bunkers to combat the french, whom they would eventually defeat. Soon a volunteer force was created called the tunnel rats who were trained in searching the tunnels, but much of the training was on the job as nobody had any real. The viet cong amassed around 250 kilometres of underground tunnels. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was. I spent six months being trained as an infantryman thats a combat soldier, and was flown to south vietnam in january, 1970, in what was the sixth year of americas involvement in the vietnam war. Some civilian handguns worked their way into the mix, but for most of the tunnel rats the big. The 50th anniversary tunnel rats tour back to vietnam. Here is another good book by osprey publishing, tunnel rat in vietnam. I arrived in vietnam on june 11, 1969, with the rank of sapper, the engineer corps equivalent of a private in infantry. What was the life expectancy of a tunnel rat in vietnam. Gordon l rottman entered the us army in 1967, volunteered for special forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. One specialized weapon they used was the snw quiet special purpose qsp1 revolver, a modified. Cockroach and rat in vietnam vietnam forum tripadvisor. Pete rejoruiz, a cubanborn tunnel rat, is shown popping out of a north vietnamese tunnel.
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