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. Dirty rats its mid 1969 and these four bedraggled tunnel rats have just come back into nui dat base camp after a long operation out bush with 5rar. The short, nine day operation involved some of the thickest and most tangled jungle growth encountered in phuoc tuy province. The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the vietnam war. There are some things that go well beyond being cool. Their unofficial moto was non gratum anus rodentum in latin. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand and australian soldiers who. 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. I arrived in vietnam on june 11, 1969, with the rank of sapper, the engineer corps equivalent of a private in infantry. Ogg multiplexed audiovideo file, theoravorbis, length 47 s, 640.
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. Some tunnel rats used silencers with their pistols to reduce the bark when fired. Disrespectful occupiers alienated locals, so revolutions developed. In 1965, soon after the first us combat troops had arrived in vietnam, it was. American, australian, and new zealander soldiers who performed underground search missions. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. As the tunnel rat emerged through the connecting trap door, a viet cong might be waiting with a knife to slit his throat. Jul 22, 2008 years ago i read a great book about the tunnel rats who served in vietnam. 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. Tunnel rats motto the firearms forum the buying, selling.
These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat. He had to crawl into the holed out tunnels, chancing to find an enemy and fight oneonone combat with only a pistol and handknife. 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. In july 1967 tunnel rats peter wieden left and john kiley prepare fuses and detonators for the explosive charges theyve made up to demolish viet cong bunkers and tunnels on 7rars operation cooparoo. 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. Beneath the battlefields of the vietnam war massive tunnel networks contain everything from living spaces and storages rooms to command headquarters. The present day cu chi tunnels were visited as well as the original area where the tunnels were blown up. June 1954 ngo dinh diem brought to south vietnam from the united states to be prime minister july 1954 geneva accords provisionally divide vietnam at the 17th parallel into northern vietnam under ho chi minh and southern vietnam under ngo dinh diem with elections to reunify the country scheduled for july 1956. What was the mortality rate of the vietnam era tunnel rats. 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. Volunteers willing to go underground in search of valuable intelligence and systematically rigging the tunnel for destruction. Apr 19, 2018 today in the zero bunker, g gives us a vietnam war story from an actual tunnel rat.
The iaarikin aussie legends who discovered the vietcongs secret weapon. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. The tunnel rats were american and australian soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. Vietnam is considered primitive by more advanced countries, which do not respect the peasants ways. Tunnel rat soldier entering a vietcong tunnel during the. This is the same patch that is supplied to the military and sold in military base exchanges. The viet cong sometimes sent a spear through the throat of the tunnel rat, impaling him in the tunnel opening.
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. Payne atlanta, ga squad leader, co a, 1st bn, 5th mechanized infantry, 25th infantry division, moves through a tunnel in search of viet cong and their equipment, during operation cedar falls in the hobo woods about 25 miles north of saigon. The job was time consuming, difficult the tunnels were a tight squeeze for a typical vietname. Rivervet don blankenships site about river boats in vietnam photos. Later, similar teams were used by the soviet army during the soviet war in afghanistan, and the israel defense forces. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
You can listen to an interview with sandy and me on radio national, with geraldine doogue, here, read an extract as a pdf here, or buy the book, either as a paperback or an ebook here. Payne, a tunnel rat, bravely searches a tunnels entrance during vietnam war. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. Jan 01, 2012 another short osprey book that i read quickly for a section of my dissertation. Media in category tunnels during the vietnam war the following 12 files are in this category, out of 12 total. Soldier crawls on the ground on his stomach in the tunnel, with a gun and flashlight in hand. In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a script, and instead the actors improvised their lines. 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. Tunnel rats would often carry soviet pistols which they found. Click download or read online button to get tunnel rat in vietnam book now. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was.
Tunnel rats were all volunteers as they soon realized that if a person really didnt want to do the job, he would just report the tunnel as a dead end. 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. Our tunnel rat vietnam patch is a full color, embroidered military patch. Please consider supporting our videos on patreon to clear out the dangerous enemy tunnels, brave. One particular favourite pistol of tunnel rats was the. Tunnel rats film tunnel rats, also known as 1968 tunnel rats, is a 2008 germancanadian war suspense film written and directed by uwe boll. Search and destroy missions tunnel rat documentary the. 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. They had an amusing latin motto which i am trying to remember. Free photos historical battles photos vietnam war photos tunnel rat soldier entering a vietcong tunnel during the vietnam war 1925 to view or save this photo in high resolution, just click the photo to see the full imagethe full image is much higher quality and not pixelated. We have a variety of great tunnel rat related items for sale.
Download tunnel rat in vietnam or read tunnel rat in vietnam online books in pdf, epub and mobi format. Feb 19, 2014 construction on these tunnels had begun back in the 1940s during the war of independence against the french, but by the 1960s the tunnel networks had been greatly expanded, such as the cu chi tunnel system near saigon that spanned 250 kilometres or 155 miles. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be. Special operations sappers tunnel rats off icial newsletter of the vietnam tunnel rats association inc hol dfast august 2011 numb er 19 au special operations sappers filename. 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. 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. The vietcong had been using tunnel systems for many years against the chinese, japanese and french invaders. 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.
Documents in pdf format require the adobe acrobat reader. Soldiers seen slowly lowering a tunnel rat into a tunnel during operation oregon in vietnam. 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. Vietnam war during the vietnam war tunnel rat became a more or less official specialty for volunteer. Tunnel rat in vietnam warrior book 161 and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. 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. This patch would be a great gift idea and a wonderful addition to your patch collection. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The remaining 6 minutes is an interview of sandy done by anzacs in vietnam. Rivervet don blankenships site about river boats in vietnam.
These weapons were used in against some of the most lowtech forces the us military had faced in a long time. His hunt for a motive takes him to the vietnam, where the american tunnel rats fought the dirtiest battle of the war against the viet cong. The vietcong used elaborate tunnel systems to store food and ammunition as well as housing medical and combat facilities. 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. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times. 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.
Small villages dot this land, worked by peasants, who have lived there for centuries. Rottman, served in vietnam with the 1st cavalry division in the late1960s, and witnessed some of what tunnel rats did personally. Wolfie the grunt takes 8mm movies of a combat assault in vietnam duration. The largest tunnel systems in south vietnam some under us bases could be as vast as 200 kilometers 125 miles long and were built to withstand bombings, explosions, poison gas etc.
This is the second such collection of declassified documents published by the national. Headlamp connected to a bite switch suppressed pistol with spot light sighting device. They came to be known simply as tunnel rats with the unofficial motto non gratum anus rodentum not worth a rats ass. Their motto was the tongue in cheek latin phrase non gratus anus rodentum not worth a rat s arse. American officers in vietnam viewed the short, wiry combat engineers as swat teams to be summoned whenever a suspicious hole was found. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the. Aug 06, 2017 vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it.
I got volunteered to be a rat because of my size, he said. Pete rejoruiz, a cubanborn tunnel rat, is shown popping out of a north vietnamese tunnel. Press button download or read online below and wait 20 seconds. But his search places him in grave danger with a killer determined to protect the secrets of 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. 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. International bank for reconstruction and development international development association international finance corporation multilateral investment guarantee agency for the socialist republic of vietnam for the period fy18fy22 may 4, 2017 vietnam country management unit east asia and pacific region the international finance corporation. If that is a squad, the smallest of the ten would do it and the rest of us would prot.
Eightyfive percent rural, the few large cities and towns. The underlying nature of the role created very particular requirements for who would be a rat. Tunnel rats went into reprint in only its first week on sale and has done well since. They were usually the smallest guy in your group when a hole is found. Rod crane, rick martin, terry odonnell and jimmy shugg. Rats tunnel in the war of vietnam learning history. South vietnam, especially the southern of the country, is covered with waterways, both natural and manmade. John olson stars and stripes south vietnam, november, 1967. The french also influenced architecture in vietnamese cities and towns, which remains to this day. Interesting shot of the soldiers looking up from inside the tunnel. Unless you served with them in vietnam, you may wish to reconsider claiming that phrase as your motto. What was the life expectancy of a tunnel rat in vietnam. Vietnam s littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it.
Don miller of north port became scared tunnel rat in vietnam during the war by don moore. There were numerous underground guerilla bases in south vietnam that had been built and supplied by forced labor from the surrounding villages. Gordon l rottman entered the us army in 1967, volunteered for special forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. The tunnel rat would descend into a pitch black, claustrophobic, dank hell, to play a deadly game of hide and seek with the enemy. When youre done, you can download your vietnam travel guide to your phone or tablet, or print it as a pdf. 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. 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.
They dig several feet down and then suddenly the earth in. The largest tunnel systems in south vietnam some under us bases could be as vast as 200 kilometers 125 miles long and were built to. Four to six weeks is a long time without a shower, so its time to clean up before sinking a few cold beers at the boozer. 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. All you have to do is select the type of places youd like to include restaurants, museums, etc. They were young, they were australian, they were army engineers, and they were the first allied soldiers to risk their lives in the darkness of the vietcong tunnels of south vietnam. Tunnel rat in vietnam equipped with tunnel exploitation kit. 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. 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 covert search and destroy missions. Outside of the formally trained 1 st infantry division, the volunteer tunnel rats of other companies were sometimes successful as well, securing vital military intelligence, an enemy hospital, or sometimes stores of weapons.
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