Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Payne entering a tunnel in search of viet cong with a flashlight and m1911 pistol. Pete rejoruiz, a cubanborn tunnel rat, is shown popping out of a north vietnamese tunnel. Jimmy thomson is a journalist, author and screenwriter whose credits include the abctv series rain shadow. After the dog located the tunnel, a soldier tunnel rat would enter the tunnel to investigate. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was. The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the vietnam war. 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.
In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a script, and instead the actors improvised their lines. Another short osprey book that i read quickly for a section of my dissertation. Further reading, i would recommend the tunnels of cu chi, which is one of the very few books to cover this topic with real depth, as well as viet cong and nva tunnels and fortifications of the vietnam war and tunnel rat in vietnam, both from osprey publishing. Jul 01, 2011 instead half of the book was taken up by promulgating the image of the larrikin aussie soldier who drinks and squires women. The book goes into detail about the cuchi district of south vietnam, telling stories from both sides of the conflict and humanising both as well as giving a chronology that the reader can follow, you dont need to have a great understanding of the vietnam war to read this which is great. Tunnel rats ofvietnam vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it sgt. But his search places him in grave danger with a killer determined to protect the secrets of the tunnels.
They were the 1st to find the secret viet cong tunnels. One of these was master sgt flo rivera who acquired and used a 9mm german luger. Their motto was the latin phrase nongradus rodentumnot worth a rat. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times. Its a great story about the vietnam war and a group of veterans who are getting killed off one by one in a vicious style, ending up in thailand and bangkok searching the old tunnels created by the vietcong. Travelling in an airconditoned sleeping berth sure beats a hairy overnight bus journey along hwy 1. Davis, when i was drafted into the army in july, 1969. Joe alward vietnam 1970 click here to view 2nd platoon photo i had just finished my first year in graduate school at u. Feb 09, 2018 sapper jim marett outside the ruins of a rubber plantation mansion in vietnam in 1970. Special us soldiers called tunnel rats would crawl through the systems to find the enemy. What was the life expectancy of a tunnel rat in vietnam.
Operated by national carrier, vietnam railways vn, the vietnamese railway system is an ageing but pretty dependable service, and offers a relaxing way to get around the nation. The story of a marine grunt in the first battle of khe sanh april 1967 duration. During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured. First of all, those ops were certainly not off the book. Its a great story about the vietnam war and a group of veterans who are getting killed off one by one in a vicious style, ending. The vietcong used elaborate tunnel systems to store food and ammunition as well as housing medical and combat facilities. The tunnel exploration kit was abandoned in service, most tunnel rats wanted nothing to do with it, and it was quickly withdrawn. A second murder in bangkok links the deaths to a group of vietnam veterans who worked as tunnel rats, one of whom is about to become vicepresident of the usa and cannot have their secret revealed, so he sends a mercenary to take care of any revelations. The cu chi tunnels are now one of the most popular travel destinations in southern vietnam. Marine dog handler, corporal michael galloway and his scout dog, stormy search a tunnel and find an enemy satchel of explosives vietnam 1970. Mon 25 sep 2017 peter clayton and john hoskin were among the men who went bush with the armoured and infantry corps in vietnam, staying out for four to six weeks, operating as infanteers plus carrying out specialist duties of mine and booby trap detection and clearing, tunnel and bunker searching and demolition. 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. The tunnel rats knew what worked for them and were exceedingly conservative in adopting any new hardware or weapons. 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.
Sorry to say i havent read it, but its author did serve in vietnam. Feb 19, 2014 the tunnel rats faced trap doors which contained deadly spikes underneath, snakes were hung from the ceiling so they would hang down ready to attack anyone passing by and some also contained holes in the side of the tunnel wall, on the other side would be a viet cong soldier holding a spear ready to impale any intruders. 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. Sep 05, 2011 there are two more videos tunnel rats 2, vietnam and tunnel rats 3, 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. During the vietnam war tunnel rat became a more or less official specialty for volunteer infantrymen, primarily from australia, new zealand, and the united states. Tom mangold and john penycate, authors of one of the definitive accounts of tunnel warfare in the vietnam war, reported that u. There are two more videos tunnel rats 2, vietnam and tunnel rats 3, vietnam. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. 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. Most of the tunnels were less than a meter wide and 1,5 meter tall. We will use this occasion to honour our 36 comrades who lost their lives while serving as tunnel rats with 1 troop, 2 troop and 3 troop of 1 field squadron 35 kia and with 3 field troop 1 kia. By 1969, subterranean combat in the tunnels of south vietnam had been refined by time and experience. Rats tunnel in the war of vietnam learning history. I cant imagine what it must have felt like for the tunnel rats.
Now we also visit fsb balmoral sites tunnel rats tour. In spring 1993, a vietnamese farmer was on his way to work his rice paddy when he passed his wife and children in the road. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Tunnel rats, also known as 1968 tunnel rats, is a 2008 germancanadian war suspense film written and directed by uwe boll. Other tunnel rats procured their own personal firearms to suit their own needs. Tunnel rats used the term black echo to describe the conditions in the tunnels. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand, and australian soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam 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. The tunnels are a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system. Sappers war aussie tunnel rats vietnam war books on war. While the book has lots of photos of tunnel rats in vietnam and while rottman describes what the men went through, he never mentions the name of any individual who served as a tunnel rat. Tunnel rat in vietnam warrior book 161 and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. If that is a squad, the smallest of the ten would do it and the rest of us would prot.
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. They had an amusing latin motto which i am trying to remember. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the least of our worries. The wife sat on a rock and greeted him scornfully, as his children cowered behind their mother. Vietnam s cu chi tunnels were a particularly nasty element in the vietnam war. Years ago i read a great book about the tunnel rats who served in vietnam. Built by the viet cong, they went for miles underground, and there were nasty things living in there, aside from viet cong soldiers, including rats, massive spiders, and stinging mites that lived in the tree roots. 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. Viet minh forces initially developed a complex system of underground tunnels to combat the french colonial invasion of vietnam known as the cu chi tunnels. The parts of the book that focussed on tunnel warfare and the role these tunnels played were very good.
Jack flowers, us army vietnam war patch amongst the most revered and feared elements of the allied military in vietnam were the tunnel rats. Crooked cops and kings cross crims by the man who saw it all. Cu chi tunnels complete travel guide 2020 conbeo vietnam. Small villages dot this land, worked by peasants, who have lived there. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and vietnam war photos. Tunnel rats were generally men of smaller stature 56 and under, who were able to maneuver more comfortably in the narrow tunnels.
The underground war of vietnam had a subterranean aspect reaching far beyond the awareness of the american military brass conducting the war. The author was a graduate of the royal military college, duntroon, as a young captain sandy macgregor commanded 3 field troop in vietnam, where he won the military cross. Loosely translated, it was supposed to mean not worth a rats ass. Small villages dot this land, worked by peasants, who have lived there for centuries. The tunnel rats gently prodded for potentially armed mines in order to disarm them and prayed that they survived with both their legs.
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. During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured or. The latter two are more cursory overviews, but both drawn heavily from tunnels of cu. They were usually the smallest guy in your group when a hole is found. The tunnel rats were not spies or saboteur sent to north vietnam or neutral cambodia. They came to be known simply as tunnel rats with the unofficial motto non gratum anus rodentum not worth a rat s ass. Eightyfive percent rural, the few large cities and towns. Jan 01, 2012 another short osprey book that i read quickly for a section of my dissertation. Vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it.
Chris masters, a great tv journalist, did this story for page 1 channel 10 more than 20 years ago in 1988. Chi has been preserved by the government of vietnam, and turned into a war memorial park with two different tunnel display sites, ben dinh and ben duoc. Vietnams cu chi tunnels were a particularly nasty element in the vietnam war. One pull on the trigger would release a storm of bullets, each traveling at a speed. Sapper jim marett outside the ruins of a rubber plantation mansion in vietnam in 1970. The tunnel rats in the vietnam war the military history blog. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through. There were numerous underground guerilla bases in south vietnam that had been built and supplied by forced labor from the surrounding villages. 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 an odd omission in a book that showcases the unique, extremely dangerous, tensionfilled job that tunnel rats did in the war. The life of the tunnel rat was not to be envied, unless you are the most committed of adrenaline junkies and have a death wish. While these things may indeed be true, it takes far too much focus of the book.
The vietcong had been using tunnel systems for many years against the chinese, japanese and french invaders. Tunnel rat one day i was marching singlefile along a jungle trail, about 40th in a line of about one hundred soldiers in our company, when we suddenly stopped moving, and a few moments later, we heard the sound of two explosions. 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. Rottman, served in vietnam with the 1st cavalry division in the late1960s, and witnessed some of what tunnel rats did personally. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the. The tunnel rats did exist in vietnam and the vietnamese did wage war from the tunnels. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand, and australian soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war 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. What was the mortality rate of the vietnam era tunnel rats. A graduate of the royal military college, duntroon, as a young captain sandy macgregor commanded 3 field troop in vietnam, where he won the military cross. It was a very stressful, nerve racking job, pushing the rat s mental state to its limits. They were infantrymen who volunteered to go down the tunnels of south vi. Since the 1940s, during the war against the french colonial forces, the viet cong had created an extensive underground. The tunnel systems could often be huge, and would be filled with all kinds of tricks and traps, not to mention people trying to kill you. This vietnam war book records the operations of sappers in the 3 field troop royal australian engineers 1rar.
While tracking down specific statistics on fatality rates among the tunnel rats is not easy, it is not a stretch to venture that. Aug 06, 2017 vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it. Feb 20, 2012 buy tunnel rat in vietnam warrior by gordon l rottman isbn. What a wonderful way to begin this article on sergeant sgt r retired, vietnam veteran who has post traumatic stress disorder. If you prefer a room on your own, the extra cost is. The ben duoc site contains part of the original tunnel. I seem to remember a book my friend read in high school about 20 years ago that was about or had a section on the tunnel rats, i can picture the cover but i cant see the name in my minds eye. Its the part of the job people want to hear about they want to know what it was like to descend into the vietcong s subterranean pathways, storehouses. Over 45,000 people died defending the cu chi tunnels during the vietnam war. And, of course, theres some spectacular scenery to. Is there anyone out there who knows the correct latin phrase. The tunnel rats faced trap doors which contained deadly spikes underneath, snakes were hung from the ceiling so they would hang down ready to attack anyone passing by and some also contained holes in the side of the tunnel wall, on the other side would be a viet cong soldier holding a spear ready to impale any intruders. No dead tunnel rats were left in a tunnel, dead or wounded they were all dragged out with commo wire, ropes, or by a comrade using a firemans crawl.
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