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. 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. Feb 20, 2012 buy tunnel rat in vietnam warrior by gordon l rottman isbn. Full text of the vietnam war the definitive illustrated.
The tunnel rats were not spies or saboteur sent to north vietnam or neutral cambodia. 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. Tunnel people is an anthropologicaljournalistic account describing an underground homeless community in new york city. The vietnam tunnel rats association has reserved the australian war memorial last post ceremony for 18 february next year. The tunnels have become a major nuisance for the u. People who may be exposed to trauma can train themselves to think in a way that could protect them from ptsd symptoms, according to a study from kings. 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. The civilian contractors tried to train the men on site, but often lacked the time. 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. Jun 11, 2018 they resorted to recruit and train tunnel rats, who were men of small stature, crawling inside the tunnels to discover or to kill the hiding viet cong and plant explosives aimed at destroying them.
It is written by war photographer and anthropologist teun voeten and was published by the oaklandbased independent publishing house pm press in 2010. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was not realized just how extensive they were in some. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Like rat holes and rabbit warrens, they are difficult to access and despite some technology augmentation, it has once again come down to the lightly armed grunt, like the tunnel rats of vietnam to completely search and clear such underground fortresses. Thrilling, inspiring and action packed, this is the true story of the unsung heroes of australias war in vietnam. A detail guide to ben duoc tunnel will provide you with all the.
This book is about the tunnels that the vietnamese dug and used during the war in the 1960s. Other tunnel rats procured their own personal firearms to suit their own needs. Vietnam war during the vietnam war tunnel rat became a more or less official specialty for volunteer. The pistols that were carried by the tunnel rats were varied, the. Their main mission is to cleanup the vietcong network of tunnels found in the cuchi district outside the south vietnamese capital of saigon. Two of us were sent into the tunnel that day, myself and benoit. Full text of the vietnam war the definitive illustrated history see other formats. They resorted to recruit and train tunnel rats, who were men of small. Compiled by stephen coester 63 supplement to the list of over three hundred classmates who served in vietnam 1 phil adams i was on the uss boston, guided missile cruiser patrolling the vietnam coast in 67, and we got hit above the water line in the bow by a sidewinder. I saw some strange stuff in a tunnel in vietnam my. It is a story that connects the unsung heroes of vietnam with the modern heroes of afghanistan. The tunnel exploration kit was abandoned in service, most tunnel rats wanted nothing to do with it, and it was quickly withdrawn. Cu chi tunnels are an immense network of underground tunnels located in ho chi minh, saigon known for its role during the vietnam war or the american war. A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the underground battlefields of vietnam 9780891418696.
Army service as a tunnel rat still haunts vietnam veteran. Jan 01, 2012 another short osprey book that i read quickly for a section of my dissertation. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times. This is all the more strange when you consider that the tunnels were the main reason the vietnam war proved impossible for. The job was time consuming, difficult the tunnels were a tight squeeze for a typical vietname. Not worth a rats ass the tunnel rats were among the bravest in vietnam, doing a. They also assisted in searching villages or suspected areas of enemy built up supplies, weapons and ammunition. The tunnel rats knew what worked for them and were exceedingly conservative in adopting any new hardware or weapons. During the operation the tunnel ratssoldiers who ventured underground to ferret. South vietnam seemed to possess little chance for survival in the face of the viet cong insurgency at home and north vietnams increasingly active role in the conflict.
I know this is a language site and i have no sources to back up the following statement. Buy tunnel rats vs the taliban by jimmy thomson from australias online independent bookstore, boomerang books. This is the story of the sappers, the army engineers in afghanistan who learnt their skills from the original australian tunnel rats of the vietnam war. The site has over 120km of underground tunnels, with trapdoors, living areas, kitchens, storage facilities, armoury. Foreign military studies office publications underground. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. Sapper jim marett outside the ruins of a rubber plantation mansion in vietnam in 1970. Chris masters, a great tv journalist, did this story for page 1 channel 10 more than 20 years ago in 1988. Download my free become a digital nomad ebook howtobecome. 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. A tunnel rat crawling through a tight tunnel would wake them from their rest causing them to fly right at him, getting tangled in his hair and running and crawling all over him. During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured or. Tunnel rats is a dark and intense singleplayer shooter for pc that depicts the horrific realities of the vietnam war as seen through the eyes of a young us soldier. Almost all of the vietnamera tunnel rats have left active duty by now, but the need to train for this type of underground combat remains.
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. Selection of the best hotels with cheap rates in vietnam to book on hotellook. There were numerous underground guerilla bases in south vietnam that had been built and supplied by forced labor from the surrounding villages. Their motto was the tongueincheek latin phrase non gratus anus rodentum not worth a rats arse in the early stages of the war against the french colonial forces, the viet minh created an. Researching our first tunnel rats book, id been to the places where australian sappers army engineers. Very interesting, and well documented the underground life of the vietcong during the war.
Yet, the system could still stand strong thank to the brilliant design and attentive guarding. The tunnel rats and millions of other books are available for instant access. Seeing a film of ones life and the tunnel with light at the end is quite common in neardeath experiences, and i read in a book about the brain once that there may be neurobiological causes for this something about dying neurons firing in many areas amongst which the visual cortex. Booktopia has tunnel rats, the larrikin aussie legends who discovered the vietcongs secret weapon by jimmy thomson. Sep 05, 2011 there are two more videos tunnel rats 2, vietnam and tunnel rats 3, vietnam. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and vietnam war photos. They resorted to recruit and train tunnel rats, who were men of small stature, crawling inside the tunnels to discover or to kill the hiding viet cong and plant explosives aimed at destroying them. Unfortunately this book is almost entirely a recitation of the equipment used by tunnel rats, or how many tunnel rats you might find in a battalion, or how tunnel rats might have used gas or explosives or flashlights in a tunnel. I served my tour in this area of vietnam and i was surprised at the extent and age of the tunnel system explained in the book.
Billy meadows, was a fellow vietnam tunnel rat who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell. For some men and women, the vietnam war never ended. 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. Rats tunnel in the war of vietnam learning history. Tunnel rats, the larrikin aussie legends who discovered. Payne and others of the 196th light infantry brigade probed the massive tunnel in hobo woods, south vietnam, on january 21, 1967, and found detailed maps and plans of the enemy. Our tunnel rat unit was small, with at most 120 men in the country. The real war has collected some 300 of the most historic ap images that serve as a. Feb 19, 2014 it seems crazy that men actually volunteered to go into these tunnels, but the tunnel rats were motivated by many different things. One of these was master sgt flo rivera who acquired and used a 9mm german luger. Im in search of info on where to obtain a vietnam book from years 196769.
What to expect on an overnight train in vietnam intrepid. William fulbright publishes the arrogance of power a book critical of american war policy in vietnam. Now usually black guys managed to avoid becoming tunnel rats on account of them being so tall, but benoit was burdened with the double misfortune of being short and black during the vietnam war, a. Vietnam us war dog association national headquarters. By 1969, subterranean combat in the tunnels of south vietnam had been refined by time and experience. The 498th dust off medical company was an air ambulance unit that served in vietnam.
If the tunnels were the secret weapon of the viet cong, the tunnel rats were the unsung heroes of the american forces. Carl kenneth cory, a tunnel rat of the us 25th infantry division, actually liked the mystique that came with being a tunnel rat including other troops thinking he was mad. Rottman, served in vietnam with the 1st cavalry division in the late1960s, and witnessed some of what tunnel rats did personally. The tunnel rats used a host of specialized weapons that helped them to be effective at their job. The vietcong had been using tunnel systems for many years against the chinese, japanese and french invaders. Sorry to say i havent read it, but its author did serve in vietnam. Attacking underground bunkers in vietnam was the least of my worries.
Au official newsletter of the vietnam tunnel rats association inc it was viet cong soldier duong van manh who first discovered how to lift m16 mines fitted with antilift devices from the 11km long barrier minefield laid by 1 field squadron in 1967. He interviewed me while i was living in new jersey one sunday afternoon and a year later he sent me the book and to my great surprise he had dedicated avenger to the tunnel rats. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the. The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the vietnam war. American, australian, and new zealander soldiers who performed underground search missions. In the end 1968 tunnel rats to give it its full title turned out to be a unique and tense film about a well known aspect of the vietnam war that, oddly, has never been covered before. What specialized weapons were used by the, tunnel rats in. Each chapter was about a different aspect of tunnel. 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. Small villages dot this land, worked by peasants, who have lived there for centuries.
They were called out of the tunnels on january 21, and nauseating gas was pumped in. Special us soldiers called tunnel rats would crawl through the systems to find the enemy. Americans then uncover an extensive network of tunnels and for the first time use tunnel rats, the nickname given to specially trained volunteers who explore the maze of tunnels. He liked it as it was lighter, but ammunition was hard to get since we only had. 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. His descriptions of tunnel rats gave me claustrophobia. The gentleman who showed use how to travel in a tunnel was remarkable as the tunnel was very small and well disguised. As member of a tunnel rats squad, the player is train. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would. While it wasnt the most comfortable night, our time on the overnight train was a unique, and fun, way to get across vietnam. And i believe he was us army he was sleeping on top of a train going home and i never met him id love a picture if someone can hunt it down he was a handsome fella his moms name was crawford also resided in fresno anyone with info on edward lee will used or us.
The picture a short section remains of the 1836 edge hill to lime street tunnel in liverpool. The 25th division maintained a school in cu chi base camp to train tunnel fighters but line outfits never had enough tunnel rats. Catching the train in vietnam expert transport tips on getting around vietnam by train getting around vietnam by train lonely planet hi there, we use cookies to improve your experience on our website. Pete rejoruiz, a cubanborn tunnel rat, is shown popping out of a north vietnamese tunnel. In their 1985 book, the tunnels of cu chi, bbc reporters tom mangold and john penycate told the story of the american tunnel rats, a saga they learned about for the first time from the viet cong, who admired the tunnel rats as the best soldiers among the american forces. The tunnel rats in the vietnam war the military history blog. Chu chi tunnels ho chi minh city attractions vietnam. They have visual and olfactory sensory abilities that are literally superhuman, can go where a soldier cannot, and can often subdue or intimidate a foe more quickly with nonlethal force. About the author jimmy thomson is a journalist, author and screenwriter whose credits include the abctv series rain shadow. Buy tunnel rats vs the taliban by jimmy thomson, audio. The book goes into detail about the cuchi district of south vietnam, telling.
The underground tunnels of cu chi, vietnam vietnam war. Apr 05, 2017 the train pulls into the station and we step onto the platform, blinking in the hazy morning light of vietnams secondlargest city. Underground facilities are a near constant in asymmetric warfare. 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. Sometimes while on the mission, a tunnel rat would meet a viet cong soldier, and would then have to engage in exceedingly close combat. Sac county freedom rock tunnel rat ray bubba sorensen ii uses paint to turn large rocks into veterans memorials, each with unique illustrations. Tunnel rats vs the taliban by jimmy thomson 9781760294168. The life expectancy of a tunnel rat in vietnam was three seconds. Sam, previously protecting us from terrorists on a plane, then on a train, is now on the ground well, part of the story is even underground. Cu chi tunnels ho chi minh city 2020 all you need to. Two cans are tied to trees either side of the track with the delay train and safety pins are removed and slide into the cans.
Vietnam war vietnam war, vietnam war photos, south vietnam. They are young, they are tough and they were the forward scouts in australias war against the taliban. Eightyfive percent rural, the few large cities and towns. 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. Full text of vietnam stories see other formats members of the usna class of 1963 who served in the vietnam war. The tunnel rats by stephen leather goodreads share book.
May 26, 2019 the tunnel rats used a host of specialized weapons that helped them to be effective at their job. First of all, those ops were certainly not off the book. 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. 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. As the vietnam war neared the end, the idea of going home was greatly welcomed by the troops, but some of the dog handlers were worried what would happen to their dogs, and a number of handlers tried to get permission to take their dogs home with them, but the military said, it was afraid that the dogs would carry disease, and said no. The iarrikin aussie legends who discovered the vietcongs secret. Tunnel life ho chi minh, leader of northvietnam, ordered expansion of. Tunnel rats, also known as 1968 tunnel rats, is a 2008 germancanadian war suspense film written and directed by uwe boll. Tunnel rats one specialized weapon they used was the snw quiet special purpose qsp 1 revolver, a modified. He along with vietnam fellow vet, and poet, larry ratmann, revisit old places in vietnam that they know, and new ines that they dont. 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.
Buy tunnel rats by jimmy thomson from australias online independent bookstore, boomerang books. Buy a discounted paperback of tunnel rats online from australias leading online bookstore. The tunnel rats did exist in vietnam and the vietnamese did wage war from the tunnels. Army brass decides to create a special unit called the tunnel rats. The vietcong used elaborate tunnel systems to store food and ammunition as well as housing medical and combat facilities. Later, similar teams were used by the soviet army during the soviet war in afghanistan, and the israel defense forces. Living up to their motto of we make and we break, they created the legend of the tunnel rats. Connelly brings to life the tunnel rats the soldiers that lived and died in the dark, their screams heard as a black echo, just going on and on. 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. In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a script, and instead the actors improvised their lines.
In addition to all the fine qualities that dogs have as team members, dogs can do even more. The tunnel rats of viet nam bill an aussie tunnel rat emerging from a tunnel. Vietnams cu chi tunnels were a particularly nasty element in the vietnam war. He was working on a new book titled avenger and wanted the main character to be somewhat based on my experiences in vietnam.
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. 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. What specialized weapons were used by the, tunnel rats. The infantrymen who explored the complex are known as tunnel rats. What was it like to be an american tunnel rat in vietnam. Army during the vietnam war working as a tunnel rat. The chu chi tunnels are part of a massive war museum in ho chi minh. Aug 06, 2017 vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it. They offer visitors a sneakpeek at the underground life of vietnamese soldiers back in 1948. But they were so cleverly done, you could never find where the actual end. 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. Mar 14, 2017 decorated veteran billy heflin shares what it was like for him to be a tunnel rat in the vietnam war.
Several of these tunnels had sharp ubends which could be easily flooded to trap and drown intruders. A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the 1968 into the abyss. Booby trap in a tunnel vietnam war tunnel rats were the men who went into the. 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.