Tunnel rat in vietnam pdf merge

They dig several feet down and then suddenly the earth in. 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. After about five minutes, i could see the soldiers up the line turning and whispering. Here is another good book by osprey publishing, tunnel rat in vietnam. What was the mortality rate of the vietnam era tunnel. 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. 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. What was the mortality rate of the vietnam era tunnel rats. Click download or read online button to get tunnel rat in vietnam book now. 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. Payne, a tunnel rat, bravely searches a tunnel s entrance during vietnam war. Dec 15, 2016 tunnel rats of vietnam i know there were soldiers who had to go through these tunnels. During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured. Basically if a company, or a platoon or a squad stumbles on a t.

Learning on the job with the australian tunnel rats in vietnam. Decorated veteran billy heflin shares what it was like for him to be a tunnel rat in the vietnam war. Hope you dont mind an off tunnel topic suggestion, but i recently read a vietnam war book that was a great, great read and i have been wanting to recommend it to someone. This will be followed by a traditional troop bbq pissup amongst the rubber trees. Vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it. John olson stars and stripes south vietnam, november, 1967. 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. Soldiers seen slowly lowering a tunnel rat into a tunnel during operation oregon in vietnam. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the. The vietcong used elaborate tunnel systems to store food and ammunition as well as housing medical and combat facilities.

Tunnel rats were us, australian and newzelander soldiers who went inside viet congvc tunnels to kill any vc inside, gather any intel, recover arms and finally demolish the tunnels by planting. Feb 08, 2009 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. These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat in. Weve negotiated a good room rate, but if you pre fer to stay somewhere else, thats no. 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. The rat might have a radio, but once you get deep in the tunnel complex, the chance of it working was remote, and as such, many rats preferred not to bother with the extra accoutrements. Once you get out of the tunnels, check out the village by francis bing west. 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. Im sure there were some soldiers chasing that adrenaline rush. For the most part, the job of tunnel rat was a catchall name for the work that we did as combat engineers. Simply put, short times dont make very good tunnel rats, were too cautious. Press button download or read online below and wait 20 seconds. Focused on tunnel rats, our tour will visit key operational areas.

We were trained at the australian armys school of military engineering, located 20. Their motto was the latin phrase nongradus rodentumnot worth a rat. In rare cases though, some tunnel rats carried ak47s, chopped off shotgunsto shorten their length and even 4 guage shotguns. Usually we operated in the huge cu chi tunnel complex near saigon, but not on that day, on that day we were ordered to investigate a tunnel complex way up north, west of da. Later, similar teams were used by the soviet army during the soviet war in afghanistan, and the israel defense forces. Feb 19, 2014 a tunnel rat is handed explosives to destroy the tunnel it seems crazy that men actually volunteered to go into these tunnels, but the tunnel rats were motivated by many different things.

In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a. Vietnam tunnel rats association 43 heyington place toorak vic 3142 tel. Malcolm young of firefly films, a film and television production company in singapore, is developing a documentary about the vietnam war that will look at the system of tunnels the viet cong had in south vietnam and the role of the american tunnel rats to that end, young is looking for former vietnam war tunnel rats who would be willing to be. Read online tunnel rat in vietnam pdf book by on juggernaut books.

Messines ridge, battle of okinawa, cu chi tunnels of vietnam. At the battle of fire support base andersen ten tunnel rats. The vietnam tunnel rats and the sappers of today intermingle in the ors boozer at. Gordon l rottman entered the us army in 1967, volunteered for special forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. O i am a new joining member membership application form enclosed. Im sure the most common tunnel rat weapon was the 1911a1 pistol.

Tunnel rat soldier entering a vietcong tunnel 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. 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. Small villages dot this land, worked by peasants, who have lived there for centuries. Tunnel rat pin vietnam war veterans vietnam tunnel rat pin. War underground, chu chi district, operation crimp, the guerillas of the viet cong, the tunnels, survival underground, born in a tunnel, the tunnel rats, not worth a rats ass, stop the americans. Because of the tight and cramped up tunnels, tunnel rats avoided arming themselves with regular infantry firearms. Following are the tools of the trade of tunnel rats. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand, and australian soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the.

Pete rejoruiz, a cubanborn tunnel rat, is shown popping out of a north vietnamese tunnel. Their motto was the tongue in cheek latin phrase non gratus anus rodentum not worth a rat s arse. It was the most readily available and was in the infantry supply chain. To many americans, the war in vietnam was, and remains, a divisive. 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. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Now, in an unfinished, unsupported tunnel like he was in, a rainstorm usually meant death for a tunnel rat. The vietnam tunnel rats association has reserved the australian war memorial last post ceremony for 18 february next year. Unbeatable prices save up to 50% off on unique deals of the day. Apr 19, 2018 today in the zero bunker, g gives us a vietnam war story from an actual tunnel rat. Vietnam war during the vietnam war tunnel rat became a more or less official specialty for volunteer. 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 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. 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. Aug 06, 2017 vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it. In 1969 the two tunnel rats seen here at the back of the boat were at. This patch would be a great gift idea and a wonderful addition to your patch collection. Oct 09, 2017 i was a marine grunt in vietnam during 67. Tunnel rats ofvietnam vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it sgt. In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a script, and instead the actors improvised their lines. 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. 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. See more ideas about vietnam, vietnam war and vietnam history. Our piper ross brewer will be joining our tour again. 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. Basically, however, the 1st engineer battalions tunnel rats had the main job.

This is the same patch that is supplied to the military and sold in military base exchanges. While tracking down specific statistics on fatality rates among the tunnel rats is not easy, it is not a stretch to venture that. Tunnel rats ofvietnam vietnam s littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it sgt. Tunnel rat soldier entering a vietcong tunnel during the. Rats tunnel in the war of vietnam learning history. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. 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. Even if it did work though, it isnt like the cavalry will roll in thirty seconds later. 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. 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. 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 50th anniversary tunnel rats tour back to vietnam. And tunnel rats were usually smaller guys in your unit. During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured or. Ad joining the holiday inn is a great suburban pub, the war wick tavern. 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. Pistol was the primary weapon used by the tunnel rats. 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. If that is a squad, the smallest of the ten would do it and the rest of us would prot. 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. They were infantrymen who volunteered to go down the tunnels of south vi. Reputation trusted by 1,000,000 military veteran shoppers since 2000. They dig several feet down and then suddenly the earth in the hole. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and vietnam war photos.

What was the life expectancy of a tunnel rat in vietnam. First of all, those ops were certainly not off the book. Highly recommended and conveniently available in popular ereader formats i read it on a nook. How small were the tunnels used by the vc during the. I know there were soldiers who had to go through these tunnels. Please consider giving a credit hyperlink to if you use the photos on this site using the attribution code in the below box.

Army engineer responsibilities during this period are outlined in u. These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat. But his search places him in grave danger with a killer determined to protect the secrets of the tunnels. Mar 14, 2017 decorated veteran billy heflin shares what it was like for him to be a tunnel rat in the vietnam war. This isnt something that every soldier could do and i wanted to know more about the soldiers who volunteered to do this. Who are the tunnels rats of vietnami wanted to know more about these soldiers and came across this pretty cool site to read with stories and pics. The tunnel rat would descend into a pitch black, claustrophobic, dank hell, to play a deadly game of hide and seek with the enemy.

Malcolm young of firefly films, a film and television production company in singapore, is developing a documentary about the vietnam war that will look at the system of tunnels the viet cong had in south vietnam and the role of the american tunnel rats. And so that was my burden for the war, to be a tunnel rat, climbing down into deep, dank, dangerous tunnels filled with people and animals who wanted to kill me. Hed heard horror stories from the squadmates whod lost others underground, never to be seen again. War underground, chu chi district, operation crimp, the guerillas of the viet cong, the tunnels, survival underground, born in a tunnel, the tunnel rats, not worth a rat s ass, stop the americans. 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. They came to be known simply as tunnel rats with the unofficial motto non gratum anus rodentum not worth a rats ass. Payne, a tunnel rat, bravely searches a tunnels entrance during vietnam war. During the vietnam war our government never anticipated that tunnel warfare would be so prominent or important in waging ground combat. Hope you dont mind an offtunneltopic suggestion, but i recently read a vietnam war book that was a great, great read and i have been wanting to recommend it to someone.

Eightyfive percent rural, the few large cities and towns. The tunnels were all sizes, though their entries were usually quite small. They were usually the smallest guy in your group when a hole is found. 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. Feb 09, 2018 for the most part, the job of tunnel rat was a catchall name for the work that we did as combat engineers. Our tunnel rat vietnam patch is a full color, embroidered military patch. Today in the zero bunker, g gives us a vietnam war story from an actual tunnel rat.

The tunnel rats were not spies or saboteur sent to north vietnam or neutral cambodia. Download tunnel rat in vietnam or read tunnel rat in vietnam online books in pdf, epub and mobi format. Lt goodwin never mentioned the incident again, and this episode successfully ended my career as a tunnel rat. 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.