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. Due to the intense and dangerous nature of the job, many tunnel rats became so emotionally desensitized that entering a spider hole was just another day at the office no big deal. Carlos hathcock always wore a white feather on his cap, as if to dare enemy snipers to take a shot at him. A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the underground battlefields of vietnam by tom mangold.
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. Several of these tunnels had sharp ubends which could be easily flooded to trap and drown intruders. Tunnel rats went into reprint in only its first week on sale and has done well since. Tunnel rats vs the taliban tunnel rats vs the taliban. Feb 20, 2012 tunnel rat in vietnam ebook written by gordon l. 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. 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. After his death, a variant of the m25 rifle was named after him. It was the duty of the brave tunnel rat to slide alone into the tunnels entrance then search for the enemy and other valuable intelligence. The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the vietnam war. One particular favourite pistol of tunnel rats was the. Dead center a marine snipers twoyear odyssey in the vietnam war ebook by. He liked it as it was lighter, but ammunition was hard to get since we only had.
The so called tunnel rats had to explore, destroy, and hopefully not find the enemy and lose. 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. We believe our total number is somewhere around 700. This is about how the vietnamese built and maintained those black tunnels and who our brave tunnel rats were who went down into those deadly traps to fight them. The pistols that were carried by the tunnel rats were varied, the. Feb 20, 2012 buy tunnel rat in vietnam warrior by gordon l rottman isbn. 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. The tunnel rats, those who survived, did not tell their own story. 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. Crossing the line, and cowrote tunnel rats and a sappers war with sandy macgregor.
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. As a young captain sandy macgregor, a graduate of the royal military college, duntroon, commanded the original tunnel rats of 3 field troop in vietnam and was awarded. Jun, 2017 it was the duty of the brave tunnel rat to slide alone into the tunnels entrance then search for the enemy and other valuable intelligence. Sgt or below and small, weighing less than 160 lbs and no taller than 5 7 us little grunts always got the honors. Tunnel rats ofvietnam vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it sgt. If the tunnels were the secret weapon of the viet cong, the tunnel rats were the unsung heroes of the american forces. During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured. The tunnel rats who paid the supreme sacrifice in vietnam are resting in peace in capital cities and remote towns across australia and in one case malaysia, where our first kia is buried in terendak cemetery. This vietnam war book records the operations of sappers in the 3 field troop royal australian engineers 1rar. Whilst thankfully it had not yet turned hot, there were certainly sparks flying around the world. During the vietnam war our government never anticipated that tunnel warfare would. 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.
They came to be known simply as tunnel rats with the unofficial motto non gratum anus rodentum not worth a rat s ass. The tunnel rats by stephen leather goodreads share book. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read tunnel rat in vietnam. Sometimes while on the mission, a tunnel rat would meet a viet cong soldier, and would then have to engage in exceedingly close combat. Though americans, australians, and new zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed. The viet cong amassed around 250 kilometres of underground tunnels. Tunnel rat in vietnam equipped with tunnel exploitation kit.
A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the underground battlefields of vietnam. Oct 02, 2015 american, australian, and new zealander soldiers who performed underground search missions. During the vietnam war, tunnel rat became an unofficial. Sappers war aussie tunnel rats vietnam war books on war. Army sniper charged with murder on the battlefield in new book, saving. American, australian, and new zealander soldiers who performed underground search missions. 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.
They frequently ended up in hand to hand combat and were subjected to snipers, booby traps, rats, snakes and scorpions. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 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. From vietnam kindle edition by burgess, robert f download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Some tunnel rats used silencers with their pistols to reduce the bark when fired. Sep 15, 2015 inspired by the original australian tunnel rats of the war in vietnam, these tunnel rats of afghanistan have rooted out the enemy from deep inside their caves and mountain hideouts, have defused thousands of ieds, built bridges and schools to win a war of hearts and minds, and fought side by side with special forces commandos and sas troops. The tunnel rats received hazardous pay as extra compensation and would generally not serve for more than an average of four months.
Inspired by the original australian tunnel rats of the war in vietnam, these tunnel rats of afghanistan have rooted out the enemy from deep inside their caves and mountain hideouts, have defused thousands of ieds, built bridges and schools to win a war of hearts and. These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat. Dec 06, 2014 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. 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. Other tunnel rats procured their own personal firearms to suit their own needs. Buy the tunnel rats coronet books new ed by stephen leather isbn.
Tunnel rats would often carry soviet pistols which they 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 which to hide from the enemy. Each chapter was about a different aspect of tunnel. Buy tunnel rat in vietnam warrior by gordon l rottman isbn. A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the underground battlefields of vietnam by tom mangold due to covid19, orders may be delayed. The vietcong had been using tunnel systems for many years against the chinese, japanese and french invaders.
The tunnel rats were not spies or saboteur sent to north vietnam or neutral cambodia. 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. During the vietnam war our government never anticipated that tunnel warfare would be so prominent or important in waging ground combat. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times. 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. Did the tunnel rats make much of an impact in the war.
The tunnels also hosted armament workshops, training depots, headquarters, and a variety of other facilities. In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a script, and instead the actors improvised their lines. What was it like to be an american tunnel rat in vietnam. Dec 11, 2010 carlos hathcock always wore a white feather on his cap, as if to dare enemy snipers to take a shot at him. They were the 1st to find the secret viet cong tunnels. I never knew till reading this book about tunnel rats. Special us soldiers called tunnel rats would crawl through the systems to find the enemy. Numerous levels, carefully disguised entrances, lookout points, sniper nests. Why we didnt win in vietnam, is what i would have titled this book. This network connected villages, cities, and districts. The job was time consuming, difficult the tunnels were a tight squeeze for a typical vietname. 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. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and vietnam war photos. 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.
This book is about the tunnels that the vietnamese dug and used during the war in the 1960s. 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. While tracking down specific statistics on fatality rates among the tunnel rats is not easy, it is not a stretch to venture that. Pete rejoruiz, a cubanborn tunnel rat, is shown popping out of a north vietnamese tunnel. The vietnam tunnel rats are the men who served in the engineer field troops in vietnam 3 field troop and 1, 2 and 3 troop of 1 field squadron, royal australian engineers. These weapons were used in against some of the most lowtech forces the us military had faced in a long time. First of all, those ops were certainly not off the book.
A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the underground battlefields of vietnam 9780891418696. The vietnam war best snipers series book 12 by robert f. These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat in. 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. 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. 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. Sorry to say i havent read it, but its author did serve in vietnam. One of these was master sgt flo rivera who acquired and used a 9mm german luger. They helped conduct military operations on behalf of communist forces. The tunnels of cu chi by tom mangold and john penycate. Tunnel rats, also known as 1968 tunnel rats, is a 2008 germancanadian war suspense film written and directed by uwe boll. Here is another good book by osprey publishing, tunnel rat in vietnam.
During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured or. Merchandise get the simple history vietnam war book on amazon. 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. Soldiers who braved enemy tunnels in the vietnam war. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was not realized just how extensive they were in some. 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. They would gain the nickname tunnel rats please do not reupload. The vietcong used elaborate tunnel systems to store food and ammunition as well as housing medical and combat facilities. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading tunnel tales. In 1965, soon after the first us combat troops had arrived in vietnam, it was realized that in some areas the viet cong.
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. He is the author of snitch, watto and wendell sailor. The cold war had been drifting on for a number of years with the east and west ready to launch a tirade of nuclear warheads at each other. The tunnel rats in the vietnam war the military history blog. Jimmy thomson is a journalist, author and screenwriter. Jan 14, 2016 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 explosives. They were infantrymen who volunteered to go down the tunnels of south vi. The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war.
There were numerous underground guerilla bases in south vietnam that had been built and supplied by forced labor from the surrounding villages. Tunnel rats the tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam 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. What was the mortality rate of the vietnam era tunnel rats. Mar 08, 2019 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. Their unofficial moto was non gratum anus rodentum in latin.
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