Vietnam was teeming with underground tunnels built by the north vietnamese. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. This video starts with a couple of minutes from the documentary page 1 chris masters and then some questions put to the political commissar, tran. Payne, a tunnel rat, bravely searches a tunnel s entrance during vietnam war. Start reading tunnel rat in vietnam warrior book 161 on your kindle in. 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. What specialized weapons were used by the, tunnel rats. It is a story about the first allied tunnel rats in the vietnam war jan 1966. Bct included lessons on handtohand combat, chemicalwarfare defence, map reading, first aid, bayonet fighting, guard duty, and the use of hand grenades. 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.
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. Training overall, tunnel rat soldiers received little, if any, specific training. Tunnel rat in vietnam download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Usarv war dog training detachment, set up at bien hoa, for the training and deployment center for all dogs and handlers in south vietnam. Consisting of a number of men formally trained to enter the tunnels, radio operators to communicate with them, a medic and a pair of former viet. I am a veteran and i am trying to help a fellow veteran who served in vietnam as a tunnel rat his army records from that time are missing. 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. During that period 36 of us were killed and around 200 were wounded, giving us a casualty rate of 33 percent, high even by vietnam war standards. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times. This dvd is 60 minutes and is a composite of a 1969 army training film aimed at soldiers known as tunnel rats, and actual footage of tunnel teams uncovering and. Buy the complete guide to rat training complete care made easy third printing by debbie ducommun isbn. Tunnel rats one specialized weapon they used was the snw quiet special purpose qsp 1 revolver, a modified. Auburn author recounts life in vietnams harrowing tunnels.
I share the full movie for those willing to watch it. During the vietnam war, tunnel rat became an unofficial specialty. A good little book, gives a good overview of tunnel warfare in vietnam. 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 rat in vietnam warrior book 161 kindle edition by rottman.
They came to be known simply as tunnel rats with the unofficial motto non gratum anus rodentum not worth a rats ass. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Though americans, australians, and new zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed. Many of the tunnel rats from austraila, new zealand, south vietnam, and america volunteered for the dangerous position. Another short osprey book that i read quickly for a section of my dissertation. Rottman, served in vietnam with the 1st cavalry division in the late1960s, and witnessed some of what tunnel rats did personally. He was working on a new book titled avenger and wanted the main character to be somewhat based on my experiences in vietnam. Some of the basic combat training bct soldiers undertook helped though. The viet cong guerrillas, however, respected the american tunnel soldiers as deadly hunters, whoarmed with only knives, flashlights and pistols. This network connected villages, cities, and districts.
There is little mention of tunnel rats in unit histories. Tunnel rats tunnel rats in vietnam us army training. Non gratus anus rodentum is a latin phrase that, when translated into english, means not worth a rats ass. Tunnel rats in vietnam us army training film 1969 youtube. Armys 1st engineer battalion, whose exploits are featured in mangold and penycates book, later claimed a special place for tunnel rats in american military history during their rotation through the cu chi district of vietnam in 1969. 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. Even with these difficulties, the majority of tunnel rats were very successful.
The book is presented like a school text book or course work book, so a good place to start for the beginner. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the. Our tunnel rat unit was small, with at most 120 men in the country at any time, and a total of around 700 who served from 1965 to 1972. These were the terrifying dangers of being a tunnel rat.
Ultimately, shooting underground was a last resort. Is there a recordlisting of men who served as tunnel rats. During the vietnam war our government never anticipated that tunnel warfare would be so prominent or important in waging ground combat. A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the underground battlefields of vietnam by tom mangold nov 29, 2005 4. A few silenced pistols made their way to vietnam and some of them were used by the tunnel rats.
The tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealander soldiers who performed underground search and special missions in vietnam. Since there were no tunnel rat units as such, they being ad hoc. However, the brave troops that were picked for the job were commonly the shortest grunts in the platoon for obvious reasons. The complete guide to rat training complete care made easy. One in three of us was either killed or wounded during our tour. Some civilian handguns worked their way into the mix, but for most of the tunnel rats the big. That excellent website is predominantly by and for aussie vietnam. As the tunnel rat emerged through the connecting trap door, a viet cong might be waiting with a knife to slit his throat. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Tunnel rats in vietnam us army training film 1969 us. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
The training of tunnel rats is also covered from basic training boot camp, advance individual training as infantrymen or engineers, followed by tunnel warfare selection and training in demolitions, boobytrap awareness, chemical employment, countermine warfare and tunnel exploitation. Tunnel rats trainer 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. The viet cong amassed around 250 kilometres of underground tunnels. 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 1965, soon after the first us combat troops had arrived in vietnam.
Sapper jim marett outside the ruins of a rubber plantation mansion in vietnam in 1970. Have a look around this website and the books this is a great slice of genuine australian history featuring 67 forgotten heroes of the vietnam war. The tunnel rats used a host of specialized weapons that helped them to be effective at their job. The tunnels also hosted armament workshops, training depots, headquarters, and a variety of other facilities. The tunnel rats of the 1 st infantry division, the only one with any kind of formal training, was especially successful. Rottman, 9781849087834, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. This us army training film shows how tunnel rats detect and. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Army scout dog teams peaked on january 20 with the arrival of the 37th ipsd, they became the 22nd scout dog platoon deployed to vietnam. Tunnel rats in vietnam cherrieswriter vietnam war website. Sandy macgregor, the troop commander of 3 field troop the original tunnel. Tunnel rat, ferret patch vietnam war original post. 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.
Most useful for tunnel rats, however, was the experience gained 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. 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. Here is another good book by osprey publishing, tunnel rat in vietnam. This tongueincheek expression was the motto of the tunnel rats, an informal name given to a group of infantry soldiers and combat engineers in the vietnam war with a very hazardous specialty. This tunnel rat made it back home alive local news. Buy tunnel rat in vietnam warrior by gordon l rottman isbn. They helped conduct military operations on behalf of communist forces. Click download or read online button to get tunnel rat in vietnam book now.
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