Gordon l rottman entered the us army in 1967, volunteered for special forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. The army deployed ten tracker teams to nam and added a final one late in 1969. The tunnel rats in the vietnam war the military history blog. The tunnel rats were typically equipped with just a pistol, knife and flashlight due to the confined spaces they had to enter. They had an amusing latin motto which i am trying to remember. During the vietnam war our government never anticipated that tunnel warfare would. For almost every american soldier who carried one in vietnam, the pistol represented a backup weapon. Buy tunnel rat in vietnam warrior by gordon l rottman isbn.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Jack flowers, us army vietnam war patch amongst the most revered and feared elements of the allied military in vietnam were the tunnel rats. In his book, rick gives the reader insight into what it was like for a young soldier who suddenly finds himself on the front line in the vietnam war. He is the author of snitch, watto and wendell sailor. Tunnel rats were american, australian and new zealand military soldiers who went inside viet cong vc tunnels to kill any vc inside. 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 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. 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.
Rottman, served in vietnam with the 1st cavalry division in the late1960s, and witnessed some of what tunnel rats did personally. 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. Their motto was the latin phrase nongradus rodentumnot worth a rat. This is the same patch that is supplied to the military and sold in military base exchanges. This patch would be a great gift idea and a wonderful addition to your patch collection. Tunnel rats vs the taliban, jimmy thomson sandy macgregor. Small villages dot this land, worked by peasants, who have lived there for centuries. We set up in the bushes about forty yards from a few grass huts where we. There are two more videos tunnel rats 2, vietnam and tunnel rats 3, vietnam. Many of the people in this book trained me or i had the privilege of working beside in australia but did not realise at the time how much of a debt i owed them for what they did to make safe so many who served in vietnam.
Jun 20, 2015 men who hid in tunnels during wars viet nam. A harrowing account of americas tunnel rats in the underground battlefields of vietnam. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and vietnam war photos. Other tunnel rats procured their own personal firearms to suit their own needs. While tracking down specific statistics on fatality rates among the tunnel rats is not easy, it is not a stretch to venture that. They helped conduct military operations on behalf of communist forces.
They did underground search and destroy missions to gather any intel, recover arms and finally. Though americans, australians, and new zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed. As the tunnel rat emerged through the connecting trap door, a viet cong might be waiting with a knife to slit his throat. 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. Buy the tunnel rats coronet books new ed by stephen leather isbn.
During the vietnam war, if a us tunnel rat got injured. Officers and crewserved weapons crews often carried them. One of these was master sgt flo rivera who acquired and used a 9mm german luger. Chris masters, a great tv journalist, did this story for page 1 channel 10 more than 20 years ago in 1988. Eightyfive percent rural, the few large cities and towns. 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. The tunnel rats were not spies or saboteur sent to north vietnam or neutral cambodia. What was the mortality rate of the vietnam era tunnel rats. 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. Tunnel rats, also known as 1968 tunnel rats, is a 2008 germancanadian war suspense film written and directed by uwe boll. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand, and australian soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. Most of the tunnel rats were from the 25th infantry division and 3 field troop. Vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it.
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. There were numerous underground guerilla bases in south vietnam that had been built and supplied by forced labor from the surrounding villages. Pete rejoruiz, a cubanborn tunnel rat, is shown popping out of a north vietnamese tunnel. The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the vietnam war. Towards the end of the year, the army began to train off leash dogs, at fort benning. Real vietnam footage set to the music of ccr run through the jungle.
Jimmy thomson is a journalist, author and screenwriter. Military assistance command, vietnam macv had recognized that the need still existed for a lownoise weapon for what were now officially called the tunnel exploration personnel in the republic of vietnam. For the most part, the job of tunnel rat was a catchall name for the work that we did as combat engineers. 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. In a documentary for the film, boll revealed the film did not have a.
The viet cong amassed around 250 kilometres of underground tunnels. If you are going to do a lot of vietnam war reading, i also recommend shelby stantons vietnam order of battle. Sapper jim marett outside the ruins of a rubber plantation mansion in vietnam in 1970. Im very fortunate enough to have visited a section of the tunnels in cu chi, even crawled through one, so having that as a base i imagine really helped me fully understand the extent of. Crossing the line, and cowrote tunnel rats and a sappers war with sandy macgregor. 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 the military cross. Opinion my life as a tunnel rat the new york times.
Tunnel rats were us and allied troops who went into tunnels seeking out the enemy during the vietnam war. 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. Our tunnel rat vietnam patch is a full color, embroidered military patch. The story of a marine grunt in the first battle of khe sanh april 1967 duration. 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.
Whilst thankfully it had not yet turned hot, there were certainly sparks flying around the world. Loosely translated, it was supposed to mean not worth a rats ass. The vietnam tunnel rats association has reserved the australian war memorial last post ceremony for 18 february next year. The pistols that were carried by the tunnel rats were varied, the.
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. Rats tunnel in the war of vietnam learning history. How our sappers in afghanistan took the fight to the insurgents using the lessons learned from vietnam, 2015. 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. The viet cong sometimes sent a spear through the throat of the tunnel rat, impaling him in the tunnel opening. Vietnam war patch us 1st cavalry division tunnel rat team. 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. Years ago i read a great book about the tunnel rats who served in vietnam.
We were trained at the australian armys school of military engineering, located 20. The vietnam war provides the vital clue to a brutal murder in this powerful thriller of buried secrets and retribution. Over 95% of these men were in the field troops, and thus tunnel rats. The tunnel rats goodreads meet your next favorite book. Tunnel rats vs the taliban jimmy thomson and sandy. The tunnel rats were some of the most courageous men, that dared to enter into the rat tunnels. Is there anyone out there who knows the correct latin phrase. Another short osprey book that i read quickly for a section of my dissertation.
Its a great, detailed reference for all us army units there are sections on the usmc and allied units, too, down to battalion level. During the vietnam war, tunnel rat became an unofficial. Most of us who served as tunnel rats during the vietnam war quickly realized that crawling through underground enemy bunkers would be the. But not the tunnel rats, americas subterranean warriors that would head underground in the jungles of vietnam. How our sappers in afghanistan took the fight to the insurgents using the lessons learned from vietnam by jimmy thomson sandy macgregorbuy.
Click here to see a list of casualties from 1 field squadron rae and 3 field troop rae in vietnam. Their motto was the tongueincheek latin phrase non gratus anus rodentum not worth a rat s arse in the early stages of the war against the french colonial forces, the viet minh created an. Since the 1940s, during the war against the french colonial forces, the viet cong had created an extensive underground system of. Special us soldiers called tunnel rats would crawl through the systems to find the enemy. Army combat and support forces in vietnam 19611973 book. Sneaking around south vietnam in the pitch darkness, looking for someone to kill, while trying to avoid being one seen first, and killed, is the scariest thing i did.
This network connected villages, cities, and districts. 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 cong who could act as translators, the team. 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. 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. They came to be known simply as tunnel rats with the unofficial motto non gratum anus rodentum not worth a rat s ass. First of all, those ops were certainly not off the book. Dedicated to the men of 3 fld troop and 1troop, 2troop and 3troop 1 fld sqn rae, the aussie tunnel rats. Tunnel rats ofvietnam vietnams littleknown underground war and the men and women who fought it sgt.
412 961 1669 858 1547 629 457 881 601 17 1418 473 757 176 323 376 1292 1257 53 1651 448 1509 555 1664 1085 1625 81 1276 463 481 999 680 196 442 1412 606 288 108 1026 877 1160 750 1195 762 43 384