Tunnel rat

The tunnel rats were American soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam war. In the course of the war, the Viet Cong created very extensive underground complexes (see Cu Chi tunnels). Whenever U.S. troops would uncover a tunnel, Tunnel Rats were sent in to kill any buried enemy and to plant explosives to destroy the tunnels. A Tunnel Rat was equipped with only a semiautomatic M1911 handgun and a flashlight.

Because of the confined space, the tunnel rats disliked the massive muzzle blast of the 1911 pistol, which would often leave the tunnel rat temporarily deaf, and it was not uncommon that they used whatever alternative handgun they could come across. The Soviet-made pistols the enemy carried were particular favorites, but they were extremely rare and the soldiers would often have someone at home send them a civilian pistol or revolver. Ironically, among the favorites were the German Luger and Walther pistols, many of which were brought home by returning American troops. Others would trade their pistols for revolvers used by other personnel. Many used improvised sound suppressors on their pistols to further reduce the noise.

The tunnels were very dangerous, with numerous booby traps and enemies lying in wait. Often there were flooded U-bends in the tunnels to trap gas. Guards manned holes on the sides of tunnels through which spears could be thrust impaling a crawling intruder.

Tunnel Rats were generally men of smaller stature, and were often of Puerto Rican descent. The Australian troops tended to call their soldiers ferrets, rather than rats.

External link

• Poem written by a Tunnel Rat

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The Tunnel Rats is also the name of a Punk Rock band from New Hampshire.