Tunnel Rats: The Vietnam War’s Most Dangerous Job…

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Unlike more conventional conflicts with an established frontline, Vietnam was an area war where patches of the countryside were controlled by one side or the other. Intruding in the communist held zones, US forces found themselves fighting an enemy that seemed to be able to strike out of nowhere like ghosts, sometimes from even within their own defensive perimeters. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army were able to achieve this through a mix of the dense jungle which could conceal their movements between fortified positions and the construction of intricate, sprawling tunnels that as well as hiding them from US aircraft, also provided protection from bombing and artillery and even allowed them to infiltrate American bases. Given the widescale use of such tunnels, the US and their allies engaged in the war in Southeast Asia in the mid-60s to early 1970s, required some sort of response. In this episode, we are going to explore the story and experiences of the Tunnel Rats, one of the most dangerous and psychologically taxing jobs of the whole Vietnam War.
0:00 Introduction
3:11 Digging In
7:50 Ferrets and Rats
14:32 Tunnel Rat Combat
18:33 Legacy
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Narrated by: Will Earl
Written & Researched by: Tony Wilkins
Edited by: Jamit Productions
History Should Never Be Forgotten...

[@warsoftheworld1945]

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[@acer_triplex]

My uncle was a Vietnam Tunnel rat. He only spoke of it only once. He said "I was terrified I was going to be shot, stabbed or blown up. I prayed all day everyday to God that I would survive."

[@MANINTHEARENAFILMS]

Is he still with us today?

[@boxbury]

Imagine being under attack from the enemy in a dark narrow tunnel and you fire your weapon in defence and suddenly you go deaf. There, alone in the dark, now deaf and enclosed on sides. Horrific!

[@incorrectbeans]

Legitimately the most frightening job in a warzone I can think of.

[@Andy_Babb]

I didn’t learn until last year at 37yo that my father was in Vietnam. Growing up he’d not only told me he was never in Vietnam, but said he’d only served in the navy (which was true, except it was 10 years later). He just mentioned it casually, and when I inquired he admitted that yeah, he had been in the ninth infantry during Vietnam in 1969, serving as a tunnel rat. He said he was only there for about a year, when I asked why he said he’d been shot. He won’t tell me the whole story but he just said he went into a hole one day that wasn’t empty. I said as respectfully as possible bc if the sensitivity : “Well, you’re here. So, does that mean the enemy didn’t make it out of the tunnel?” He just replied “yes.” I didn’t prod for more detail bc it was obvious, seeing as I was only learning of this after nearly four decades as his son, that it’s something that really bothers him. He told me he knew he would end up being drafted so he volunteered, thinking/hoping he’d be sent to Germany as was the rumor at the time, and ended up in Vietnam. 17yo, months before his 18th birthday, my father was entering enemy tunnels armed with nothing but his bayonet and pistol. My grandparents never found out. He never told them he enlisted, served in the same infantry regiment as his father had in WWII, had been shot and awarded the Purple Heart among other metals. None of it. They both died never knowing my dad had served in the Vietnam war. I’ve been VERY fortunate to have a wonderful and extremely close relationship with my dad my whole life. Everything he (and my mom) ever did as a parent was to make sure my sister and I were happy and had fun and fulfilling lives - which we did/do. I’ve always respected my dad, but when I learned this story I was both stunned and in awe. To me he is a genuine hero, yet he feels so much shame. I try to remind him regularly that he survived the most dangerous job in modern military history and should be proud for his service bc I certainly am. Btw, he had also joined the navy in 1981 to work as a sonar technician on nuclear submarines. He was injured on the sub and sent home. All he’d done and he was done in by two morons playing cards on the top bunk - over the weight limit - and onto my father’s back. Permanent damage done yet he’s never received a dime from the army or the navy for his service in either branch.

[@pyro1047]

Unfortunately, the governments favorite words when it comes to taking care of those who put everything on the line for it; are, say it with me now: "Not Service Related". They love that BS magic phrase, I heard a vet say that supposedly the VA's no longer considering hearing loss "Service Related" because "Well you were issued ear pro, weren't you?" Like "Yes, let me ask the Taliban if they can please pause their ambush so I can squeeze my ear foam in and now also not be able to hear anything from my squad either". Reminds me of another story told on their podcast where a vet was reading an article about how the military had finally 100% banned burn pits due to their horrendous and Hazardous health effects on personnel, he went "huh", and proceeded to toss it into the burn pit they still had them using. I'll always love and support our troops, especially growing up and living next to FT Riley "Home of rhe Big Red One" 98% of my life; but the ones sitting at the top have rarely done anything to make me feel like they're any different from every other abused and openly corrupt bureaucratic institution out there.

[@JamesFromTexas]

Great as always!

[@BeverlyBirgenheier]

A good friend from Montana was a tunnel rat. He ate his gun several years ago. R.I. P.Charlie Teeter

[@Ebergerud]

I interviewed several "tunnel rats" and the job was more frightening than actually dangerous. It was rare to run into the enemy - they didn't want to be found after all, and the tunnel complex (located northwest & northeast of the big village of Cu Chi: in the Ho Bo and Boi Loi Woods.) It was more dangerous patrolling the tunnel rat areas on the surface - dangerous places for ambushes, hundreds of trip wire grenades etc. We never figured out how to clear the tunnels - most of the them were demolished in 1969-70 by B-52 "Arc Light" air strikes. The VC had used the tunnels to deploy for the Tet Offensive, and that triggered the US to get serious with their "Buffs." Now the tunnels are part of Saigon. For years after the war the remains of the tunnels were used as hide outs for criminals in the Saigon area - and even some political dissidents.

[@Cukito4]

Video starts at 3:12. You´re welcome.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Regarding the building of the tunnels, Ho Chi Minh was heard to remark, "it's amazing what one can accomplish with an enormous pool of expendable labor."

[@williamkaiser8490]

Courageous MEN of VIETNAM

[@jamesfloyd3106]

My uncle told me about these. He said the men that had this job either volunteered or voluntold. But any close combat is always bad

[@artmartinez3080]

Great video! But I can’t hear anything

[@boxbury]

Oh man so interesting yet the narrator made me so sleepy

[@doughboi007]

I can't imagine Vietnam War styles now.

[@jmevb60]

The cajones* are hard to imagine.

[@greglewis1146]

Thr french must have known about the tunnels. why didnt they advise the americans???

[@peterxd3610]

the Americans found the tunnels by accident

[@TheSound0fLegends]

i like your videos but I always find it very hard to hear you.

[@TrailmakersTips4You]

It’s not too bad but I do slightly agree

[@TheSound0fLegends]

@@TrailmakersTips4You there really needs to be an audio standard on KZbin that normalizes the videos audio to -1dB when it's processing. Currently you get such wide variation in volumes that you're constantly turning the volume up and down from video to video.

[@warsoftheworld1945]

Thank you for the feedback. Will bump the volume in future.

[@TheSound0fLegends]

@@warsoftheworld1945 Your welcome my friend. I hope you don't see my comment as a negative? Your content is fantastic and accurate.

[@trentmarks5794]

PLEASE bring back the previous narrator! 🫨

[@jaymeshogan1019]

What? This narrator is the best. What do you want? Some obnoxious American game show host sounding one?

[@Venoxisguides]

I agree. I preferred the old one.

[@zillsburyy1]

AZNs like to dig

[@jmevb60]

That voice is more sleep inducing than golf on a BW TV in 1969

[@YesMeSo]

I was gonna assume he probably sexually open minded, but she had surgery, dude is def straight, not that my opinion matters to anyone, including them, just my two cents. They not harming anyone, hard to have a problem with it, wish this beautiful couple the best 👍

[@Archangelm127]

The new narrator continues to put me to sleep. 😕

[@red3here]

He isn’t new this is same narrator.

[@Archangelm127]

@@red3here If you're right then he needs to go back to the more forceful style of delivery. My point is that the switch in narrator/style (whichever) is materially detrimental to the channel's content. Which is tragic, because their video work is amazing.

[@davidbirt4643]

The Australian SAS were known as, the phantoms of the jungle.