The Most Dangerous Job in the Vietnam War

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The so called "Tunnel Rats" had undoubtedly one of the most dangerous Job during the Vietnam War

The so-called "Tunnel Rats" had one of the most dangerous jobs during the Vietnam War: Exploring and destroying the secret tunnels of the Viet Cong.
To counter the technical superiority of the United States, the Vietcong made use of a tunnel system, which allowed them to appear and disappear almost anywhere on the battlefield.
While the upper tunnels served as communication routes, the lower levels housed entire military hospitals, supply depots and training facilities. Since the tunnel system, which spread over hundreds of miles, was too complex to be destroyed with bombs, infantry soldiers had to descend into the unknown darkness themselves.
Before doing so, they took off their equipment and armed themselves only with a pistol. Booby traps or Viet Cong could be waiting behind every turn. On top of that soldiers risked suffocation, getting lost or being buried alive in a tunnel collapse. More than a third of the 600 tunnel rats died during their dangerous mission.
Nevertheless, the tunnel rats successfully disrupted the enemy in their safe retreat, gathered information and were able to blow up parts of the tunnel system.

#Vietnam #VietnamWar #TunnelRats

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Music: Secret Weapon (licensed via Artlist)

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[PJMontoya]

I don’t understand how men with such big balls could fit in those small tunnels

[stevefromjersey]

My dad was a tunnel rat. 68-89. He only would talk about the war with me. I remember going to the memorial with him when I was 12. We cried the entire time. It was the saddest I ever saw my father. It started when he saw his childhood friends name on the wall. Love you Dad

[TeethRock]

Not to mention the traps, snakes, scorpions, spiders, you couldn’t pay me to do it.

[HeIsARoman]

I've been to the Cu Chi tunnel systems in Saigon, which is the one displayed above. These tunnels can go below 12m below the ground and tourists are allowed up to a 6-10m. The tunnels have been expanded since the war by 30%, which means it was much smaller during the war. At that time the members of the VC were small and very thin by build, which meant that they could easily fit in the tunnels unlike anyone else. For ventilation the VC dug vents into the ground and made them shaped like anthills and put corpses of American soldiers around it so that the trained dogs of the US Army can't sniff them out and allow the army drop in chemicals for them to suffocate(like Agent Orange). The VC also dug out tiny vents to shoot from so that the Americans can't trace the shooters and attack them. The VC's creativity and intelligence in guerilla warfare was truly mind blowing for me. If you ever go to Vietnam, I recommend you to visit these tunnels for sure! Truly mind boggling!

[EMBEEAY]

Being a 5’1 guy, I just know I would’ve had no other choice 💀

[mrnostalgialover]

My buddies grandad did like 5 or some insane amount of tours in Vietnam as a tunnel rat and made it back alive

[jameslundy]

I had a very good friend that was our tunnel Rat, We were in a 6 man C.R.I.P. Team in the Chu Chi area. I was the Combat Medic for our team, My friend was shot in a tunnel, I had to go into the tunnel and get my friend out of there, He was hurt very bad and died 2 days later in the Hospital. He was a very brave man,

[cbrown]

I worked with a tunnel rat. His anxiety of small places was so bad he walked up and down 7 flights of stairs multiple times a day.
He always sat by an open door in any room. He was a wonderful man but he had many psychological issues as a result of his role in the war.

[jaychah]

I bet none of those men were related to any senators

[Dan.Solo.Chicago]

My dad was drafted right at the start of the Vietnam war. He was a helicopter mechanic with the 7nth Air Cavalry, like Col. Custer, but with helicopters instead of on horseback. The base he was stationed at was next to a really big hill, and would regularly come under mortar fire. By the time they figured out where it was coming from and sent troops to the location, the Vietcong had just disappeared. That happened all the time, and the harassing mortar fire made everyone really paranoid. Things like taking a shower were done as fast as possible, so you weren’t in there when a round lands on it. He said he never saw a single Vietcong the whole time he was in country. Much later on in the war, after my dad already came home, they finally discovered that the hill next to their base was completely tunneled out, and had been that way before the American base was even there, and actually was a major Vietcong base in that area. The Americans just moved right into their backyard. When that happened, the Vietcong chose to do nothing about it. They just sat and watched everything the Americans did, instead of engaging them. They knew everything the Americans were going to do, before they did it. We often forget that the Vietcong had been at war with the French colonists for years before we even set foot in Vietnam. They already ground one major western empire to a halt, and were more than ready to do it again. Same sh!t, different day.

[sinhaashish]

Proves once again that battles can be won with ferocity of spirit rather than sophisticated machinery

[alexc.]

That photo with the guy holding a suppressed revolver is pretty cool

[jacobryant]

My grandfather was a tunnel rat. They said "if you're scared of spiders, don't look up"
He had his legs blown out from under him 3 separate times. When he wears shorts you can see where chunks of muscle are missing.

[LA]

My dad too was a tunnel rat 65-66, 2nd and 7th cav. He never talks about the war. Never wears any army paraphernalia or anything on his vehicle. He blocks that shit out. His ptsd is pretty bad and when he drinks its really bad. He finally got rated 100% a few years ago. Pretty sure he saw and did some shit down range. I am retired army, so i understand. No one comes back from combat the same. Our society thinks you can just turn a switch and be normal again.

[congnguyen-hbfr]

As a Vietnamese. I respect those who fought the war on both sides. One side fights for national peace, and the other side fights for their country. There is nothing wrong with a soldier serving the nation's ideals.
I am proud of our ancestors and we also respect Americans. we are the next generation and live in peace and the government teaches us to respect other countries even if they are old enemies.
If you have come to Vietnam, you can see us Vietnamese people smilingly welcoming Americans, French, Japanese...
Sorry If my English is not good

[zwermin]

Respect Vietnamese people are the nicest people

[sabuhellwert]

I know a man named Bob Gabriel who was a tunnel rat. To this day he has trouble sleeping because he told me he would wake up thinking that he was still down in the tunnels

[timothyrecchion]

When I was like 20 years old I worked at K-Mart and we got a new store manager. He was like 4 foot 10 and no bigger then a 12 year old boy. He was a tunnel rat in the war he had some crazy stories about his experiences. You could see it in his eyes that he wasn't all there anymore but he was a real fair guy and could tell a good worker from a bad and I liked him for that. I worked my ass off and he appreciated it one of the best bosses I ever had.

[Hiro-tbzn]

why is everyone's relative is a tunnel rat 😆

[sethking]

Them:*climbing in*
Me:*shoves a lot of water down the hole*