Later, similar teams were used by the Soviet Army during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and the Israel Defense Forces. Tunnel Rats in Vietnam. From this point, they were to seek out enemy soldiers or potential hiding spaces where they may have once been. The Tunnel Rats, those who survived, did not tell their own story. Jan 14, 2016 57 Liked! 16 Disliked 0. Because the tunnels were so narrow and cramped, only men of a smaller stature could be effective as Tunnel Rats. Those who returned home came back to a divided country where the Vietnam War was bitterly opposed and the soldiers who fought it faced hostility from their fellow citizens. My FB friend, Richard Bradley, recently posted the link to this story on his page with the following note: Me and my partner, (Chops) Chalmers McElroy, are in picture # 25. Generally, while underground tunnel rat soldiers employed a “shoot first, ask questions later” method. Vietnam War During the Vietnam War "tunnel rat" became a more or less official specialty for volunteer Photo credit: Black Ink Clothing. 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 … Vietnam Tunnel Rats (28 photos & story) By: Brian. One in … If they hesitated at all, it is highly likely they would be the ones to die in such close confines.

Marine Lance Corporal John R. Gartrell (Fort Smith, Arkansas) crawls into a captured North Vietnamese bunker during Operation Meade River, southwest of Da Nang. This tongue-in-cheek 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.

The tunnel rats were American, Australian and New Zealand soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. These American, Australian and New Zealander soldiers infiltrated and sabotaged the intensely-claustrophobic labyrinth of underground tunnels used by the Vietcong to launch surprise attacks and set up ambushes. This story originally appeared in: Thebrigade.com on January 14, 2016 by Chuck . What were these tunnels and how did tunnel rat soldiers come about? During the Second World War, the Vietnamese first constructed underground tunnels to fight Japanese invasion. In: Army, Heroes, Marines, Military, Military Humor. They were called Tunnel Rats—an unofficial designation for the volunteer combat engineers and infantrymen from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand who ventured into the labyrinth.

Generally, these troops, who mostly hailed from America, New Zealand and Australia, were under five foot six tall and slim in build.

Vietnam War Tunnel Rats. 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. Tunnel Rats: American, Australian and New Zealand military soldiers entering Viet Cong (VC) tunnels.