~The unofficial motto was "Non gratum anus rodentum" which translated to "Couldn't give a rat's arse"~

Left: the unoffical

emblem of the tunnel

                         rats.  

Outline

During the Vietnam War, American, Australian and NZ troops shared an alliance and undertook surviellance and search and destroy missions in an extensive and complex underground tunnel system. They were given the name of "Tunnel Rats."

The tunnels were built by the the "Viet Cong", also known as the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam. They played an important role in resisting American and Australian operations. Whenever the American, Australian and NZ troops discovered an enemies tunnel, the Tunnel Rats were sent in to kill the enemies underground and destroy the tunnels using explosives.

The Tunnel Rats were mostly men of a small build who had good common sense and were very brave to deal with the horendous and challenging conditions. They had to crawl through narrow, pitch black tunnels for many hours at a time and sometimes men would have nervous breakdowns and would not be allowed into the tunnels again.

The tunnel rats also used mnay traps as part of thier Guerilla Warfare tatics. This photo to the left is a common trap that they would set up. It would look like the ground and then when an unsuspecting solider walked on that ground they would fall into these spikes. The Vietnamese would also add poison to the tips. This trap isn't desgined to kill the enemy but to injury them. This would be done because it would take more effort fromm other soliders and resources to look after and heal the wounded solider then if he was dead. To injure the solider would create more of an advantage to the Vietnamese.   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         No injured and dead Tunnel Rats were left behind in the tunnels, they were dragged out by ropes or their fellow soldiers. The Tunnel Rats were armed with a knife, pistol and a flashlight which was nothing compared to what many of their enemies were equipped with.

The tunnel rats were a unique breed of soldiers in Vietnam. They were said to go through the immense tunnel system in Vietnam that had been built by the Vietnamese to keep the French out. The system was then expanded when the Americans arrived.

The Tunnels Rats unofficial motto was "Non gratum anus rodentum" which translated to "Couldn't give a rat's arse". These tunnel rats gained a great reputation for their contribution in the war and should be remembered as part of the legacy of the war that we still commemorate today.

The Cu Chi Tunnel System

The Cu Chi tunnels are a complex network of underground tunnels in Cu Chi in Vietnam. It was these tunnels that the majority of the Australian Tunnel Rats travelled through and attacked during the Vietnam War. These particular tunnels were used as hiding spots, communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon storage and living areas for soldiers. The conditions in these tunnels were harsh. Air, food and water resources were overstretched and the tunnels were home to ants, spiders, mosquitoes and rats which lived alongside the soldiers.

Mel Coleman and Dane van den Bogaardt

Reference/Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_rat

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/vietnam/tunnel-rats.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%E1%BB%A7_Chi_tunnels