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. 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 equiped with only a semiautomatic M1911 handgun and a flashlight.

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.

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

External Link: Poem written by a Tunnel Rat