When tunnels became discovered, the rats went in armed with their own preferences of weapons, including .38-caliber revolvers, .25-caliber pistols, sawed-off shotguns, folding-stock carbines, grenades, bayonets and boot knives. Some donned gas masks and used tear gas to create panic in the enemy to flush them out, while others battled the enemy blade to blade, bullet for bullet.
These units were given the autonomy to develop their own techniques to eliminate the embedded enemy. Tunnel rats employed cunning tricks, such as flashlights on sticks to draw gunfire while they triangulated on the enemyâs muzzle flashes. They would then tie ropes around the dead Vietcong and drag them back to the surface. The all-volunteer unitsâ esprit de corps was displayed through the creative patches they wore on their uniforms. They depicted armed rodents with phrases such as âNon gratum anus rodentumâ (Latin for âNot worth a ratâs assâ)
Often, the enemy fled the approaching tunnel rats, leaving behind troves of intelligence documents. Tunnel rats located paperwork outlining the assassination plot against Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The assassinsâ cell later identified, and its members then captured and executed.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
ROCHESTERMILITARY.COM
