230: The miserable "tunnel rat" troops

Looking at the tourists gathering around, the tour guide paused, building suspense.

He thoroughly enjoyed the eager, questioning gazes.

"Mr. Tour Guide, please tell us the story of the Tunnel Rats quickly."

"Yes, Mr. Tour Guide, please tell us."

"..."

Children are always the most easily captivated by stories. A ten-year-old girl from an Indian family, unable to contain her curiosity, eagerly pleaded with the guide in English with a strong curry accent.

Soon after, other tourists also chimed in.

Finally receiving such an enthusiastic response, the tour guide smiled and agreed, "Alright, alright, everyone, don't rush. I'll tell you the story right away."

To eliminate these 'rats' hiding in the tunnels, who were the elusive North Vietnam army, the U.S. military sprayed Agent Orange to defoliate the forests, dropped napalm bombs, and even heavy bombs from B52 bombers.

However, these methods posed no significant threat to the North Vietnam army in the Cu Chi Tunnels.

If one entrance was blown up, the North Vietnam army would use other entrances, and before long, new tunnel openings would be dug.

The elusive North Vietnam army became a nightmare for the U.S. and South Vietnam armies.

Regarding this period of history, Li Qinghe had actually read some materials back home. The sophisticated development of the Cu Chi Tunnels warfare was established under the guidance of the Dragon Country's military advisory group.

When the Vietnam War broke out, the Dragon Country, believing that the Vietnamese were also their own people, dispatched a military advisory group led by a founding general to guide the Vietnamese army in battle.

This was Yunlong Ge's former superior, the Dragon Country's renowned 'Ever-Victorious General.'

Under his extraordinary military wisdom and the 17th parallel designated by the Dragon Country for the United States, the North Vietnam army was able to gain a foothold against the powerful U.S. firepower and eventually counterattack all the way to Southern Vietnam.

Of course, Vietnam's ungrateful behavior after defeating the United States is another story.

Under the direction of the Dragon Country's military advisory group, the Cu Chi Tunnels transformed from an unorganized network of a dozen kilometers into a complete underground fortress system.

Unable to effectively curb the North Vietnam army's attacks despite using various methods, the U.S. military racked their brains.

Because the tunnel entrances and passages were too narrow, tall and burly U.S. soldiers couldn't squeeze through, only able to watch as the slender North Vietnam army nimbly slipped into the tunnels and disappeared.

There was a joke at the time that said, 'A hole a monkey can get through is not a hole everyone can get through.'

To reverse this situation, the U.S. military specifically recruited a group of short soldiers into their ranks, intending to use them to deal with the North Vietnam army in the tunnels.

This unit was called the "Tunnel Rats" or "Mole Unit."

According to U.S. military combat habits, all sorts of equipment should be prepared, but this unit found that the narrow tunnels made it impossible to carry too much gear during operations.

Ultimately, when these soldiers went into the tunnels for combat, their weaponry was simplified to a handheld or head-mounted flashlight and a suppressed revolver.

Tunnel Rats

And so, the underground hellish battlefield, even more brutal than the surface battlefield, which was already called a hellish battlefield, began.

The purpose of the Tunnel Rats was to find the nodal points of the North Vietnam army's tunnels, then plant explosives there to collapse that section of the tunnel.

Because it required sufficient understanding of structures and explosives, ordinary soldiers did not possess this ability, so most members of the Tunnel Rats were selected from engineering troops.

They also had combat missions in the tunnels, which was counter-tunnel warfare. If they encountered North Vietnam units, they would engage in direct combat in the tunnels.

However, due to the sound-amplifying effect in the tunnels, U.S. soldiers dared not fire more than two shots consecutively each time, as their eardrums simply couldn't withstand the impact of such sound waves.

The problem was that a Tunnel Rat with only a revolver was no match for North Vietnam soldiers using AKs or carbines.

North Vietnam soldiers in the tunnels

Some Tunnel Rat members also believed the revolver's power was too weak and chose to use an M1911 semi-automatic pistol for underground combat.

Tunnel Rats using an M1911

But besides North Vietnam soldiers, the tunnels also contained a large number of various death traps: spike boards, booby traps, venomous insects, and poisonous snakes.

The tunnels became the burial ground for many Tunnel Rat members.

Every Tunnel Rat member, when descending into the tunnels, would prepare for a painful death, because even a small mistake meant losing his life.

Therefore, the Tunnel Rats were the combat unit with the highest casualty rate among the U.S. forces in the Vietnam War.

No Tunnel Rat who survived and returned to America would ever want to recall that nightmarish past.

The middle-aged tour guide finished recounting this history in one breath, even pulling out his phone to show everyone some photos from that time, eliciting exclamations of awe from the surrounding tourists.

He, in turn, derived immense satisfaction from these exclamations, his face flushed with pride, as if he had been drinking.

It took a while for the middle-aged tour guide to snap out of this 'cerebral climax,' remembering that he was currently leading tourists.

So, still with a lingering excitement, he led the tourists who had experienced the tunnels to continue visiting the exhibition hall, which depicted how the North Vietnam army worked and lived underground back then.

Here, mannequins were used to simulate various work and daily life scenes from that era.

The North Vietnam army sawed open unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. military, turning them into various weapons and daily necessities.

"Brother Qinghe, no wonder Dad didn't want to talk much about this war with me..."

After listening to the guide's explanation, Zhang Meiqi, standing beside Li Qinghe, frowned and quietly told him about her family's attitude towards this war.

It was understandable; North Vietnam won, and the Dragon descendants in Saigon, like the South Vietnam government, became the losers, and this negative impact continues to this day.

For the Dragon descendants who remained in Vietnam, this period of history is also a past they prefer not to revisit.

Following a group of tourists around the entire scenic area, everyone finally sampled free cassava-based food in a large wooden shed.

This was the military ration for North Vietnam soldiers during the war.

A cup of tea and a piece of cassava food concluded the entire tour.

"Brother Qinghe, would you still want to come here?"

Li Mingxing skipped a step forward, then hugged Li Qinghe's arm; her experience in the tunnels had made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"In the future, for such narrow places, except for one very specific type, I probably won't go into any others."

Li Qinghe responded to Li Mingxing's words with a double meaning.

"I also feel like I won't go into these kinds of tunnels again."

The four exchanged their thoughts, unanimously agreeing that not fighting is good, but it depends on the circumstances; when necessary, one must still go to war.

"Brother Qinghe, besides marrying you, what other ways are there to get a Dragon Country hukou (household registration)?"

Zhang Meiqi asked with a playful smile.

"A Dragon Country hukou is very difficult to get now. If you want to rely on yourself, you'll need to make extremely outstanding contributions and achieve leading levels in a certain field."

Li Qinghe responded truthfully. A Dragon Country hukou is not something anyone can get just by wanting it now. As for getting a hukou through marriage, everyone is out of luck.

Due to the special nature of the Dragon Country's marriage and hukou system, unless Li Qinghe could live to be 200 years old, he wouldn't have enough time to process naturalization for everyone one by one.

The problem is, he wouldn't be able to help many people before everyone got old, and then it wouldn't seem to matter much anymore.

"Alright, let's not dwell on such heavy topics. Now, let's go experience what it feels like to shoot old guns from decades ago."

Li Qinghe saw several young Europeans and Americans walk out of the scenic area gate of the Binh Duong Tunnels and head straight next door. According to the roadside signs, it was indeed the shooting range.