March 24 The Cu Chi Tunnels

The first time I heard the term “tunnel rat” was in some Vietnam War movie
with Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox. When Fox complains about the treatment of
a female Viet Cong (VC) prisoner, his superior threatens to make him a
tunnel rat. The term had no meaning for me and I couldn’t imagine what would
be worse than the hell the regular soldiers had to go through on a daily
basis during ground fighting in Vietnam.

That changed when I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, about an hour’s drive
northwest of Saigon. It is a network of tunnels built by the Viet Cong in
which they slept, cooked meals, ate, hid weapons, met in order to plan
attacks, fought and basically lived for 10 years. “Tunnel rats” were those
soldiers fighting the VC who were sent into these tunnels to capture or kill
whoever was there and, bring back information and destroy the tunnel.

There is nothing I can say to describe what it was like to be in the
tunnels. The cramped, damp, completely pitch back space brought on
claustrophobia I had never experienced. And that was in a tunnel that had
been somewhat enlarged to allow foreigners to go through while crouching,
rather than on their hands and knees. To get a feel for how we had to walk
through, bend over as if you were picking something up on the ground, crouch
just a few inches more and then hold that position as you walk for 10
minutes.

Some openings into the tunnels from the ground above have been left exactly
as is – only 20 by 30 centimetres. Just big enough for the smaller
Vietnamese to get through. In order for westerners (even skinny ones) to get
in, you first have to take off all bags and camera gear, empty pockets of
anything remotely bulky (even a wallet) and, going down through the hole in
the ground, you have to turn on the diagonal while holding your hands
straight above your head. Even doing all that, some tourists’ hips were just
a little too big for the task. Now, imagine a US soldier, twice as big as
the average VC, with all his equipment and weapons trying to do it.

The tunnels themselves are incredibly impressive. The network extended for
several hundred kilometers and had three different levels to allow for
weapons storage, general movement and meeting rooms. They were built using
tiny hoes and wicker baskets – materials that farmers would have used in
their fields so as not to draw attention to them when they were taking the
tools to and from the tunnels.

Since the earth taken out of the tunnels was naturally darker than the
sun-dried earth above, they had to find a way to dispose of it without
causing suspicion. A newly formed bomb crater did the job or, in other
cases, the new soil was dumped in a nearby river.

Then there was the problem of air holes. It was easy enough to come up with
the idea of bamboo poles stuck through the ground into the tunnels to
provide air but the tops had to turn at 90 degrees so that rain wouldn’t get
it. These could be seen by Americans on the ground and would give away the
tunnel’s position. At first the VC thought of using leaves to cover the
“vents” or growing plants, such as potatoes around them, but in areas that
were completely defoliated by Agent Orange, these, too, were noticeable.
They finally came up with the idea of moving termite mound over the bamboo
and having the bamboo stick out just slightly on the side of the mound.
Termites built mounds often several feet high and several feet in diameter
out of the soil. When it hardens with the rain, and due to the way they
construct it, it becomes as hard as rock and is practically indestructible.
These mounds pop up everywhere so one covering an air hole wouldn’t cause
suspicion.

When the Americans couldn’t find the tunnels by sight, they brought dogs in
to sniff out the VC. In order to ward off the dogs, the VC would hang used
US Army uniforms in the tunnels. The familiar smell covered the scent of the
VC.

Another trick to ward off tunnel rats was to employ grisly booby traps or
hang a poisonous snake in the tunnel. Soldiers who did find the entrance to
a tunnel and managed to climb into the hole, might step into another hole
dug at the bottom of the entrance ladder. Inside might be one of several
different kinds of booby traps using sharpened bamboo or metal spears. In
one trap, known as the “souvenir” the spears pointed downward and inward
from a surrounding frame and had a spear pointing directly upward at the
bottom. A soldier stepping on one of these would step directly onto the
upward spear but could not get his leg out without ripping it to shreds and
so had to somehow get the whole trap out of the ground and take it with him
to get it cut off his leg. (Hence the name “souvenir.”) If soldiers did get
past the booby traps they could not use flashlights in the tunnels for fear
of being found out. Feeling around in the dark, if they were bitten by a
snake, they could not say what kind of snake it was in order to get the
proper antidote for the venom. Though brutal in their tactics, these were an
efficient and effective response by an army of farmers using nothing at
their disposal but what they might find in their immediate surroundings.

It was in Cu Chi that I also got a glimpse of the (somewhat) famous Ho Chi
Minh sandals. These were plain rubber sandals, which look a little like
Tevas or Merrels, made from tire treads for the souls and inner tubes for
the straps. The straps were pulled through small slits in the sole and the
friction kept the straps in place, avoiding the need for any adhesive
materials. One strap across the foot and one around the heel and you had a
shoe that was basically free and lasted for months. The inner tube straps
were kept extra long under foot so as the VC walked, they would brush away
their own footprints. The only reason to change sandals was when these
straps got warn down.

The VC lived like this for 10 years and the tunnels were instrumental in
planning and carrying out the Tet Offensive of 1968. They are a testament to
the determination and fortitude of those who built, lived and died in them.