HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
Friday 7th of January 1966. The 1st Battalion
of the 28th Infantry, itself part of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st
Inft Div - "The Big Red One"- was engaged in operation "Crimp". The
first search and destroy sweep into the VC held area's Northwest of
Saigon. Operation "Crimp" was intended to be a massive strike
against the VC in South Vietnam; in and around the Ho Bo woods just
west of the Iron triangle.
Just inside the tree line at the edge of a
rubber plantation, the men of the 28th discovered a large trench -
but no enemy. Where had they gone? As the operation continued, over
the next couple of days foxholes, trenches, and caves were
discovered.
The next day the 11th of January the 28th
began to retrace it's foot steps. It had finally dawned on the Batt
Commander LTC Robert Haldane what had happened - they had literally
walked right over the VC! Searches were begun for the tunnel
entrances but nothing much was discovered.
A
SPECIAL BREED OF MAN:
Originally called "Tunnel Runners" by the 25th
Inft Div, and "Ferrets" by the Australian Army, the term "Tunnel
Rat" soon became their official accepted name. The US Army soon
realized that trying to destroy the tunnels was a short-sighted
policy that wasn't going to work. Moreover this was also a loss as
the underground networks could yield vital intelligence on the VC
in the form of plans and documents.
A chemical officer of the 1st Inft Div, Capt
Herbert Thornton a Southerner, was charged with setting up the
first tunnel team.
The kind of man that Thornton sought for his
tunnel team had to be a special breed. He had to have an even
temperament, an inquisitive mind, a lot of common sense (in order
to know what to touch and what not to), and to be exceptionally
brave.
All of Thornton's men were volunteers, most
(not all) were small men of slight build who could squeeze through
the tight trap doors and crawl along the narrow passages with
relative ease.
With their patch with it's nonsense Latin
motto "Non gratum anus rodentum” - the tunnel rats
were among the bravest in Vietnam, doing a job that not many others
could, or would care to do.
The bonus question for extra credit is:
What does the Tunnel Rat motto "Non gratum
anus rodentum” mean?
After finding the cache, email me the answer
and claim a second smiley. Please do not post your answer in
your log when you post your find.
First to Find: TeamDotOne - January 2, 2007 @
1330