Tunnel Rat

Hi, I served 6 months as a "Tunnel Rat" with the Big Red One, during that time I went on several air assaults, went into at least 18 tunnels and was involved in several fire fights. The tunnels were dangerous and the stress came from not being able to see further than the next bend or drop (usually about 10 feet). We were trained in close quarter combat and everyone of us usually carried a hunting knife. I would say that the VC were normally less fit than we were and it helped to know that if the situation became impossible we could back out, not so with the VC. The martial combat training was enough to make me feel superior to any one underground and everyone above ground. Still I would say that either in the choppers or pounding the ground most of us were quiet and not very sociable a trait that haunts me today. Job Gonzalez