At first, this appeared as though it would be a fascinating program, but it was just so-so. There were a number things repeated over and over and thus, it didn't hold the fascination it could have because the topic certainly is interesting.
The Viet Cong dug several hundreds of miles of underground tunnels and used them to fight the French in the 1950s and then the Americans in the 1960s. The tunnels became longer and more complete as the war years rolled on. At its height, so to speak, the VC had tunnels stretching from its headquarters miles away all the way underground in Saigon. As one reporter puts it, that's like the Germans having tunnels right underneath London during World War II. It's hard to imagine.
Thousands of soldiers, medics and workers lived in these tunnels for months and they were all over an area called "The Iron Triangle." Some of the tunnels had up to three levels in them. They were expertly camouflaged and booby-trapped. Some of the traps - such as large spiked spears or wired explosives - are shown and they are frightening.
Much of this program focuses on the "tunnel rates," incredibly brave Americans and Australians who volunteered to go, head first, into the tunnels to get to the enemy. Several of those men are interviewed here and recall what it was like. In the end, these stories are what I remembered most about this episode. I'm surprised more "tunnel rats" weren't killed but after several were, the military figured out that throwing a grenade down the hole first, clearing out anyone nearby, made it a lot safer!
Some of those tunnels, by the way, are now tourist attractions in South Vietnam. We visit one of them in Chu Chi. Like that war, life is odd regarding about how things turn out many times.
The Viet Cong dug several hundreds of miles of underground tunnels and used them to fight the French in the 1950s and then the Americans in the 1960s. The tunnels became longer and more complete as the war years rolled on. At its height, so to speak, the VC had tunnels stretching from its headquarters miles away all the way underground in Saigon. As one reporter puts it, that's like the Germans having tunnels right underneath London during World War II. It's hard to imagine.
Thousands of soldiers, medics and workers lived in these tunnels for months and they were all over an area called "The Iron Triangle." Some of the tunnels had up to three levels in them. They were expertly camouflaged and booby-trapped. Some of the traps - such as large spiked spears or wired explosives - are shown and they are frightening.
Much of this program focuses on the "tunnel rates," incredibly brave Americans and Australians who volunteered to go, head first, into the tunnels to get to the enemy. Several of those men are interviewed here and recall what it was like. In the end, these stories are what I remembered most about this episode. I'm surprised more "tunnel rats" weren't killed but after several were, the military figured out that throwing a grenade down the hole first, clearing out anyone nearby, made it a lot safer!
Some of those tunnels, by the way, are now tourist attractions in South Vietnam. We visit one of them in Chu Chi. Like that war, life is odd regarding about how things turn out many times.
