Re: RARA-AVIS: Cu Chi - tunnel rats

From: Ivan Van Laningham ( ivanlan@pauahtun.org)
Date: 21 Feb 2005


Hi All--

Michael Robison wrote:
>
> E.Borgers wrote:
>
> These are the Cu Chi tunnels, near Saigon.
>
> There was an extraordinary account of this war
> episode, told by two BBC investigation reporters Tom
> Mangold and John Penycate. Tough, hair raising,
> gripping and close to nihilistic by certain aspects...
> Titled "The tunnels of Cu Chi " (1985), I read it
> years ago but I still remember the chilling effect of
> the simple facts.
>
> *************
> Thanks for the heads-up on the Vietnam tunnel book,
> Etienne. It sounds interesting.
>

I have some photos from Cu Chi which I can post sometime (soon, I hope, possibly this week). You hear about the tunnels, but nothing quite prepares you for seeing the things. I swear a ten-year-old would have trouble moving in them. For tourists, they've widened some of the ones at the top level, but even those demand that you duck-walk in them.

My mom insisted, when I was stationed in Cu Chi, that the VC were going to boil up out of the tunnels and kill us all in our sleep. I said there weren't any tunnels. I maintained that until I saw _Vietnam: A Television History_, and had to apologize.

Glad I got back in 2002 to see them.

Metta, Ivan
---------------------------------------------- Ivan Van Laningham God N Locomotive Works http://www.pauahtun.org/ http://www.andi-holmes.com/ Army Signal Corps: Cu Chi, Class of '70 Author: Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours

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