Spider Holes?
When they first reported Saddam was found in a "spider hole", I heard a commentator say he had never heard the word, and Martha hadn't either, but those of us who were in Vietnam had no trouble at all in visualizing it immediately. Of course the news shows have pretty much changed it to "rat hole" now for the masses who hate rats to better understand, I guess.
The spider holes and tunnels like those in Cu-Chi were infamous to those of us in Vietnam in 1968. The VC could pop down into these invisible holes and hide without a trace, and Americans finding them could scarcely believe a man could exist in a hole that small. The false entrances to some of them were horrible traps with sharpened barbed bungee sticks waiting.
I laughed when I looked on the internet for a picture or reminder of this, because they have made a real tourist attraction out of some of the Spider holes and tunnels. Come to tropical Vietnam, a wonderland and see actual spider holes and tunnels! Travel agents take notice. This link shows a map where the tunnels come within a couple of miles of where I was stationed near Ton Son Nhut.
I can see the souvenir shop now: Reclining GI Joe, Hanoi Jane Barbies, ant farms to simulate the tunnels?
The spider holes and tunnels like those in Cu-Chi were infamous to those of us in Vietnam in 1968. The VC could pop down into these invisible holes and hide without a trace, and Americans finding them could scarcely believe a man could exist in a hole that small. The false entrances to some of them were horrible traps with sharpened barbed bungee sticks waiting.
I laughed when I looked on the internet for a picture or reminder of this, because they have made a real tourist attraction out of some of the Spider holes and tunnels. Come to tropical Vietnam, a wonderland and see actual spider holes and tunnels! Travel agents take notice. This link shows a map where the tunnels come within a couple of miles of where I was stationed near Ton Son Nhut.
I can see the souvenir shop now: Reclining GI Joe, Hanoi Jane Barbies, ant farms to simulate the tunnels?
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