War remnants in Vietnam
AFTER visiting the places of worship in Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City, we travelled about 70 kilometres northwest from Ho Chi Minh City and arrived at one of the most famous Vietnam War sites, the Cu Chi Tunnels, to learn more about the history of the war, which we had heard and read so much about in the newspapers during our younger days. Hidden in the jungle in Cu Chi District, with an area of 186 square kilometres, the Cu Chi Tunnel system (consisting of Ben Duoc Tunnel and Ben Dinh Tunnel) has a total length of some 250 km.
It is divided into three layers.
The first layer is about three metres below the ground surface; the second layer is about five metres; and the third layer is about eight to 12 metres below the ground surface. It was originally dug out by farmers and soldiers using only hoes and soil baskets. It took them more than 20 years to complete, starting in 1948, when the Vietnamese resisted French rule.
During the Vietnam War (1964– 1973), it became an important underground war tactic against the US Army. The tunnels were further improved by the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong).
Viet Cong soldiers used the tunnels as hiding places during combat, as well as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters.
It is said to be connected to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, the border of Cambodia, and the Saigon River, where the Viet Cong could escape the enemy during an emergency and get their supply of food and ammunition through these distance outlets.
The tunnel network systems, which contain a maze of complicated interconnecting tunnels of different layers that could resist bombing by the US Army, were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces.
The latter encountered failure when facing the invisible army underground.
This led the US Army to use Agent Orange, a toxic chemical containing dioxin, to destroy the plants growing in the area above the tunnels.
Exposure to this chemical is hazardous to human lives and is considered to be the cause of the abnormally high incidence of miscarriages, skin diseases, cancer, birth defects and deformed embryos and babies for a few generations.
Crawling in the tunnel
It was an unforgettable experience for visitors to “crawl” into the narrow tunnel that allows only one person to pass through at a time and even has no room for turning the body around.
The original tunnels were about 80 cm high and 60 cm wide, but the “show tunnel” for tourists has been widened for easier accessibility.
In the jungle, we also came across exhibits of war artifacts, including bombs and artillery, ammunition, military equipment such as C-130 transport aircraft, M-113 armoured vehicles, and a carcass of a M41 Tank of the US Army that was destroyed by the Vietnam guerrillas’ landmines in 1970. While walking deep into the jungle, we could hear the deafeningly loud bangs of the gunshots, making us feel that we were on the real battlefield.
The bangs came from the firing of real wartime rifles like the AK47, M16 or M60 machine guns at the National Defence Sport Shooting Range, where visitors could experience the thrill of firing the guns by paying for the bullets to take part in the shooting.
War Remnants Museum
Located at Vo Van Tan Street in Ho Chi Minh City, the War Remnants Museum is another tourist attraction that enables tourists and local visitors to get more information about Vietnam during the war.
The museum collects, conserves, and displays exhibits on war crimes and consequences inflicted on the Vietnamese people by foreign aggressive forces.
The museum also plays an important role in creating awareness and appealing to everybody to oppose unjust wars, preserve global peace, and promote friendship and solidarity among nations.
The museum was established on September 4, 1975. At the open-air exhibition in front of the museum building, on display are the helicopters, bomber planes and tankers. The museum consisted of nine sections, which include, among others, “The World Supports Vietnam In Its Resistant To US Aggression 1945- 1975”, ”Imprisonment Systems During the Vietnam War” , “War Crimes”, “Agent Orange During the Vietnam War”, “Agent Orange Consequences “ and “Historical Truth”. The “Requiem” gallery on the top floor exhibits photographs, documents and media reports by renowned wartime photographers and journalists. It also has a section dedicated to the journalists and photographers from various nations who were killed on the battlefields in Vietnam.
