Jdavej’s Weblog

Day Two in Ho Chi Minh City May 22, 2011

This was the first actual day of the tour.

The first site we visited was the Cu Chí tunnel complex in the countryside not far from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formerly known as Saigon and the  capital of South Vietnam. The complex was used by the Viet Cong to hide from ARVN and U.S. troops during the day or for longer periods of time during intensive periods of search and destroy operations in the area. The far reaches of the complex come near to a major U. S. military installation. It was rumored to extend within the perimeters of the installation, but veterans on both sides say that that was not true.

Jaclyn in an entrance to the Cu Chí Tunnels

Jaclyn lowering the plug over the entrance

There were three levels to the complex, one at about three meters depth, a second at 5-6 meters, and a third at 8-10 meters. The layout was complex, with many pit traps set to catch intruders who might venture into the tunnels without knowing the layout. The its had bridges that could be lowered across them while the VC were moving in that part of the tunnel, then lifted to expose intruders to the dangers. Most of the pits were located at the bottom of down slopes where an intruder’s momentum would make it difficult to avoid falling into the pit and the various punji sticks or other destructive elements.

A mock-up of the tunnels showing the three levels. The blue at the bottom left is a well. The low spot to the left of the well is one of the pit traps.

There were a number of air vents built into the complex with the surface openings disguised as termite mounds or other natural jungle formations. Often the VC would plant wood on the constructed mound to attract termites during the rainy season so that, even if the mounds were not originally actual termite mounds, they soon were transformed into such, making it more difficult for suspicious troops to tell the difference.

An air vent disguised as a termite mound.

Kitchens, classrooms, and workshop areas were most often constructed as recessed bunkers with tunnel access built into the floor. Cooking fires were only permitted during the early morning and late afternoon periods when the smoke could be dismissed as surface fog if it had failed to completely dissipate into the surrounding forest. The chimneys for the fires would channel the smoke 100 to 150 meters from the kitchen and then filter it through vegetation to help it dissipate. If the chimney outlet were discovered, because of the distance, the VC in the kitchen had time to escape before the actual kitchen was discovered.

The tunnels themselves were small and very stuffy, even with the air vents built in. The complexes, such as Cu Chí were situated in the areas where the soil was mostly a heavy clay which compacted into almost rock-like walls. They also had to be in areas far enough away from the major rivers of the area to allow for the tunnels to be deep enough to provide protection from bombs and artillery without reaching into the water table. But they also had to be close enough to allow for wells to be dug as part of the complex.

Inside one of the tunnels.

The second major stop of the day was at the War Remnants Museum in HCMC. Since the museum was constructed by and is maintained by the winning government in the war, that of the communists under Ho Chi Minh, there are many references in the signs and documents offered that are strongly biased in their favor. VC and NVA fighters are almost always referred to as patriots and martyrs, for example. Almost all actions by the U.S. government in pursuing the aims of the war are described as war crimes. There is no direct reference to any actions by the patriotic fighters that might could be considered in the same light.

Waterboarding in Vietnam in 1968.

While the displays are clearly constructed for their propagandistic value and to glorify the actions against the United States and the government supported by it in South Vietnam, that does not mean that there is not truth in what is presented. The massacre at My Lai did happen. And it was only one of about 100 massacres of more than 100 people in the 1969-70 time period as documented by the Quakers. The multiple thousand tons of Agent Orange and other defoliants, all laced with dioxin, sprayed over huge swaths of Vietnam and Laos leave many hillsides still void of much vegetation. The documented illnesses and birth defects that showed up in the U.S. troops who handled the materials are a small fraction of those that occurred to the people who lived and farmed in the areas targeted for deforestation. Much of the countryside is still laced with mines spread and not recovered.

Examples of some of the mines dropped by U.S. troops in Vietnam.

The U.S. and ARVN troops were not the only ones to use mines in Vietnam, nor were all of the atrocities committed by soldiers on only one side of the war. The pictures here reflect what was presented in the museum in HCMC.

It was interesting to listen to the Army and Marine veterans that are part of our group. Their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan made them quick to dismiss almost everything presented because of the slant. I readily admit that I am not a veteran and have never been in an active war zone, let alone served in one as a combatant. I understand that if one is exposed to an environment where there are people shooting at you, trying to kill you and your comrades, that it probably makes sense to shoot them first. And it would probably take a pretty special person to not have the urge for revenge when one has been surrounded by the death of people with whom one has built relationships. It’s probably not natural to expect that within a large fighting force, no one will act on those impulses. And that’s really the bigger point.

During the Vietnam War era, there were T-shirts, key chains, and charms sold with a drawing of a flower surrounded by a saying, “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” Violence always begets violence. Period. I am not personally quite to the point of claiming that war is never justified, but I am damn close. It should always be the very last resort, if used at all.