Going to See the Vietnamese DMZ

Like Korea, Vietnam was at one time split into two separate entities. But where Korea is still two countries, Vietnam was reunited when the Vietnam War ended. However, during the time when they were split, there was a de-militarized zone that was a buffer between the north and the south.

Hue makes a convenient, if a bit out of the way, spot from which to experience the DMZ of Vietnam. So at the rather early hour of 6, I got up and went out to await pick-up for the tour. The first thing was to get some breakfast, which was part of the tour cost. After breakfast, we piled onto the bus and headed north out of town. For the next couple of hours, the countryside went by. I wish I had been paying better attention to it, for it was pastoral and a slice of real life. However, after a short sleep and an early rise I was more interested in napping than in paying attention to what was going on outside the bus.

We arrived at a small city called Dong Ha, that I can only remember because that is also the name of one of my former students. Our guide joined us at this point and we set off to see the DMZ sights. She gave us a bit of history while we were headed to the first stop. She told us how Ho Chi Minh had left Vietnam to find some way to liberate his people from the French. He returned with the communist doctrine and by 1945 had rallied his people to toss out the French. Independence was declared on September 2 1945, hot on the heels of the end of the second world war. But the French didn't just give up willingly. This spawned the first Indo-China war. During the war, the de-militarized zone was established at the Ben Hai River at the 17^th parallel. Five kilometers on either side of the river were set up as a no man's land. Lots of land mines and other ordinance were placed in the area. As the war proceeded, the Vietnamese chose sides, the north or the south and migrated to the side chosen. The people around the DMZ though didn't really choose sides roamed more or less freely back and forth (from what I could gather). Eventually, the French lost and left the Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. This left Ho Chi Minh and his communist philosophy in the north and the democratic government in the south. Elections were set up and took place in the early 50's. The winner was to be able to unite the country and be president. Ho Chi Minh won. Handily. He took some 80 percent of the vote. Unfortunately the south's president was not willing to concede defeat and refused to allow the country to be reunited and Ho Chi Minh to be the reunited country's president. Then the US, operating on their domino effect philosophy, intervened to aid the south. Thus began the second Indo-China war. The DMZ had been set up as a temporary division, but lingered on as the two Vietnam's fought the war for seventeen years. In the end the US pulled out of the war, and the south lost, and the country was reunited as a single country under a communist doctrine, and the DMZ was dissolved. Unfortunately because of all the wars and the weaponization of the DMZ, there were all kinds of ordinance and land mines in the area, to go with craters and other degradations that war brings. It took many years for the area to be made safe and to become useful once again. But now it is hard to imagine the area as one of devastation and emptiness. It is now populated and planted and bears very few traces of the wars that ravaged the area not so long ago.

This chat brought us to our first stop, a memorial to those who had fought so valiantly against the forces of evil that sought to destroy the people and bring ruin to the country. They would be the evil Americans. We stayed at the monument for about 15 minutes to get a feel for the country and how it might have been 40 years ago.

Then we piled into the bus again and headed down into the river valley and shortly thereafter crossed the dividing line, the Ben Hai River. We passed slowly so that we could see the big flag (which was on the other side of the bus from me), and the bridge that connected north to south (which was on my side of the bus).

On the north's side were a set of loudspeakers that were used to send propagandistic messages across to the south's denizens.

And then we headed east along the river to the Vinh Moc tunnels. They were situated on the north side of the river, which I found a bit odd. They were built by people who believed in the virtue of the north, and I presume they were built to savage the south. But because the forces of the south were on the other side of the river, I didn't really understand how the tunnels here could have been overly effective. I know I must have missed something. Anyhow, we arrived and walked through stands of bamboo to another museum extolling the virtues of the north and the sacrifice of those who had used the tunnels in the great and noble struggle. (Yes, I suppose I am getting a bit sarcastic in my descriptions of all this. I just find anyone who presents such lopsided, and one-sided, portraits of “the enemy” deserves a bit of sarcasm.)

We passed bomb craters that were transformed into air vents...

...entrances that must have been better concealed than this...

...and views out to the really nearby ocean.

This was all on our way to the museum where we saw photos of daily life in the tunnels, as well as maps of where tunnels had been constructed and used during the war. It was just a small museum, but there were some little bits that were of interest.

Then it was down into the tunnels. These were far bigger than the tunnels at Cu Chi near Saigon. I could stand almost upright through most of the way, where in Cu Chi, I had to practically crawl. These tunnels were also much more extensive. There were living quarters that were obvious, as well as a maternity/hospital area, meeting rooms, and storage spots. And there were exits that were up at ground level as well as in the cliffs by the sea. These tunnels were also deeper, with the third level going as deep as 23 meters. And again, I didn't really understand how people spent a long time living like that. I guess one has to do what one has to do.

From the Vinh Moc tunnels, we headed back to Dong Ha to drop someone off and to get lunch. And then it was up into the hills to visit some of the war spots relating to the American troops. First we stopped at a bridge that was at the start of one of the Ho Chi Minh Trails. During the Vietnam War, there were numerous supply trails used by the north Vietnamese to send supplies and troops to the south. Originally they were just called supply roads, but over time and probably in an effort to give them a bit more romance, they came to be collectively called the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Altogether there were 50000 kilometers of roads used to make up this supply line. And all led to the south. Originally the bridge in this spot was a steel bridge that was much smaller. A few years ago, it fell down and was replaced by this suspension bridge.

There is a sign that identifies it as a Ho Chi Minh road, with a little plaque to commemorate its historical significance.

From the Ho Chi Minh Trailhead, we headed further up into the hills toward Laos (which at this point was only about 50 kilometers away), to an airfield that was used by the American forces during the war. This airfield was high in the hills and therefore had a great advantage. It was thus desired by both sides. In 1968 it was the focus of what came to be known as the Tet Offensive. During the Tet holiday, a very important holiday in Vietnam that coincides with the lunar new year, the Vietnamese launched an attack to take the Ta Con airfield from the Americans. For several days fierce fighting ravaged through the area before the Americans were forced to abandon the base and retreat to the south. This battle was also highly publicized as foreign journalists were there and were able to transmit images of the battle over live or almost live television signals. This was therefore the beginning of instant news coverage that we are so used to today. At the time of the Vietnam War, the Ta Con airfield was 3 square kilometers and a nearby training base was another several square kilometers in area. Now the ethnic peoples of the area have turned the land into coffee plantations and fruit farms and all that remains of the airfield and base is a few hundred square meters of area. In that space there is a small museum (which is again heavily slanted to against the American forces who fled in panic and disarray against the mightily superior and victorious forces of the north), as well a number war vehicles that were abandoned in the surrounding area. And one forlorn guy whose job seemed to be to go out in the fields and find bits and pieces of war history, dog tags, spent shell casings, medals of various sorts, and try to sell them to visitors coming to the museum. This day was pretty hard for him as few people seemed even inclined to have a look at his collection of things. I almost felt sorry for him.

Our final stop for the day was on the way back to Dong Ha. There was a small hill that rose high among the surrounding countryside. It was well protected as it was difficult to ascend. In fact the American forces didn't climb it, they used helicopters to get to the top. On the top of the little mountain they established a radio tower and lookout post that was one of the last places vacated by the American forces when they retreated after the Tet Offensive.

And then we returned to Hue, with another 2 hour drive into the late afternoon. It was a long day, but it was quite interesting.