Indochina Day 21, Cu Chi Tunnels and War Museum

Friday June 17th
Sorry about the quality of the photos, not my best and hard place to photograph.

After we were introduced to our Vietnamese guide, Uhn, we were picked up by our minivan today for the two hour drive through Ho Chi Minh City to the Cu Chi Tunnels. I always enjoy looking out the windows on these drives because it is interesting to watch what is going on in people's lives as we pass by. Today I was watching all the different things and numbers of people that they are able to cram onto a scooter and the flow of the traffic here. It is crazy. I rode a scooter for a couple of days, which are highly manoeuvrable, but I can't imagine riding my bike or a car in this traffic. The city itself isn't particularly attractive, it's new and all spread out without any discernible character. But it is interesting to see all the various little shops and eateries on the sidewalks.

Anyway, we arrived at the Cu Chi Tunnels about 10 and had a two hour tour. The tunnels were built by the people of the Cu Chi village as a way of hiding from the French before the Second War World, the Japanese during the Second World War, the French again after it and the Americans from 1955 to 1972.

Uhn showed us one of the hidden entrances to the network of tunnels. He demonstrated how to get into it and how when the lid was put back on, it became invisible. Later we all had the opportunity to scramble through a two hundred metre section of tunnel that has been fortified and slightly enlarged to accommodate the tourists who are larger than the Viet Cong were. He also explained to us how a number of traps operated that the Viet Cong had devised to capture, maim, kill and instill fear into the soldiers. The traps were hidden in the jungle or along the banks of the river. The soldier who was unfortunate enough to trigger one was usually impaled on metal spikes that were shaped like fish hooks so they difficult to remove or escape from. We were told that wounding and maining soldiers was preferable to killing because then the Americans would have to use more resources to save their comrades. Uhn was an excellent guide who gave us lots of interesting information, including:

- there are over 250 kilometres of tunnels on three levels
- the first level is 3 metres down and houses the largest rooms for eating, meetings and sleeping
- the second level is 6 metres down and was used for avoiding or ambushing enemies
- the third level was 9 metres down and provided safety from the bombs of the B52's
- over time the people inside suffered from lack of sun and the dampness and had skin issues
- they had water drainage tunnels for letting water out, and air holes for letting air in
- the Americans used sniffer dogs to find the air holes which were well camouflaged (there is one with a stick sticking out of it in the second photo)
- the Viet Cong put chilies around the air holes which the dogs hated as it burned their noses, and they'd run away
- the Americans learned that a dog running away meant an air hole which helped them find them
- so the Viet Cong used friendly smells to throw the dogs off the scent by using clothing from dead American soldiers, which the dogs would ignore and walk by
- they used oil lamps in the tunnels because they gave off no tell tale smoke
- the Americans were very frustrated by the tunnels because they'd be fighting or chasing the enemy who would suddenly disappear, and then reappear behind them as an ambush
one soldier commented "the Viet Cong are everywhere, but we see none"
- when the American found a tunnel entrance or air hole they'd pump water into it to flood them out, but the water tunnels let the water flow back to the Saigon River
- the American put king cobra snakes into the tunnels, the Viet Cong eat snakes and used the poison to make the metal spikes in the traps more lethal
- the Viet Cong made weapons and explosive devices from unexploded bombs the Americans dropped
- a group of three or four VC would know of all the traps and entrances in a small area, but no further, that way if they were caught and interrogated they could not compromise the whole network
Uhn told us why the Americans were defeated:

1) They were fighting for an ideal (freedom and democracy) whereas the VC were fighting for their country, families, and way of life.

2) The Americans wore uniforms which made them very easy to identify, whereas the VC were ordinary people who were soldiers when required. They could hide their weapons under clothes or in the rice fields and pick them up when needed. Every person in Vietnam was a soldier, men, women, children, young and old. Everyone was fighting the invaders to protect their country.

I couldn't imagine living in these tunnels for so long and having to fight this way. Conditions must have been absolutely horrible, but as Uhn said, they had no choice.

On the way back I watched as all the scooter riders were now wearing rain gear that covered themselves, any passengers and sometimes much of the bike. The bus dropped us off at the War Remnants Museum, which used to be called The American War Crimes Museum. This was a very sobering visit. We all wandered around the three floors independently, looking at the posters and photos and reading the captions. It is contains some propaganda, but the victor always gets to put the spin on things the way they like. But, it just appears biased because of the bias that we have been fed from the West. In addition to lots of photos depicting the horror of war and what the American did, there were tributes to photographers who died during the war.

In addition to the propaganda from communists versus the West, the museum made a good case for charging the Americans with war crimes and crimes against humanity. There were a large number of photos showing the effects of Agent Orange spraying on both the vegetation and the people. There are very graphic pictures showing the deformities and diseases the dioxin causes in people. There are still birth defects occurring today, as the genes of some people have been damaged. They make a good case that the Americans were using the war as a testing ground for more deadly weaponry and more effective poisons. Plus they had photos of victims of landmines that still kill or main people in the fields today.

The Americans supported the French when they were fighting the Vietnamese. The quote (in the photo) from President Eisenhower explains clearly why. When the French pulled out, the American took over. So, as much as the soldiers were led to believe that they were trying to protect the Vietnamese and the world from communism, maybe their government was more interested in maintaining tin and tungsten supplies and prices (much the same as the new wars are all about oil supplies and prices and the next ones will be about water supplies).

The whole day was both fascinating and depressing, as it gave me pause to reflect on the stupidity and futility of war, and of the deception perpetrated by governments on their own people to in order to hide their real agenda and persuade their people to support their aims. The brave idealistic young soldiers go off and some die, so that a few business men can get rich. That's is why the anti-Vietnam protests were such a coming of age for Americans. Although arguably nothing changed too much as Iraq proved.

Anyway, sorry to have rambled on so, and I hope it makes some kind of sense.

I walked back to the hotel, got my new private room and then headed out to get a bowl of pork and noodle soup for lunch before trying to finish writing up the last three days. Spent a few hours catching up and then met Richard, the group and three of the new people, (two of them just arrived and were to jetlagged to join us). We all headed out for dinner at a local famous little restaurant that serves the best soups in town. Inside there is a picture of the staff posing with President Clinton! We had a good dinner, the new people seem nice and I talked to Neha and Geeta who are leaving the group tonight.

After that we all went to an ex-pat bar for a few drinks to say goodbyes to the seven leaving and hello to the five new ones. Had a few drinks, played pool and talked to Richard. Good evening, but a bit late as we didn't get back until 1:00. However, a little libation helped cheer us up.