Why?
Maybe it is because there was a war maybe not. I just never cared to come here.
But since I am here and since the war was unique, I decided to have history days.
Day 1:
Tommy, Alex, and I decided to go check out the war museum. We heard that it was really biased but why not learn about vietnams feelings?
The museum was very well put together. There were showcases, pictures, and quotes from the time period.
We did not get a tour guide but there was no need.
Every picture had a story.
It was very easy to feel ashamed at what our solders did.
It was painful watching the elderly read the descriptions and browse the pictures while shedding tear's.
It was awkward when you see eyes lurking in your direction.
The only problem I found with this museum was that it was solely about how bad Americans are. They had nothing about the vietnamese tactics when they had great plans and operations.
The museum was about bashing the US by saying we committed genocide on them. It was to make people feel bad for Vietnam.
I feel bad about defending the US but there were two sides in the war. I just wished both sides were on display in the museum.
Day 2:
Ashley, Natalie, Leanne, Emily, Anna, Stephanie, Gram and I went to the tunnels!
It was like a museum in the woods.
We got to crawl through a couple of tunnels, eat their 'skinny' food, and see how they lived and survived during the war.
Our tour guide was amazing.
We started the day off with an overview of vietnams tactics.
Headed through the woods, saw bomb craters, and went through a small tight tunnel. And yes bats lived in there… One hit my head "EWWA!"
Then, we headed to a camp cite, saw the above ground tunnel, climbed all over a tank, and saw some of their traps! Let me just say "I am glad I wasn't fighting them just because I would hate to walk into their traps. Ouch!"
They had a gun rage where you could fire off some rounds. I, sadly, did not but Gram did. I decided to buy ice cream and a coca cola light instead.
We then headed down into a long tunnel where you could almost stand up the whole way!
After crawling through the tunnels, we got to rinse off at a bamboo water hose and eat their 'skinny' food.
We ended up learning a lot of their tactics and much more! My favorite was finding out that they had these special sandals. You could where them comfortably backwards so that the enemy could not trace their tracks.
But what made the war real in my eyes was this:
As we were riding to the tunnels our tour guide told us a little about his background. He told us that his mom had died saving him from the fires… A bombing. What he had said did not fully enter my brain until I had talked to him briefly. He kept saying 'sorry I have to read this scrip' and other things in that nature. But all I could focus on was the burns on his arm. Thinking that my heritage had killed his mother and hurt him in every way possible made me feel sick.
The Vietnamese kept saying that they can forgive but not forget what happened… What we did to them.
I felt eyes staring and words being said and the looks on their faces. So yes they might be able to forgive but they won't ever be able forget.
It was a great learning experience on our days off!
