“I am a veteran of the American War. I served with the Americans for 7 years, but
I don’t want to talk about the war.
Don’t ask me questions about it, because it brings back bad memories,”
this came from our tour guide, Mr. Binh. Not exactly what I wanted to hear on a
tour of the Cu Chi tunnels that were used during the Vietnam War. Mr. Binh talked the entire 2 hour ride to the
Tunnels. He talked a lot about Americans
and a lot about the famous people he knows.
Mr. Binh shared his opinions on the war and Iraq, “America was not
wrong; they just made mistakes.” He
talked about being wakened up this morning at 6 am by the national loudspeaker,
“Good Morning Vietnam! Today is nice
weather for children to go to school, for wives to go to the market, and for
men to go to work. And remember a good
Vietnamese family only has 2 children.” He
also explained that 2 hours after the trade embargo on Vietnam was lifted in
1995, Pepsi was available for purchase. Unfortunately
we did not learn much about the war from Mr. Binh. I don’t blame Mr. Binh for not wanting to
relive the war every day through stories, but I don’t think it is wise to
employ some of the veterans as tour guides.
I did learn that the Cu Chi Tunnels were used by the
Communist Viet Cong (the side America was fighting against). The particular tunnels we visited are over
125 miles long and include multiple floors and levels. The Viet Cong hid in the tunnels, but could
maintain weapon and uniform making as well as daily life. They even slept and
cooked with fire in the intricate tunnels.
Many meetings occurred below ground to plan and strategize against the
enemy. Cu Chi is said to be one of the
most bombed areas of war. Americans
dropped napalm and bombs hoping to break up the network of underground tunnels.
On the way to the tunnels we made a random stop at a
cigarette factory and craft production area.
All of the employees are handicap in some manner. The people working in the cigarette factory
flew at amazing speeds as they packaged the cigarettes. They moved so fast their actions looked
machine-like.
Our first glimpse of the tunnels came through one of the entry
points. The tiny frame was not difficult
for the small framed Vietnamese to enter and it facilitated easy
camouflage. Our guide invited us to try
out the hole, but warned us not to get stuck.
I waited until the rest of the group walked away then squeezed into the
hole. The only way I could get my hips
down through the wooden frame was by pointing them at an angle. Once my hips were in I had to put my arms
over my head to get the rest of me into the small space.
“There’s no way! My hips are stuck.”
AAAAAHHHHHH!!!
“Okay quick take the picture. I want to get out now.”
The tour continued through the shady jungle trees passed an
American tank and a bomb crater. It had
not dawned on me until this point that I was walking on the ground where many
American and Vietnamese people lost their lives. I started thinking about the American
soldiers and what it must have been like for them to walk through the trees
through the heat and humidity. Gun shots
in the distance gave me a start until I remembered that firing a gun was an
optional part of the tour. We continued
to walk closer to the sound. I knew the
shots would not harm me and they were just target shooting. My thoughts wandered to the war and the
soldiers that would have needed to walk towards the shots not knowing if they
would be wounded or killed. Our guide
encouraged us to shoot an AK-47, but I really had no desire to fire any shots
and felt like it was a little inappropriate considering the history of the
area.
The final experience of the tour included a crawl through a
140 meter section of the tunnels. I was
nervous about going into the tunnel, but went last so I would have option to
bail if I felt claustrophobic. The
tunnels were dark and tiny. The passages
were just big enough that I could bend and the waist to crawl. There were 2 staircases available for people
on the tour that started to panic. I was
tempted to take the stairs and leave the cramped space, but the rest of my team
encouraged me to continue. The tunnels
seemed to get smaller and my legs started to cramp up. I was sweating and breathing pretty fast, but
my team told me I could make it to the end.
I was very happy to see the light of day at the end of the tunnel. I will never feel the need to crawl through
the Cu Chi tunnels ever again.
Before we left the grounds of battle I sent up a
prayer for the men of the Vietnam War and for the families of those men.
This evening went to a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet
Show. A pool of water served as the
stage for 6 musicians playing Vietnamese instruments. The show was completely in Vietnamese, but
kept my attention. Fish, turtles and frogs
jumped and splashed, while farmers and kings appeared in the water. The puppets were attached to a stick under
the water and only their arms moved, but their actions seemed life-like.
