Vietnam Part 3 - Thoughts on the War Remnants Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels

Saturday, after filling up on classic Vietnamese food for lunch we headed to the War Remnants Museum.  We started outside, looking at tanks/bull dozers/boats/helicopters/planes used by the American’s when they were in Vietnam.  Once our tour guide came over with our tickets we went inside.  I was surprised, but glad, to see that the museum was set up to allow everyone to view it individually.  There were a few different exhibits but we basically started at the bottom and worked our way up. 

Now before coming to Ho Chi Minh, I had read other travelers reviews on the museum and their feelings towards it.  My own knowledge of the war in Vietnam is very basic and I mostly understand that it was a hard time for most American’s and thus it was never a subject to be brought up with my family/relatives.  I kept a very open mind to what the museum would show me and understood that others had suggested it made Americans look like terrible people, but I kept to myself and wandered through. 

This isn’t meant to be an aggressive post and when deciding how to write this I wanted to make sure it was simply a description of what I saw and how it made me feel.  Please feel free to leave comments but I hope this comes off as respectful to all parties who have been directly or indirectly involved with the Vietnam War.

The exhibits were mostly pictures that had been taken during the war with captions below.  There were also some letters and quotes from government officials across the world.  One of the biggest exhibits was focused on the chemical warfare used, most commonly known as Agent Orange, and how the effects of the chemical are still apparent in the generations of people born after the war. 

The most difficult part for me was seeing pictures of American soldiers doing harmful things to Vietnamese people.  It was difficult to think that anyone would do such things, but more difficult to think about how many soldiers were sent to Vietnam when they didn’t agree with what was going on.  I spent a lot of time thinking about the soldiers in those pictures, what their thoughts were, how they felt being so far from home.  Most of them were my age and younger.  To think of how scared I was coming to Southeast Asia back in August, yet I was coming to a safe environment to work and to travel, and here are these young men doing the same trip but for completely different reasons.  I can’t fathom the emotions they felt being far from home and the things they saw while they were here. 

After walking through each of the exhibitions, I was a bit confused at what I was feeling.  As we left Ethan and I shared some of our thoughts and questions we had about different aspects of it.  And it hit me finally after we had left that there was something missing from the museum, perhaps I walked by it or maybe it was in another area I didn’t see.  However, there was never any mention of why the US came to Vietnam.  Not a single word of what was going on that provoked them to come.  Now it’s not to say that it negates them showing everything else that happened during the time the US was in Vietnam but it was definitely a bit strange they would not mention what brought them there in the first place. 

On Sunday we drove an hour and a half outside of the city to Cu Chi to walk through the site of the Cu Chi Tunnels.  (Yes, it’s pronounced coo chee not choo chee). 

Our tour guide lead us through the grounds which are filled with 200km of tunnels underneath.  We first got to see an entrance to the tunnels which was incredibly hidden as well as so tiny.  The Vietnamese were (and still are) very petite people.  We got to climb into the opening which I so nervously didn’t let me feet touch the bottom as I thought for sure I would get stuck down there.  But had I had the courage to, the opening of the tunnel would have probably come up to my chest, proving how claustrophobic these tunnels are. 

We continued walking around, stopping at various points to see examples of the horrible traps used to catch American soldiers, the various types of bunkers the Vietnamese had, as well as the larger rooms of the tunnels for cooking, making weapons, and sleeping. 

Walking through the thick forest, I couldn’t imagine the freight of soldiers walking through this territory they knew was filled with traps and people below.  Nor could I imagine how the Vietnamese felt being in tiny tunnels beneath a war zone.  What made it more eerie was the sound of gun shots coming from the shooting range. 

About halfway through the tour we ended up at the shooting range and took turns shooting an M16. 

The tour ended with a brief film for us to watch.  Our guide informed us after that it was a propaganda film which definitely explained the viewpoint.  The film made the point very clear that they were proud of the Cu Chi people fighting against the Americans and how they felt about the American soldiers.  Was I angry after the film?  No, but I was just a little annoyed with the wording used.  Again, I can see how the villagers would think those things but it doesn't make it easier to hear such things. 

So my overall thoughts are that this war was one that really didn't need to happen, in referral to the American involvement.  There was so much terrible warfare that had and still has terrible effects on the people involved from both sides.  I feel for the people of Vietnam that had their homes destroyed and chemical warfare used in ways that harmed them for many generations.  I feel for the American soldiers who were sent across the world to put their lives on the line for a cause that so many people didn't support.  I feel for the soldiers after they returned from Vietnam and the distress it caused them, as well as the people who watched their sons/husbands/friends go across the world and come back as different people. 

Thank you to the Vietnamese for being very welcoming to Americans that travel to your country today.  Thank you to the American’s who served and continue to serve our country.  I wish for peace to all who have been affected by this.