Today we
were given a glimpse of a civilisation, a struggle and a nation and ingenuity
all built on one determinant: a sense of purpose.
About 40
kilometres from Ho Chi Min City are located two tunnel systems used by the
Vietcong, the North Vietnamese army during the conflict with the US, from 1960’s
until the signing of The Paris Peace Accords in 1973. Over 200 kilometres of
tunnels were dug with hand tools and bamboo baskets.
At Ben Duoc,
recreated for our benefit, are tunnels, and mock-ups of the bobby traps and
pits. As our guide demonstrated how each trap worked we could only wince at the
unimaginable pain they would inflict.
An M70 tank,
victim of a NVA delayed mine, was on display, and various place where
unexploded munitions were ‘recycled for us against the US Forces.
Entire
villages and military forces waged war from below ground; ingenuity was
stretched to the limit. And every facet of this resourcefulness was on display;
even the sandals worn by the NVA with treads that in soft earth would give the
impression of someone walking in the opposite direction.
As we walked
through the trees and jungle, past bomb craters, an area all of which was once
laid flat by napalm, the pathways were strewn with bomb shrapnel forming hard
tracks for our progress.
Again this
was another closeness to Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. The film opens and Captain
Willard, drunk in a Saigon hotel room reflects:
“Every minute I stay in this room I get
weaker. And every minute Charlie squats in the bush he gets stronger”.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you very much for your comments - Tim