The DMZ and America's War

 

On our recent trip to Hue, Jenny and I grabbed a tour guide, Tony,  and went up to the 17^th parallel, the demarcation between North and South Vietnam given out by the Geneva Conference in 1954 following the North’s defeat over the French.  The defeat was named the battle of Dein Bein Phu, after the area in which it took place.  The battle lasted 81 days so on the memorial were 81 plaques representing each day.

Of course when America stepped in to help protect the south the authorities made the area,  5 kms either side of the Ben Hai River on the 17^th parallel the demilitarised zone. The armed forces on both sides were forbidden to enter this zone. Yeah right. As you can see from the picture there is still remnants of a guard house on the southern bank. Propaganda played a huge part in tactics. As one side increased the size of the flag and flag pole so too did the other side. Each side continually increased the size of the speakers and the messages blaring out to the population. Not far from the DMZ on the northern side were the Vin Moc tunnels, where local residents lived and planed raids into the south. This time I managed to walk through the tunnels. They are modelled on the Chu Chi tunnels, created by the Viet Cong just north of Ho Chi Minh City, only bigger i side. I find this interesting because today the people of Hanoi are definitely shorter/ smaller than the people of the south.

On the southern banks of the Ben Hai River is a huge monument with a woman and her children reaching out to the north, waiting for their loved ones to come home.

Tue my teaching assistant was born in Hue, the city south of the DMZ by about 60 kms , 3 years before the end of the war. I have talked with him on  a number occasions  about the war and the work  his dad did. His dad was a radio operator for the USA. After my trip I asked why he joined the Americans? Tue told me that in the night soldiers would arrive and   “ take” young males away to the army in the North. His dad considered working for the USA a better option. The 2 choices were either work for the USA or join the VC. Tue’s family were split, some uncles went to the VC and others stayed with the USA. A hard decision no doubt. Before the war Tue’s dad was a tailor. At the end of the war he lost his business, I gather a confiscation for joining the wrong side. The family moved south in very harsh and trying times. I have heard from other Vietnamese people that the time after the war was extremely difficult in the south. The population was almost starving. Further south,down the coastline about by 175 – 200 kms from the DMZ is a lovely white sandy beach previously called China Beach because the view is directly out tot the South China sea. The American troops used the area for R and R. There were  a lot of hotels and nightclubs etc. After the war  any building with American connections was raised to the ground and the city rebuilt. Next trip I intend to drive / ride the Ho Chi Minh trail which is well away from the coast, nestled against the Laos border. While the USA was defending the coast, the northern troops were creeping down the trail to Saigon through the jungle.