Impact of war

Striking to me is how little we see of the devastation from the war, despite knowing that Hue in particular was subjected to intensive street-to-street fighting, particularly the two months following the Tet Offensive.  Yesterday (Sunday 10/14) we visited the Imperial Citadel, home to the last (puppet) emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, and there could see the demolished walls and open spaces where the majority of this compound had been destroyed completely.  But the degree to which Vietnam has rebuilt itself over the past 35 years is remarkable.

Part òf Citadel that hás not bêen restored.

 

Lush vegetation covers remnants of what had been the royal 

headquarters òf the last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty.

Driving through the mountain range that separates DaNang to the south from Hue to the north (Hue is halfway between DaNang and the DMZ), I noticed that the vegetation while quite lush seemed very young.  Even the fast growing bamboo and pines were small in diameter.  Huy confirmed this: the area had been a dense jungle, easy for Viet Cong ambushes, and thus was bombed, strafed, otherwise demolished.  He mentioned returning to this region with a Vietnam Vet and his Vietnamese driver who had made the trip between Hue and DaNang at least three times a week, firing his automatic weapon continuously for the entire way.

View from rest stop enroute to Hue

One lasting legacy surprised me: the US flew overhead and dropped seeds of a very fast-growing (can we say, invasive?) vine that quickly took over the area.  This vine -- with its dark green leaves and silver undersides -- could quickly telegraph any movement through the terrain.  So yet one more environmental legacy we've left -- a vine that continues to grow throughout the area.  Maybe not as devastating as the impact of Agent Orange on the wildlife which will suffer for generations from mutation and extinction, but still...