Saturday we traveled 45 mi west of Saigon and halfway to the Cambodian border to visit a location that was strategic during the war in Vietnam. The Cu Chi tunnels are the underground complex of rooms and passages in which Viet Cong soldiers lived, worked, met and held weapons. There were 150 miles of tunnels, many originally constructed during the French occupation. The tunnels were built by hand, with workers wielding short sharp hoes, placing loosened soil into bamboo baskets which other workers (elders, villagers and children included) then carried to the surface of the ground, disposing of it in their gardens, in the river, in the forest. Clay soil made the tunnels possible, containing many reinforcing and aerating roots from the rubber trees and jungle above; ventilation shafts of bamboo were driven down into the earth, serving three layers of tunnels.
Seeing the extent and solidity of the tunnels (which except for meeting rooms measured about 4 x 4 feet high and wide) makes it almost impossible to imagine the Herculean task of creating them. Their strategic location, near the Ho Chi Minh trail and the Saigon River, marked a hot spot in the war, and the tunnels, camoflaged from above, made it possible for the Viet Cong army to hide better from both airplanes and ground patrols. The network of jungle booby traps soldiers created (shown below) created enormous obstacles for the South Vietnamese and American troops. Other canny strategies (such creating rubber sandals that made impressions in reverse directions) added to relentless determination proved key in the outcome of the war. After the tunnels were discovered by the South Vietnamese and U. S. forces, in 1967, hand-to-hand combat also took place in the tunnels. As we well know, thousands of soldiers -- on both sides -- died; many more were tragically injured and/or suffered disabling memories. The sad, sad history of this place was palpable, and our visit was somber.
The brochure published by the government, describing the Cu Chi site, says: "The underground tunnel system indicated the will of determination, wisdom, pride of Cu Chi people, as the symbol of the Vietnamese people's revolutionary heroism." Our guide Huy pointed out a symbol on the hat of a realistic sculpture of Viet Cong soldiers -- blue and red with a star -- that represented nationalist, not communist, hopes; the drive toward freedom and an unoccupied Vietnam was very apparent.
Seeing the extent and solidity of the tunnels (which except for meeting rooms measured about 4 x 4 feet high and wide) makes it almost impossible to imagine the Herculean task of creating them. Their strategic location, near the Ho Chi Minh trail and the Saigon River, marked a hot spot in the war, and the tunnels, camoflaged from above, made it possible for the Viet Cong army to hide better from both airplanes and ground patrols. The network of jungle booby traps soldiers created (shown below) created enormous obstacles for the South Vietnamese and American troops. Other canny strategies (such creating rubber sandals that made impressions in reverse directions) added to relentless determination proved key in the outcome of the war. After the tunnels were discovered by the South Vietnamese and U. S. forces, in 1967, hand-to-hand combat also took place in the tunnels. As we well know, thousands of soldiers -- on both sides -- died; many more were tragically injured and/or suffered disabling memories. The sad, sad history of this place was palpable, and our visit was somber.
The brochure published by the government, describing the Cu Chi site, says: "The underground tunnel system indicated the will of determination, wisdom, pride of Cu Chi people, as the symbol of the Vietnamese people's revolutionary heroism." Our guide Huy pointed out a symbol on the hat of a realistic sculpture of Viet Cong soldiers -- blue and red with a star -- that represented nationalist, not communist, hopes; the drive toward freedom and an unoccupied Vietnam was very apparent.
