Jessica GoulburnWhat DMZ?
June 21st 2008 03:05
For those of you who have never studied the history of Vietnam or the Vietnam War, I will attempt to explain the Demilitarized Zone in a few words. Despite the long and daunting history, basically the Demilitarized Zone is an area in central Vietnam that includes the 17th Parallel, the imaginary line, which fiercely divided the country in two during the Vietnam War. Commonly known as the DMZ, the area was supposed to be ‘no-man’s land’, no fighting was meant to take place, no bombs were meant to be thrown and no lives were meant to be taken in that area. Ironically, the DMZ was one of the most devastated areas.
On my recent trip to Vietnam, being the history buffs that we are, my boyfriend and I decided to do a day tour of the area. Boy were we surprised when we saw absolutely nothing.
We hopped on a bus from Hue, drove a few hours, had a talk on the bus and ended up at the Rock Pile, an important USA Army and Marine base accessed only by helicopter. Well, there were so many mountains around that it was hard to distinguish which one was the Rock Pile. After eventually figuring it out we had a photo, jumped on the bus and moved on.
As we drove along the highway, it was difficult to imagine exactly what had happened along the road we were following – the Ho Chi Minh Trail. There were trees lining the highway and cars driving past us with every moment. Thirty years ago, the road we were travelling on was deserted apart from soldiers moving in the bushes.
After travelling along the highway for a while we arrived at Khe Sanh military base. I’ll admit that I think our expectations of the place were a little too high. We thought that something, any kind of reminder would be there. Instead, there are re-created bunkers and a museum amoungst the ruins of American helicopters and planes. Although there were some artefacts there, it was extremely difficult to imagine exactly what had happened. It all looked and sounded so peaceful, as clichéd as it sounds, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping away. The only reminder of war was the empty field behind the museum that has been so destroyed that nothing will ever grow there.
As we drove out of Khe Sanh I couldn’t help but be disappointed. I had visited military sites before and I had felt something. Here, it was difficult to evoke anything.
As the rain began to fall we drove along the Ben Ha River, which crossed through the border between north and south. The bridge over the river became the infamous ‘17th Parallel’. During the Vietnam War, the southern part of the bridge was painted a different colour to the northern part. Now, it is joined, with a solitary Vietnamese flag watching over it.
The end of the day saw us wandering through the intricate Vinh Moc tunnel complex. Able to stand up in the tunnels, wax statues were erected in various rooms to give visitors a feel for how the Vietnamese lived underground. We walked through 500m of tunnels, flowing out onto the South China Sea, passing a maternity room, a meeting room and several bedrooms as well as a bomb shelter should the need arise.
As I exited the tunnel on the way back to the bus I was met by a man mumbling under his breath, pacing back and forth and shaking. He lived in the area during the war and was affected by Agent Orange. This is what brought the reality home. This is what reminded me where I was and why I wanted to understand.
The drive back to the hotel was surreal, passing field after field – empty. There are vast stretches of land in the DMZ that are bare. Nothing will ever grow. A grim reminder of the devastation that engulfed no-man’s land.
On my recent trip to Vietnam, being the history buffs that we are, my boyfriend and I decided to do a day tour of the area. Boy were we surprised when we saw absolutely nothing.
We hopped on a bus from Hue, drove a few hours, had a talk on the bus and ended up at the Rock Pile, an important USA Army and Marine base accessed only by helicopter. Well, there were so many mountains around that it was hard to distinguish which one was the Rock Pile. After eventually figuring it out we had a photo, jumped on the bus and moved on.
As we drove along the highway, it was difficult to imagine exactly what had happened along the road we were following – the Ho Chi Minh Trail. There were trees lining the highway and cars driving past us with every moment. Thirty years ago, the road we were travelling on was deserted apart from soldiers moving in the bushes.
After travelling along the highway for a while we arrived at Khe Sanh military base. I’ll admit that I think our expectations of the place were a little too high. We thought that something, any kind of reminder would be there. Instead, there are re-created bunkers and a museum amoungst the ruins of American helicopters and planes. Although there were some artefacts there, it was extremely difficult to imagine exactly what had happened. It all looked and sounded so peaceful, as clichéd as it sounds, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping away. The only reminder of war was the empty field behind the museum that has been so destroyed that nothing will ever grow there.
As we drove out of Khe Sanh I couldn’t help but be disappointed. I had visited military sites before and I had felt something. Here, it was difficult to evoke anything.
As the rain began to fall we drove along the Ben Ha River, which crossed through the border between north and south. The bridge over the river became the infamous ‘17th Parallel’. During the Vietnam War, the southern part of the bridge was painted a different colour to the northern part. Now, it is joined, with a solitary Vietnamese flag watching over it.
The end of the day saw us wandering through the intricate Vinh Moc tunnel complex. Able to stand up in the tunnels, wax statues were erected in various rooms to give visitors a feel for how the Vietnamese lived underground. We walked through 500m of tunnels, flowing out onto the South China Sea, passing a maternity room, a meeting room and several bedrooms as well as a bomb shelter should the need arise.
As I exited the tunnel on the way back to the bus I was met by a man mumbling under his breath, pacing back and forth and shaking. He lived in the area during the war and was affected by Agent Orange. This is what brought the reality home. This is what reminded me where I was and why I wanted to understand.
The drive back to the hotel was surreal, passing field after field – empty. There are vast stretches of land in the DMZ that are bare. Nothing will ever grow. A grim reminder of the devastation that engulfed no-man’s land.
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