DMZ

Having grown up a full generation away from the Vietnam War (or the American War as it's called here) Kat and I were both very interested in getting a better understanding of this war from both the American and the Vietnamese perspectives. But after our visit to the DMZ area near Hue it's apparent that there are really three perspectives.

The Vietnamese people that I've talked with about the war seem to have a similar outlook to many Americans about the war. By both parties it seems to be viewed as a bad experience by all who were involved but there is not a resentment of Americans by the Vietnamese, just as there's not a resentment of Vietnamese in the US. But the government owned museums that we have visited give a perspective that can only be described as propaganda. Especially disturbing is the museum at Khe Sanh that only gives the perspective of Americans in utter defeat. In addition, there is rarely any mention of the south Vietnamese fighting against the north or of the Australians or any other nationality that fought in the war. But I would also argue that the textbooks in the US do not give a quality lesson about the war either. I won't get any deeper into this except to say that if we can't get our history straight now how will this war be described to future generations?

The other disturbing side of the war comes from the perspective of the civilians. Kat and I visited the Vinh Moc tunnels where hundreds of civilians had to live to escape bombings. They lived there for 6 years. I can't imagine how terrifying and difficult it would be to have to live like that with the fear of being killed at any time.

Even if it is necessary, war is terrible thing. It was sobering to see the tree-less hills (agent orange and napalm), the tanks still on the road side, and to read the stories written in the museum registries by vets. Even though it was a sad day, I'm glad that Kat and I were able to see this area first hand. Even though the war was over three decades ago the mark is still there and it really showed us how devastating war is for all sides involved.

I'm sure that there will be a few vets that read this so if you have any questions or comments or corrections, please let me know! Kat and I toured through Dong Ha, the Vinh Moc tunnels, crossed through the DMZ and saw the still-standing megaphones, saw The Rockpile off hwy 9, visited the Khe Sanh Combat Base, and stopped at a few Vietnamese memorials along the way.