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The tunnels at Vinh Moc are a testament to human tenacity. Like the tunnels in the south at Cu Chi, soldiers and civilians took to the underground, literally, digging over a mile of tunnels from 1965 to 1966 to support Viet Cong troops and confound U.S. battalions at this strategic position near the line of north-south demarcation. Around 300 people lived here from 1966 until 1972. An estimated 7 tons of bombs were dropped per person living in the Vinh Moc Tunnels. The initial complex took 18 months to excavate some 6,000 sq. m (64,583 sq. ft.) of red soil that had to be carefully dispersed, usually at night to avoid surveillance, and buried in the nearby sand of the beach. Up to 20m (about 70 ft.) below the surface, multilevel tunnels formed a real community haven, with "living rooms" for families, a conference and performance room, a small cinema, a field hospital, clean facilities, and kitchens complete with elaborate systems to dissipate the smoke of cooking fires. The longest consecutive period that anyone stayed down them was 5 days and nights and some 17 children were born in them.
Unlike the Cu Chi Tunnels near Saigon, these are much bigger and are between 1.6m and 1.9m high which meant that I, being 1.85m high, could walk along them without too many problems (something I simply couldn't even try at Cu Chi). If you can fit, it's still probably not a great idea to go down if you suffer from claustrophobia!
Written May 10, 2010
The Ben Hai River is at the centre of the DMZ, the official dividing point between Vietnam's north and south. Again, as elsewhere, there is precious little here left over from the war - a single bunker that was used as a defensive position against those attacking from the south, and some loudspeakers beside the Hien Luong Bridge that were used for propaganda purposes. There are a couple of memorials here plus an enormous flag.
Written May 10, 2010
We crossed over the modern road bridge over the Ben Hai River that marked the DMZ on our way along Highway 1 to visit the Vinh Loc Tunnels. Beside the bridge is the original bridge which is closed to all but foot traffic.
Written May 10, 2010
This memorial is located on a small hill that overlooks the flat paddy fields and Ben Hai River that marked the DMZ, just to the north of the town of Gio Linh. I don't know what the memorial is about except that it's a great piece of Communist art. We stopped here for a while before heading on over the Ben Hai River. Before we arrived here, we passed the former American Doc Mieu Base but there's nothing much to see of it now except for an old tank that marks the old entrance.
Written May 10, 2010
There's a small museum here around which some military hardware is on display such as a bunker, spent ordinance, a Bell UH-1H Huey, Boeing CH-47 Chinook, M41 Walker Bulldog tank and artillery pieces. On display in the museum are various small arms together with photos from the battles around Khe Sanh and also Operation Lam Son 719, dioramas, and artefacts from combatants on both sides of the war.
Written May 10, 2010
The former airstrip has been fenced off behind the museum building but there's nothing much to see except for coffee and banana plantations. It is said, to this day nothing will grow on the airstrip itself.
Written May 10, 2010
In January 1968, the Viet Cong launched a devastating attack on this base, located about 45km southwest of Dong Ha, as a diversion in preparation for the Tet Offensive. Americans held on for three months under heavy fire, but after Tet, withdrew back to Camp Carol. But before they left, they ploughed everything that remained of their base into the ground. Most of it was dug up and scavenged for scrap by locals long before Vietnam opened its doors to tourism, so there's very little left. There's a red-dirt airfield upon which, it is said, nothing will grow to this day.
There's a small museum around which some military hardware is on display such as a bunker, spent ordinance, two helicopters, and a crashed plane. The museum has a small, but surprisingly effective display of photos, dioramas, and artefacts from combatants on both sides of the war. The dioramas depict some of the tribal people who spent the war carrying provisions and implements of modern warfare in simple bamboo baskets, fighting off whatever military they encountered with bows and arrows.
Open: 7am-5pm. Admission: 25,000 VND.
Written May 10, 2010
The current incarnation of the Dakrong Bridge was built in 1975 after reunification. Just west of the main DMZ zone, the bridge was considered the beginning of the Ho Chi Minh Trail network and during the years of conflict with the United States, this access point was hotly contested. The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a vital north-south supply route for the North Vietnamese during the war with America. It was never just one trail: there was actually a shifting network of multiple trails over a swath of land hundreds of kilometres wide, reaching deep into neighbouring Laos. The trails were the bete noire of American military strategists, but no matter what they did, troops and artillery were never able to completely cut off this supply route, and the North Vietnamese continued to use it, to good advantage, right up to the end of the war. The road that leads away from the bridge is traditional said to be the start of the trail, having been paved since the war.
Written May 10, 2010
The Rockpile is a high, isolated rocky outcrop that's located about 27km west of Dong Ha along Highway 9. It rises to an elevation of about 210 m (690 ft) above the surrounding terrain. Its relatively inaccessible location, reached only by helicopter, made it an important United States Army and Marine Corps observation post and artillery base from 1966 to 1968. It's a quick stop along the road to the Khe Sanh Combat Base - not much to see, looks like any other mountain.
Written May 10, 2010
I took my tour of the DMZ with the Hanh Cafe which involved a very early start - I was picked up from my hotel at the god awful time of 6.40am. We made our way out of Hue towards the town of Dong Ha which is located about 20km south of where the DMZ was along the Ben Hai River. When we reached Dong Ha, we headed inland on Highway 9 which was built by the French in 1904 to provide a link into Laos and was used by the Americans as a major supply route. We passed by several wooden stilt houses that belong to the Bru people and stopped off at a rocky outcrop known as The Rockpile which was used as an observation post and artillery base by the Americans from 1966 to 1968. We then carried on, west, along Highway 9 to the Dakrong Bridge which was bombed and rebuilt several times during the war. One of the many Ho Chi Minh Trails which were used as north-south supply routes for the North Vietnamese during the war leads away from the bridge, having been paved since the war. Next, it was up the hill to Khe Sanh Combat Base - an American base with an airstrip that was attacked by the Viet Cong in January 1968 as a diversion in preparation for the Tet Offensive. The Americans held on for three months under heavy fire, but after Tet, withdrew back to Camp Carol. Next it was back to Dong Ha and north along Highway 1 to a memorial that marks the southern boundary of the DMZ and then across the Ben Hai River which marked the former DMZ to visit the highlight of the tour - the Vinh Moc Tunnels which housed about 300 villagers during six years of the war. The tour cost me 240,000 VND in Jan 2009, which included all entrance fees.
Written May 10, 2010
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I took my tour of the DMZ with the Hanh Cafe which involved a very early start - I was picked up from my hotel at the god awful time of 6.40am. We made our way...
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