A Country at War...

To accompany Ken Burns’ Vietnam War Documentary that we are watching, we did our best to learn more about the war (called “The American War” in Vietnam) and its impact.  

With the key war museum being located in Saigon (now called “Ho Chi Minh” city), we undertook a three-prong approach to get the most information we could since we were unable to make it south to Saigon.

First, we took a walking tour to learn about Ho Chi Minh who led Vietnam’s independence movements beginning in 1941 and became its Prime Minister when it Vietnam first gained independence from the French in 1945.   

Finding a walking tour was surprisingly more difficult than other cities but we finally found a viable option in Hanoi Free Walking Tours, an organization created by university students to help them develop their English.  In restrospect, Diang was one of the best tour guides we have had in a while -  very open about her life and upbringing, we got a chance to learn more about real life in Vietnam as well as the key landmarks.

Our key stop was to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the resting place of Vietnam’s revolutionary leader.  “Uncle Ho” as he is lovingly referred to by Vietnam’s citizens, was said to be so committed to his country that he never married or had children – and instead of seeing himself as the father of the country he preferred to be seen as a member of the family and thus went by “uncle”.  This attitude was reflected in all his actions such as refusing to move into the Presidential Palace which was too opulent for his tastes and instead living in the electrician’s sidehouse for several years -and driving around in a Peugeot, even though he had been given much grander state cars.

As Ho Chi Minh had died in 1969, with the Vietnam War in full force, a decision was made to embalm him and keep his body hidden until the fighting ended.  When the war finally ended in 1975, a Mausoleum for him was built and his body laid there to rest in a way that all Vietnamese could come to visit him. 

Uncle Ho’s Mausoleum was inspired by the one created for Lenin in Moscow but with a Vietnamese touch, such as the pillars and sloping roof, which are reminiscent of Vietnamese raised homes.  In addition, there are groups of bamboo trees on either side, to reflect the lean but strong frames of the Vietnamese people and the tight knit Vietnamese communities.  Seventy-nine potted trees surround the venue, celebrating his 79 years of life.

A large Vietnamese flag flies in the centre of Ho Chi Minh park.  Its red colour symbolizes the blood shed in bringing about Vietnamese liberation, the yellow star representing the yellow colour of Vietnamese skin.  Each of the star’s points represent the different communities that comprise the country – the intellectuals, the labourers, the military, the farmers and the businessmen. 

Surrounding Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and grounds are government buildings built by the French during their occupation in Vietnam during the late 1800s.  The buildings are in a dark gold colour, to convey to the Vietnamese the power and wealth of the French. 

The French had originally withdrawn Vietnamese occupation at the end of WWII but were unwilling to give up parts of its colony and the benefits of such a well-located regional port and thus re-invaded the country in 1946.  

Although they had superior machinery and very large number of troops, their army proved no match for the Vietnamese.   Instead, the French reached out to the Americans to convince them in joining the fight against “the spread of communism across the entire Asian region” rather than what people understand it ultimately was – the fight for independence.  Though the French eventually withdrew in the 1950s, this lead-up was one of the many culminating events that led to the tragic American War. 

On our own time, we also visited some other key war sites, including the Hoa Lo Prison – (Maison Centrale).  Nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton”, the prison housed Vietnamese political prisoners, as well as French and American prisoners of war, including Senator John McCain. Although much of the original prison was demolished in the 1990s, part of the jail was preserved as a memorial to the revolutionaries who died here in atrocious conditions. It was striking to see the lengths that the French went to dehumanize and break the spirit of the Vietnamese political prisoners and yet how proud the Vietnamese appeared to be of their treatment of the American prisoners that were captured and held at this prison.

Our last stop was to the Vietnam Military Museum, which explored the Vietnamese struggle for independence that spanned almost 30 years of war.  

Although the museum itself was not always the easiest to follow, the incredible number of tanks, planes and other military paraphernalia brilliantly showcased just how many trillions of dollars (in today’s currency) was spent fighting this war that resulted in over 2,000,000 Vietnamese deaths and 60,000 American ones. 

As part of our wider travels in Vietnam, we were lucky to travel on both the Ho Chi Minh trail and the Reunification Express.  The Ho Chi Minh trail had been built in secret through the war, with many of the efforts led by the women of North Vietnam to help the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong bring important supplies into Southern Vietnam through Cambodia and Loas, thereby avoiding the American and South Vietnamese army (ARVN) overhead offensive.  As for the Reunification train, had we not boarded at the last leg of its overnight route, we likely would have been more focused on the historical significance of the experience rather than the chokingly pungent odor.

Triviality aside, the museums, tours and documentaries brought heavily home the tragedy of this war and the reality that a lot of bad small decisions can lead to enormous devastating impacts.