Tunnel Vision
Goliath (6 ft 9 inches tall): Send your biggest, strongest warrior and with my huge sword I'll chop him into pieces with one arm tied behind my back. I'm making The Philistines great again. See my MPGA helmet?
David (Pipsqueak): So sorry sir, that somehow we've offended you. When you were under siege and many of your people were stranded, we took them in, sheltered and fed them. We have been peaceful and accommodating neighbours for many years. Why do you now try to subjugate us?
Goliath: Your liberal views and welcoming of "the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe freedom," allowing gender flexibility, promoting diversity and the totally unregulated pharmakeia (Galatians 5:20) flowing into our country from yours needs to stop. And we, the most powerful nation on the face of the earth won't stand for it.
David: So sorry that these things offend you. But doesn't the pharmakeia problem stem from the fact that there is such a huge demand among your population for it? Isn't that the real issue?
Goliath: I'm tired of you riding on our coattails. I'll take care of you and then your land, your people, your resources will be ours. He roars, grasps his very huge sword and very thick shield with his very small hands and charges at David.
David: Oh well Goliath... the slings and stones of outrageous fortune must now take arms against your sea of troubles.
Goliath falls dead.
David: Sorry, not sorry!
Yesterday, I toured the Cu Chi Viet Cong tunnel system that was perhaps the single largest factor in the American defeat in the Vietnam War, referenced by people here as the American War. Most of the Viet Cong "soldiers" were farmers who tended their crops and animals when they were not fighting. It is estimated that the war resulted in the deaths of between 1-3 million Viet Cong soldiers and civilians, and 58 220 US soldiers.
We travelled 2 hours by bus to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. Unfortunately Carl and Iman were picked up by another bus and we took the tour in separate groups. I did see them briefly there.
The tunnel system was started towards the end of WW2. After the Japanese occupation, the French colonialist overlords returned to take the natural resources and harvest the rubber trees. Guerrilla Viets started digging underground tunnels and raiding parties could appear and disappear quickly. After the French were expelled, the Americans entered the picture to "stem the domino effect" of Communism - if Vietnam became communist, surely Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore would be taken one by one.
By the end of the American war there were over 250 miles of tunnels in south Vietnam. There were sleeping quarters, hospital rooms, kitchens, armaments, classrooms and many booby traps. Extensive bombing and flooding didn't stem the tide of VC soldiers. It wasn't until the war was over that the Yanks discovered there were extensive tunnels under the massive US Airbase outside Saigon, which was the safest place for the VC.
The Americans were totally unprepared to fight a war where there were no front lines, no trenches, no redcoat formations marching in sync moving as one huge target. Kind of like the Custer's cavalry waltzing to The Little Big Horn, where ironically the only "American" survivor was a cavalry horse named Comanche.
The tunnels are so compact that many US soldiers were too large to squeeze through them. The smaller the tunnel the greater the chance of maintaining the integrity of the tunnel when massive bombs are dropped. Smaller GIs became "tunnel rats" which was a very scary job. There is a "tourist tunnel" at Cu Chi that is higher and wider than the actual tunnels, but our group chose to try an original. Two people turned back after a couple of metres. I managed to crawl the whole 50 metres. The VC (Viet Cong) navigated by crawling on their hands and tiptoes with their butts high up. I tried, but couldn't get my butt up high enough in the low tunnel to distribute the weight evenly on my hands and knees which was painful, so a baby crawl it was, and my knees paid the price.
The VC would let the soldiers walk past their hidden entrance, pop up and shoot them in the back. The Yanks would regroup but covering each other and caution meant 4-5 minutes would elapse by the time they approached the tunnel. The VC shooter had zipped back into the tunnel. As the Americans looked for the tunnel entrance anther shooter popped up from another hidden entrance behind them and shot them in the back. VC shooter #1 had attached a home made grenade with a trip wire to the underside of the camouflaged trap door. If the Americans discovered the entrance and lifted the door - KABOOM! If not, the VC defused the grenade for later use.
Air ventilation system was disguised. Soil was mounded and seeded with termites and became a termite hill.
The VC were very creative in responding to American detection techniques. Trained German Shepherds sniffed the VC body scent. Our odour derives from our diet. So the VC stripped uniforms off dead Americans and wore them so the dogs didn't respond.
Kitchen smoke was vented far from the kitchen. Filters made of natural local vegetation took out any food smell. In the rainy season, smoke would totally blend in with the steamy jungle vapours.
Backwards sandals were constructed from old tires. Walking normally gave footprints pointing 180 degrees from the actual route.
Underground workshops for constructing armaments, traps etc went 24/7.
The VC booby traps were so small but so brutally effective. Rusty metal barbed stakes covered in human feces infected unsuspecting American forces.
This hinged beast did a lot of damage. It was tied horizontally to beams inside the door of a hut. When the door opened it swung down to impale. If the GI was quick enough to block the face and chest level barbs the hinged area just above the waist level swung upwards.
This trap would not be activated by jungle animals, but a GI wasn't so lucky.
The thing about living, eating, sleeping, medically operating (usually with no pain killers) underground is disease. Malaria from mosquitos, bites from poisonous snakes, insects and scorpions. breathing issues from soil bacteria, constant darkness. It's estimated that 45 000 North Vietnamese deaths occurred from building and defending the tunnels.
We had an opportunity to fire the vintage weapons, including AK-47s at typical circular targets. Ten bullets (the only choice) cost $33 Cdn. Two of our group did, not me. The noise of the AK 47s was fearsome.
A staple in the diet of the VC was cassava fruit, also known as manioc. Tapioca is made from the starch. Full of nutrients but we needed water to help wash it down as it is quite dry.
So American fire power, B52s, tanks, napalm didn't break the will of the north Vietnamese. Many ordinary men, women and teens fought and died for their homeland. They just wanted to be their own masters in their own country after years of domination by foreign interlopers. And Ho Chi Minh instituted a form of communism that was so very different from the Chinese, Russian and North Korean oppressive regimes. It was for the common man. Tunnel vision won the day.
The bus stopped at a government supported centre where people with disabilities make and sell crafts. Many are victims of Agent Orange chemical exposure, which is still an issue in remote areas. Birth defects and cancer are still much higher than the norm in those regions. Da Nang airport was just recently declared dioxin free. This is a silk embroidery piece similar to the one I purchased last year.
I bought this broken eggshell and abalone lacquered work. The shimmers dance different ballets depending on the angle of the light.
The lady with the pink blouse in the cassava picture is from New Delhi. We sat together on the ride back. The extent of her husband's travels is to the pub to meet his buddies. So she travels solo now, as she did through her job before she retired. We were waiting at the entrance to the "real" VC sized tunnel to crawl. There was a group of very senior citizen Indians helping each other down and up the steps to get individual pics. An extremely slow process. Our guide Phong explained that just 20 metres over there was a faux tunnel entrance for pictures only. They ignored him and said they liked this tunnel. It was the same as the photo tunnel. He explained several times getting rather worked up, but never shouting. Finally our Indian lady told them in English that they were rude and ignorant and a disgrace to the Indian culture. They moved on to the other tunnel grumbling all the way. I asked her on the bus if they did not understand the reason to move.
"Oh you bet they understood. Indian people are power trippers, just want to be in charge. Sometimes I hate admitting I'm Indian. People here are too gentle and they take advantage of that. In Europe they would have been dressed down smartly with no concern for their age. I don't travel with my sisters because they are just like those uppity arrogant people!"
Phong had apologized at the start of the tour for the made-for-Vietnamese-body seats. So we were always thigh to thigh with our seat mate. The bus hit a long rough patch of pavement. I sensed that there was something odd about my seatmate's thigh; something didn't seem right. I looked down and I had forgotten I'd stuck the water bottle we were given in my pocket to get photos. So.... my new Indian friend must have thought that I was quite excited to meet and sit with her. 😳😳
When I returned from the tour, I popped into Heart of Darkness brewery for a cold one as it was hot, sticky and humid. I met a really interesting couple. Fin is originally from Iceland. While working in Australia in computer programming, a mate in HCMC invited him to come for the big world rugby final party. He met Ahn there, a local. Despite a 22 year age difference they are very happy. We chatted for over an hour.
After supper I walked the 20 minutes to Carl and Iman's Hotel. HCMC has a very vibrant youth culture and it was a Friday evening. So lots of young'uns socializing. We ate at a restaurant near the hotel and I got to know Iman. His parents are African. He looks more Eastern European. He's a lawyer who works with Carl at TD Bank. He gave us an interesting perspective on being Muslim (not strict at all) in today's world.
Walking back to my hotel I passed a pop-up concert.
All in all my fave day since I arrived. Both the history buff and the social butterfly in me were full to the brim.
David: It's nice to see the little guys like me take a win against the bullies of the world.
Interesting stuff Jamie especially having lived (in Canada) during the ‘Nam War years. I remember so much of what you describe in detail but, on my part, only as newspaper headlines and evening news reports! And I’m pretty darn sure I wouldn’t do the tunnel crawl, just sayin’!
ReplyDelete