From 1954 until the defeat
of the Americans in 1975,
Ben Hai river marked the
division of Vietnam. 5km
either side of the river was
declared a DMZ - a stark
contrast to what really took
place in this region. In
fact, the surrounding region
experienced some of the
heaviest fighting during the
Vietnam War. Some areas,
such as Vinh Moc were termed
Free Fire Zones, allowing a
virtual free for all without
fear of future repercussions
and everything was
designated a target. As a
result of this heavy
fighting, there is still
heaps live ordnance lying
around. There have been some
casualties as unexploded
bombs blow up when farmers
are working on their lands
nearby or children run up in
a play. Khe Sanh, in
particular, was immortalized
during and after the
conflict. Now when you catch
the train or bus from
anywhere South of Dong Hoi
to the DMZ, bomb damage and
craters are still evident in
paddies, beside the railway
tracks and beside the roads
and bridges. As you get
closer to Dong Ha you will
notice huge eucalyptus
groves, themselves a legacy
of the war. These areas were
completely devastated either
by relentless shelling or
defoliation during the war
and were eventually
replanted with eucalyptus
trees, chosen for their
durability and speedy
maturity
Dong Ha
At first glance Dong Ha, the
chief town of Quang Tri
Province, appears to be
little more than another
drab roadside town, and
during the rainy season it
could almost be mistaken for
the most miserable place on
earth. However, once you get
off the main road and go
wandering it is quite
enchanting, and you can
return very quickly to the
attractive life of rural
Vietnam. Dong ha is the most
central town to the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and
the tunnels of Vinh Moc, and
because of this, during the
Vietnam War the UIS built
many military bases around
the town
Skeleton of a church
In between Hue and Dong Ha
is a dilapidated Catholic
Church that was the site of
a fierce and bloody battle
between American troops and
the Viet Cong. The Americans
had sought refugee within
the church walls, but this
was to no avail. The Church
has been left standing in
its bullet ridden state as a
reminder of the war, and to
this day retains an eerie
feeling within the sanctuary
Bridge over Ben Hai River
Ben Hai River was the
original demarcation point
between North and South
Vietnam from 1954 to 1975
and is crossed by the Hien
Luong Bridge. The bridge was
once symbolically painted in
red on the north side and
yellow on the southern end,
but this ended with the
destruction of the bridge
during the Vietnam War. In
1973 two flagpoles were
constructed, one at each
side of the bridge, but the
southern one fell over
during a storm and was never
repaired. On the north side
of the Ben Hai rover there
is a memorial and an awful
lot of water buffaloes,
along with a scenic view
down the Ben Hai river
Truong Son National Cemetery
The cemetery is situated 17
km south of the Ben Hai
River and is so large it can
only be described as
impressive. Not so
impressive is the deaths
that created a need of such
a place. The endless rows of
white tombstones are a
memorial to the tens of
thousands of NVA (Northern
Vietnam Army) soldiers and
other military personnel
killed in and around the
Truong Son Mountains
Vinh Moc tunnels
The Vinh Moc tunnels are
situated 19 km north of the
Ben Hai river. Faced with
incessant bombing by US and
ARVN forces, in what was
termed a free fire zone, the
villagers at Vinh Moc were
faced with three options.
One was to leave their homes
and livelihood, two was to
stay in their homes and
probably be killed, or three
was to start digging. They
took the third option and
embarked on an excavation
project, taking 18 months to
complete, that would
eventually relocate the
entire village underground.
Similar tunnels were
attempted at nearby
villages, who were also in
the free fire zone, however
they were not of the same
standard. At Vinh Quang, as
a result of bombing by US
forces, the tunnels
collapsed, killing all
inside. The US forces were
never able to replicated
their efforts at Vinh Moc
with only one of the most
feared drilling bombs
hitting the target without
exploding. These bombs drill
into the earth until they
hit a pocket of air making
them explode. The
resourceful villagers used
the hole created by the bomb
as an air vent
Unlike the tunnels at Cu Chi
that were made for fighting
in, these tunnels were
designed to be lived in.
This, the tunnels are
considerably larger, though
a foreigner will still find
some of the corners quite
tight and the roof low in
places. There are 3 levels
of tunnels with the lowest
going to a depth of 30m, 12
entrances with 7 opening up
to the ocean, and in total
the tunnels cover over 2
square km. The living
quarters often consisted of
a family having to squeeze
into a chamber with
dimensions around two by one
and a half meters dug out
form the main corridor. Some
of the chambers are
reasonably spacious such as
the meeting widens slightly
allowing a considerable
number of people to
congregate to hold meetings
or listen to concerts.
During the war time, most of
the children, women and
elderly never saw daylight,
only rarely being allowed to
leave the tunnels under the
cover of night and 17
children were born
underground
The tunnels you will be
taken through have been
partially restored and
reinforced so do not worry
about them collapsing,
though spare a thought for
those who sat in these
tunnels as the bombs rained
down. It was the very
claylike consistency of the
soil in the area of Vinh Moc
which allowed these tunnels
to be made, so do not try it
at home. In periods of heavy
rain, the lower tunnels may
be flooded with the higher
tunnels filling with puddles
and the stairs getting
slippery. Make sure you take
a torch with you
Next to the tunnels is a
museum with an emotional
display of memorabilia. Take
special note of the before
and after photos of Vinh Moc
and the stories about the
Suicide Squads. These
volunteers were responsible
for ferrying supplies out to
the offshore Con Co islands
whilst under the constant
risk of being spotted and
killed by US helicopters
specially stationed to sever
those supply lines
Dong Hoi - Phong Nha
Dong Hoi is the closest town
from where you can visit the
impressive Phong Nha Cave.
Although there is little
else to see in the area,
there are some nice beaches
that can be visited on the
other side of the river.
The main attraction of Dong
Hoi is a trip to the Phong
Nha Cave. This spectacular
cave was used by the
Northern Vietnamese as a
field hospital during the
war and it has the scars to
prove it. The front face is
pockmarked from attempts to
lob bombs into the entrance
by US helicopters, in the
hope of collapsing the
entrance. Fortunately their
attempts were all
unsuccessful as the cave
makes for a fascinating
visit.
Phong Nha cave is explored
mainly by boat, though there
are a couple of raised areas
where your guide will walk
you around and explain the
various points of interest.
The cave was not officially
surveyed until 1990,
however, the cave walls show
evidence of it being a
popular place to visit for
quite some time.
The tour consists of a boat
trip to the cave entrance
taking around 45 minutes,
then an hour drifting
through the cave guided by a
couple of gas lanterns. It
is an eerie feeling as all
you can hear is the gas
lanterns hissing away, and
the water dripping as you
slowly drift from chamber to
chamber.
The cave is over 7km long
but the tour only visits the
first 800m or so. There have
been some enterprising
travelers who have managed
to bargain a few more
hundred meters for the
guide, and it is apparently
well worth the expense
