War Remnants Museum, 9/2

We actually visited the War Remnants Museum on 9/2, but I forgot to post it at the time. I'm correcting that now, as it is important aspect of what the students have seen so far.

The museum was originally named "The Museum of American War Crimes," and was opened very soon after the fall of South Vietnam (Sept. 1975). When relations with the U.S. started warming up, the government here was pressured to change the name, which they did. The brochure still states that the role of the museum is to "systematically study, collect, preserve and display exhibits on war crimes and aftermaths foreign aggressive forces caused for Vietnamese people."

The first picture above shows one of several pieces of captured American military equipment on display at the museum. This equipment had been given to South Vietnamese forces when we left in 1973, but was abandoned by them in their haste to flee the advancing North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in 1975.

The picture to the right shows the opening exhibit on "Aggressive Wars." The plaque Tom is reading quotes the opening passage from our Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among those are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Ho Chi Minh quoted this passage in his speech declaring independence for Vietnam on September 2, 1945. It is ironic that we were visiting the museum on the anniversary date, 63 years later. It was also on the anniversary date in 1969 that Uncle Ho died.

A large exhibit was dedicated to the after effects of using Agent Orange to defoliate large tracts of forest and crops to deny the Viet Cong food and cover. Much of the land has now recovered, but there are still hot spots where dioxin levels are several times the acceptable limits. Birth defects are still a problem, even in second and third generation children of those originally exposed. Some have also been exposed through contaminated soil or drinking water. The U.S. has finally agreed to help with the environmental cleanup, but still maintains that there are "no conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and the severe health problems and birth defects that the Vietnamese attribute to dioxin."

To the right is a sculpture entirely made from bomb fragments. We will see numerous examples of art work like this as we travel.

"The Girl in the Picture" was displayed as part of the exhibit on the effects of bombing and napalm. The inset is of Kim Phuc a few years ago, holding her own son, and showing some of her scars. See the post on the Cu Chi tunnels for more information.

One of the exhibits showed photographs by 134 war correspondents from 11 countries who died in the Vietnam conflict. The picture I have included is from Khe Sahn, 1968. We will be visiting Khe Sahn during our study tour next week.

Another exhibit showed pictures and narrative about the My Lai massacre. We will be visiting My Lai on our study tour also.

It is my opinion that the purpose of the museum is to preserve artifacts of what happened, in the hope that it won't happen again. The tone of the exhibits is in stark contrast to the warmth of the people, and the government's strong interest in increasing interaction with the U.S. We can't deny these things happened. The exhibits are factual, they are just presented in a way that we would rather not deal with. Perhaps that is good, as it does make us think.