Cu Chi and Sounds of War

Cu Chi village is only about 45 km from Saigon.  18,000 Vietnamese lived under ground in this enormous and unbelievably complex system of tunnels that date back to 1948 and the war with the French.  They stretch all the way to Cambodia and spiderweb out for a zillion miles.  No, I didn't go in and yes I was told I could get stuck.  As it turned out a dutch guy got stuck while I was there and the tunnel extraction team was called in.  Everyone coming out after only about 20 meters looked like hell, good choice on my part I think.  No self respecting Texan can walk by an AK-47 rifle set on full automatic without wanting to bust a cap or two.  I guess I should be happy the war era ammo didn't blow up in my face.  All in all a very very smooth ride considering this thing was 40 plus years old.

The highlight of the visit turned out to be something very different than blasting away with the AK.  As I sat and had a coke a few hundred yards away from the rifle range it just hit me to what I was listening to.  Vietnamese weapons, US M16's, big mounted M60 machine guns.  The sounds were of battles that happened in that very place.  The sounds of young men and women killing and being killed.   No Full Metal Jacket or Platoon sound effects.  It was what would have been heard on that very spot 45 years ago and they all were sounds of death.  I wish I could say we have learned something from all of that but most of the time I don't see it.  It's said that hindsight is always 20/20  and it's easy

 to find your way after you are already there but it is also true that the only real way to tell the future is by the past.  I would gladly now pay 20 bucks to see all the tourism of war and the reason for it go away forever.