So today was my last full day in Vietnam. On the way to the War Remnants Museum I passed a park and clocked these school kids doing a science experiment. Sort of thing I used to do when I was teaching...
First stop the war museum. Outside were examples of US big shit, planes, welliwopters etc...
Inside were exhibits of childrens' artwork, there had been a competition entitled 'peace where I live.' This was my favourite although it didn't win or even get highly commended. The title is simply 'herding the buffalo' and the artist is 5. I can't believe a 5 year old could get such a perspective!!! I guess the judges were teachers, all the winners were neatly coloured in and had straight lines, yawn.
The unique thing about this museum is that the oppressed triumphed over the oppressors so get to tell their story. No re-writing of history books here...
The ground floor of the museum celebrates and appreciates the overwhelming, international support given to Vietnam during the illegal war waged by the US. Particular mention and homage is paid to the three Americans and one Japanese who took their protest to extremes via self immolation.
An interesting exert.
And these flyers were dropped by the yanks as a message to Vietnamese peasants, 'what to do if a US pilot gets shot down in your back yard.' Clothe, feed and shelter them then point them in the direction of China. The yanks underestimated the Vietnamese from the very beginning. Just talking to Tung at the CuChi tunnels made me realise that the Viet Cong were a highly intelligent, organised fighting machine. The needs of the collective outweighing that of the individual, almost Borglike. Resourceful, resilient to the extreme and prepared to do anything to see justice prevail.
These medals were donated by a US war veteran. Look top left...
So then it was up to floor one which focussed on war atrocities. Many of the photographs were extremely graphic but I chose not to capture them. As usual I have just recorded images that caught my attention...
There was an exhibition of photographs taken by Ron Haeberle, a US military photographer. Many were of massacres and corpses but these two images stuck in my mind because of his descriptions.
He describes seeing this old man so stricken with fear he could neither speak nor stand. After capturing his final living image he heard the two gunshots as he walked away...
Same scenario for this photograph but this time it was a burst of machine gunfire... heartbreaking stuff, how he managed to stay so detached I'll never know.
I thought these statistics poignant considering the quote below. They were bombed back to the stone age but still kept their unwavering resolve, the Vietnamese are harder than nails and being conquered by the US was never an option for them.
Next, photographs of destruction caused by US weaponry.
From conventional bombing...
From phosphate chemical weapons...
And from agent orange. The photographs and specimens of the genetic mutations in this section of the museum are probably the most shocking images I have ever seen. The photographs above were an introduction. I chose not to recapture any of the other records out of respect; it was starting to feel all a bit freak show although I recognise the importance of sharing these images with the world.
The final floor housed an exhibition entitled 'requiem' which is a collection of photographs taken by photographers who lost their lives in the war. It was painstakingly put together by two surviving photographers Tim Page and Horst Faas and I will endeavour to buy the coffee table book when I have purchased my beamed cottage for one and have somewhere to house a coffee table.
The series of photos below were taken by the late Larry Burrows when he rode out with Yankee Papa 13.
This is crew chief James Farley preparing to leave...
And this is him on their return, two crewmen down. The Vietnamese were not the only victims in this war. Power crazed American politicians with their terrorist tactics have a lot to answer for; they don't appear to have learnt from history. How many more illegal wars?
So then I took a long walk to absorb everything I had seen and to ponder the best way to present it in bloggingtons. I hope my account is accurate, factual and not sensationalised but a reporter I am not.
On my walk I past the Catholic Cathedral, St Joseph's I think but can't quite remember...
And the post office, which is architecturally pretty stunning.
Last stop Reunification Palace, formerly known as Independence Palace. Designed by the architect Ngu Viet Thu and completed in 1966. It was home to the South Vietnamese President and the war was considered officially over when the North Vietnamese army crashed through the gates in April 1975. I was told it was all very Austin Powers meets The White House but found the decor disappointingly tame. Still I took about a gzillion photographs so you will have to endure.
Ground floor:
The conference auditorium.
Formal dining room for entertaining important world leaders, purposefully painted cheery yellow.
Cabinet room for making very important decisions. Purposefully painted green for its calming effects.
The mappage room, I liked the old telephones.
First floor:
Vietnamese sitting room, no hierarchy...
Sitting room non Vietnamese styley, prez gets to sit in the important chair to show he is boss.
A large rug.
An even larger chandelier.
I can't remember for the life of me what went on in here.
The most ornate room in the palace, everything is lacquered. This is where new foreign ambassadors had to impress the prez.
Floor 2: living quarters.
Private cinema...
Maybe a bit Austin Powers/shagadelic in the living room?
Padded bar!
Heliport.
Then down to the basement to the bomb shelter and war rooms.
Kitchens.
And the president's car.
This is what Independence Palace looked like before it was bombed to smithers in WW2, French colonial don't you know.
So it was all a bit Dullsville and if you're ever in Vietnam you won't have to go as I've done it for you.
'Thanks Ade,'
'You're most welcome.'
So I'm leaving Vietnam to go to Singapore and stay with Pip and Billy, that makes me very happy indeed. Billy is taking me to the Grande Prix to see the practice runs, how cool is that? Pip has bought us all tickets to see Justin Bieber lol, we will be old enough to be the grannies of most of the screaming fans.
Adi lady saying over and out, my SE Asia leg is almost over, I hope you have enjoyed bloggages xxx
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