Day 4 at the Cu Chi tunnels was a very impactful and emotion-filled experience. It really put the Vietnam War into a different perspective than simply learning about it in the classroom back at school. The first tunnel felt easy and simple to navigate through as it was slightly larger and more comfortable. The second tunnel, however, at first, I didn’t think I had it in me to go through the tiny rectangular hole. After watching a few of my friends complete the task, I felt the need to. It was difficult at first but I got the hang of it and made it out the other side! It was such a unique thing to take part in what the Vietnamese truly experienced during this war.
There were so many strategies that interested me during this tour. The majority of them illustrate how smart and intelligent the Vietnamese were. They really used their home field and familiarity of the forest to their advantage. For example, the tour guide explained multiple specific strategies that were hidden to help the Vietnamese. One specific detail that stood out to me was the toothpick in the leaves. This was such a subtle and small detail but so effective for the soldiers. Essentially, it was so that the Vietnamese soldiers could warn each other about a trap that was designed for the Americans so that they can stay safe. A funny detail that was also added in was that the Vietnamese were shorter than the Americans so the toothpicks were on leaves that were lower to the ground, hidden from the Americans but noticeable for the Vietnamese.
Seeing the conditions that people lived in gave me a deeper appreciation for the true sacrifices that were made during this conflict. More specially, the tour explained how the war drastically affected ordinary people and regular citizens. It affected entire communities and families, not just the soldiers. This is different from any other war and bring a whole new view into the true atrocities of what occurred here.
Experiencing the tunnels with the UEF students made the visit even more meaningful because with the ability to connect with them after each part of the tour allowed me to see how they view this war from their perspective. And, it’s the same as us. In my quick conversations with the UEF students I asked one of them what they think of this tour. And she responded with “It is just crazy.” This reveals how taken aback and impactful just a few hours were for all of us experiencing the tunnels.
Another thing that really stayed with me after today was realizing how recent this conflict actually was. Walking through the tunnels and hearing the stories made it hard to believe that many of the soldiers who fought here were only around 18 or 19 years old, which is basically the same age as me or even younger. It feels crazy to imagine people our age being placed into such intense situations, especially in conditions as difficult as the tunnels. Seeing everything in person made the war feel much more personal rather than just another historical event we learned about in high school. The worst and most important part about this war was how unpopular it was back in America at the time. Americans were fighting to stop the spread of communism while the Vietnamese were fighting for their country on their home turf. With strategies like preserving the smoke in the tunnels and letting it out slowly in a different location to not show signs to the Americans about where they were, they were so intelligent and the Americans were so ignorant. Another cool trick they used was the sandals trick where they wore the sandals the opposite way to show they came from a different direction. These strategies along with the toothpicks and traps, were impossible for the Americans to help themselves against. The Americans had no right to believe they had a chance at this war. The Vietnamese didn’t care about how many people they lost. We would bomb villages and communities and they would never back down. It became draining for American soldiers and learning about this in person was such a once in a lifetime experience.
