Teacher Trekker

A Brief History of the DMZ

In 1954, the French military was defeated by the Vietnamese at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, resulting in their withdrawal from the region. Following the French War, the Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel. As the French pulled out, the Viet Minh troops were supposed to go north, but many remained behind in South Vietnam. Within years, the United States stepped in escalating their involvement until they were at war with southern revolutionaries now referred to as the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) now attacking southward.

The result of was the creation of a demilitarized zone (DMZ) that ran along the Ben Hai River. For 5 kilometers on both sides of the river opposing armies established military bases, planted land mines and other weapons of war deterring either side from crossing the no man’s land that divided North and South Vietnam. Despite the build-up of American firebases, the Viet Cong and NVA troops used the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tunnels and sea routes to store, hide and transport troops and material between the North and South. Countless major battles took place in the area surrounding the DMZ that had significant impacts on the outcome of the overall conflict. It is this history that the DMZ Tour allows tourists to experience.

Booking the DMZ Tour

One of the primary reasons I was visiting Vietnam was to visit a myriad of sites and museums connected to the French & American Wars. I’ve mentioned before that I have spent years studying the conflicts and history of Vietnam. I was looking forward to the DMZ tour once I started doing research for the trip three months prior to my departure. It allows people to see a handful of sites on a single day tour connected to the American conflict. There is a private 4×4 (SUV) tour option available from a number of companies, but these were considerably more expensive than the regular group tour. There are also group and private motorbike tours. I decided to wait until I was in country to make my decision. Almost three weeks into my trip, I decided to save the money and take a group tour. The private tour was also not available on the day I wanted to visit. I would have needed to stay in Hue an additional day, but I was already pressed for time rushing to meet friends in Hanoi a few days later. As mentioned in my article: Hue, Vietnam – Hotel, Tour Booking & Transportation, I booked my DMZ Tour through Lam Travel at 14 Chu Vãn An in a multi tour deal I worked out with the agent. The Dragon Boat Tour the previous day worked out so well, I looked forward to the DMZ Tour.

Late As Usual 

I arranged to be picked up by the tour van at 7:00 a.m., but the typical Vietnamese timetable was in effect, and they were running late. At 7:30 a.m. the hotel called the agency for me, but they were closed. Fortunately, the agent I worked with gave me her personal cell phone number in order to call her if I experienced any problems. The hotel receptionist got through to her. She then called the driver or someone else from the agency. A few minutes later, a man on a motorbike showed up ushering me to hop on the back. I asked him who he was with to make sure he wasn’t a random guy trying to make a fare or rip me off. He said he worked for Lam Travel, and I hopped on the back of his bike. We went about 5 minutes by motorbike to another hotel where I picked up the tour van with a few other tourists.

We only got on the road by 8:00 a.m. Since I was the last one on the van, I had one seating choice. The seat was the narrowest, but it also had more legroom. I wasn’t complaining. I was exhausted from the previous day, so I was in and out of consciousness for most of the ride. We arrived at the Mekong Hotel in Dong Ha at approximately 10:15, where we had the opportunity for a bathroom break before the tour officially began, but something was already wrong.

It’s Always Something

According to the tour itinerary the first stop along Highway 1 was supposed to be at something listed as “Frame of Church”. After a web search, it appears that it refers to La Vang Church in Hai Lang District, Quang Tri Province which is on the way to Dong Ha from Hue. La Vang Church & Holy Land is connected to the history of persecuted Catholics in the region and a pilgrimage site today.

In 1798 Emperor Canh Thinh of the Tay Son Dynasty fearful of the spread of Catholicism issued an anti-Catholic edict that called for the destruction of all Catholic churches. Followers hid in the jungles. They experienced disease, malnutrition and animal attacks. During a prayer session, they experienced a Marian apparition where dressed in traditional Vietnamese she told the locals to boil the leaves of nearby trees to heal themselves. Stories connected to the name vary, but most connect back to a variation of the word echoing in Vietnamese. The original church built there was burnt down in a fire, but rebuilt only to be later damaged during the Vietnam War. The bell tower still remains intact and still shows damage caused by the bombs. In addition to the church is the Shrine of our Lady of La Vang and many other sculpture statues.

Well, we never stopped there on the way to Dong Ha as outlined on the itinerary. At the time I was half asleep and didn’t even realize it, until I pulled the itinerary out a few stops later. I wasn’t really upset, and no one else brought it up. I also had no idea about the story behind the church. Sitting here writing this, I’m kind of upset considering my passion for visiting churches. I have no idea why we didn’t make the stop. Perhaps it had something to do with how late the van was running. I’m also upset, because it’s a poor representation of the travel agency.

Dong Ha

Dong Ha is the most northerly town in what used to be South Vietnam. The United States Marine Corps Dong Ha Combat Base was situated there to support Marines along the DMZ. Dong Ha was eventually overrun on March 31, 1972. Currently, it is now the capital of Quang Trị Province. The town is located at the intersection of National Highway 1A and Route 9. Once a strategic location, the town now is the hub for DMZ Tours in the surrounding area.

Quang Tri

Dong Ha is located in Quang Tri Province. It was one of two provinces closest to the DMZ and one of the most heavily bombed areas during the war. The province saw some of the highest casualties rates for soldiers on both sides, as well as civilians during the American War. The craters have been filled, and the war is long over, but the effects of Agent Orange continue to stunt the growth of vegetation and impact generations of locals with birth defects. Although the majority of the land mines and unexploded ordinance have been removed from the DMZ area following the conclusion of the war, there still continues to be casualties from time to time.

Official Start of the DMZ Tour – Highway 9 – The Rockpile & Dakrong Bridge

After the quick stop in Dong Ha, we were back in the mini tour bus at 10:30 a.m. Our guide actually met us at the Mekong Hotel and introduced herself to us once we were on the road, but more about her later. We were on Highway 9 making our way to the first site of the tour. Highway 9 more or less follows the 17th parallel across Vietnam.

While still on the bus, our tour guide pointed out a 230 meter high limestone formation known as the Rockpile. It was once the location of a U.S. Marine observation post that assisted artillery units in the targeting of enemies throughout the DMZ and into Laos. All supplies needed to be choppered in due to the steep cliff walls. It was not until 1968 that the post was abandoned after Vietnamese troops scaled the base. Today, it was a nothing more than a rocky hill. I don’t even know if you can call that a first site or point of interest worth putting on an itinerary list. It should just be an “oh by the way” as you drive past it to a more significant site. No big deal though, this was just the beginning of the tour, and I was sure it would get better.

Within 5 minutes we were at our first stop the Dakrong Bridge, which is considered to be the beginning of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It is just west of the DMZ. The current bridge was built in 1975 following Vietnamese Unification, with Cuban aid and assistance. However, during the war, the bridge fell many times and was an important strategic location heavily fought over by the Americans and Vietnamese. Today the road leads vehicles to the border with Laos. I was not familiar with the bridge. I’m sure I read the name in passing, but had little background knowledge about it prior to standing near it. We got out of the bus to take a few photos as the guide briefly reviewed its history and a bit about the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Disappointment Setting In Quickly

I was disappointed, because I was under the impression that we were going to see visible trails in the jungle and not a post-war rebuilt bridge. There were no jungle trails and nothing that remotely felt like it connected back to the war. It was misleading and others in the group agreed, but that is the consensus online. From what I gathered from other travelers and researched on the internet, the trail visits come with the private tour. Our guide provided very little information other than that the bridge was part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. I actually mentioned a few things about the trail to a few Australians and British travelers with whom I was talking earlier on the bus. It was obvious to me I was going to be able to provide more information than our guide, but it also wasn’t my responsibility to do so. Much of that information is in the section below. Literally, five minutes later, we were ushered by our guide to get back into the bus to head to our next destination. No one even had enough time to walk to the bridge marker and take a photograph. I wasn’t pleased and quick to notice a trend that would develop over the course of the day.

More About the Ho Chi Minh Trail

The Ho Chi Minh Trail is not a single trail. Rather the term refers to the vast network of interconnected trails and roads that span hundreds of miles that run primarily throughout Vietnam on a north-south axis and that at times make its way into Laos & Cambodia. This network originates just north of the DMZ near Vinh and allowed for the transportation of troops and supplies as far south as Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City – HCMC).

The concept of the Ho Chi Minh Trail can be dated back to 1959 when General Võ Nguyên Giáp ordered Logistical Group 559 to begin developing a route to safely transport supplies to the south. Some of the paths actually dated back to the war against the French. What started as a loose collection of jungle trails that took up half a year to walk from North to South Vietnam, expanded over the course of the war to include over 15,000 kilometers of roads and trails. They were often through the challenging mountainous terrain. Troops, support units, motorcycles, and a variety of vehicles including tanks used this extensive network to travel. Vehicles could eventually make the trip in a week’s time. The primary bulk of the material was moved by porters and bicycles at night to avoid detection. Nguyen Viet Sinh is said to have carried more than 50 tons of material over 40,000 kilometers in a 4 year time period. That’s a lap around the planet. Logistical centers were established along the trail, including barracks, communications and refueling stations, hospitals, and weapons caches. An oil pipeline was constructed that started near Vinh almost 1,000 kilometers south to Loc Ninh. At its height, the trail was a conduit for 150,000 soldiers moving south preparing to launch the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Due to its strategic importance, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was one of the primary targets of the United States military. For years aviators were ordered to pound the trail with incendiaries like Napalm, defoliants like Agent Orange and high explosive bombs in an effort to destroy troops, trails, infrastructure and the jungle that protected them from easy detection. B-52’s would carpet bomb large sections of the jungle attempting to destroy everything in its path. Over the course of the war, the Americans dropped over 2 million tons of bombs much of which was targeted in Laos. Regardless of the amount of damage inflicted by a single bombing run, the trail was quickly rebuilt rendering the Americans efforts benign.

The trail was supported by hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese men, women and children. They worked primarily under the protection of the night sky. They risked the perils of the jungle including, but not limited to poisonous snakes, leeches, dysentery and malaria. There were engineers and maintenance workers who repaired bombed bridges. Volunteers would fill bomb craters so that vehicles could again travel over them. Tree branches would be tied together to allow the dense jungle canopy to hide trails and roads. Doctors and nurses tended to the wounded and sick. Their skills varied, but all played a vital role in supporting and rebuilding the trail. The “people’s army” endured great hardships, but the trail demonstrates the level of commitment they had to achieve independence.

Originally American intelligence was blind to the fact that the Ho Chi Minh Trail was not the primary route for supplies to the south. American troops were bogged down cutting supply lines on the trail and maintaining the DMZ as the Vietnamese used another route. It is estimated that as much as eighty percent of the materials were shipped using a sea route that unloaded supplies in Sihanoukville, Cambodia and then transported them by land to the front in Vietnam. It was not until 1970, following the American backed coup in Cambodia, that they learned about the sea route’s logistical significance.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was an idea forged in the mind of Vietnamese General Võ Nguyên Giáp who first strategized the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu and then again against the Americans. Both are comparable in that they were massive logistical undertakings that helped the Vietnamese overcome their enemies and achieve victory. More importantly, the Ho Chi Minh Trail today stands as a symbol of the hardships endured and sacrifices made by the Vietnamese people during the war.

Ethnic Minortity Village Stop – Bru Van Kieu

Disappointed that I was unable to see more of the jungle trails connected to the Ho Chi Minh Trail, I tried to keep my spirits high that the next stop would be more impressive. At this point it was 10:40 a.m.. It took 15 minutes to drive to the village. The tour bus stopped and our guide told everyone to get out. I didn’t see a village. Rather we stopped on the side of the road where she pointed out two tiny elevated wooden huts with a few farm animals in a pen near them. There were rice patties behind them. I didn’t see anything different about these huts compared to every other hut on the side of every road I have been on in Southeast Asia.

There was no interaction. We did not walk over and meet the people or anything like that. Our guide basically just said these are the Bru Van Kieu people. A web search would have done more for me than she did. She didn’t even point out that these are some of the ethnic people that worked alongside U.S. Special Forces (Green Berets) 12-man A-Teams (Alpha). That’s not something I should have found out at home in NY doing background research. I wrote a major college presentation on the mobilization of local Montagnards military units that were trained and supported by these elite American operators. Simply amazing! Oh wait it’s been 5 minutes so it was time to get back on the bus. Again, how can you call that a stop? At this point I was getting very ticked off and while writing this I am even more perturbed.

History of the Khe Sanh Combat Base

We were back in the bus at 11:00 a.m. for a 25 minute drive to Khe Sanh Combat Base. Looking back the village stop now makes much more sense. Special Forces units began recruiting and training local Bru people in Khe Sanh as early as 1962. In 1966, Marines were sent into the area turning Khe Sanh into a major firebase. Battles around the base began in 1967. An influx of NVA troops in the area significantly outnumbered the Marines. South Vietnamese troops (ARVN – Army of the Republic of Vietnam) and Bru paramilitary forces lead to an increased presence of U.S. personnel and equipment. In 1967, the First Battle of Khe Sanh or the Hill Fights took place on Hill 881 North and South on the footsteps of the Khe Sanh combat base. Then from January to July 1968, the Battle of Khe Sahn proved to be a major turning point in the war.

On the night of January 21, 1968 communist forces attacked Khe Sanh Combat Base as a precursor and distraction to the coming Tet Offensive. They fired rockets and artillery barrages at the base that destroyed ammunition caches and fuel barrels, but this was only the beginning. American patrols encountered heavy contact around the hills of Khe Sanh. The battle raged for months and resulted in massive casualties on both sides.

A bombing campaign devastated the countryside causing environmental damage that still persists. During Operation ‘Niagara’ US General Westmoreland ordered the dropping of over 100,000 tons of bombs and defoliants on an around the clock basis that averaged an air strike every five minutes. The Vietnamese troops were so well entrenched that the American bombing campaign did little to deter their enemy despite heavy casualties that estimate around 10,000. This campaign was so environmentally detrimental that vegetation still does not grow in many of the areas around Khe Sanh. Interestingly, the Vietnamese forces never tried to overrun the base and instead slowly dispersed into the jungle. Eventually, the Americans also withdrew, abandoning the base after months of combat. They were successful at diverting attention away from the Tet Offensive and pointed out the shortcomings of the American military.

This battle widened the credibility gap and increased anti-war sentiment back in America. It served as a microcosm of the conflict and demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the American military to achieve victory against the Vietnamese. At the same time, top generals and the White House feared it would become another Dien Bien Phu. In many ways, their fears came to fruition as the Battle of Khe Sanh and following Tet Offensive only solidified the shortcomings of the American military strategy. The anti-war effort only began to grow more amongst civilians and began swaying the opinions of politicians who once favored the conflict.

Impressions of Khe Sanh Combat Base

It was interesting that after a 25 minute ride we were told we would only had 25 minutes to explore the former military installation and museum. When I got off the bus, I was confronted with a large open plateau, a large portion of which is covered by an empty airfield where the base once stood. The majority of the American constructed buildings were gone, but there were a few bunker and trench systems that remained. There were many old pieces of American military equipment, such as artillery and even an American plane spread out across the base. In the distance stood fog covered hills that were once heavily contested by opposition forces.

Initially, I stayed with the group. That was until our tour guide spit out a handful of incorrect facts that resulted in me feeling the need to correct her. She was clueless. No one in the group seemed to mind. I walked away and made the best of my short time there. I made my way to the museum. It was only a small building with a few rooms. It was more informative if you had little knowledge of the base and its significance in the war. There were statistics, charts and maps connected to troop movements and casualties during the battle that kept my interest. The rest of the museum was filled with war material from both sides that is common throughout the war museums in Vietnam. I could have spent the entire 25 minutes in the museum, but reluctantly I made my way in and out as quickly as possible.

Following my brief time in the museum, I continued to explore the remainder of the base. A local was walking around the base trying to sell “old” war medals and paraphernalia. Most if not all are fakes. True war artifacts are long gone and are never sold for pennies. I would have possibly been interested if they were real, but there was little time to identify any of them as genuine and negotiate a price. As I made my way back to the van, a few people from the group began to ask me questions. I took it upon myself to play unofficial tour guide for the rest of the day. As we walked back, our tour guide was waving her hands at everyone to make their way back to the van so we could go for lunch.

This was the closest I had been all day to the experience I was looking for. It was humid and rainy with layers of fog and low hanging clouds partially hiding the surrounding hills. As I walked through the muddy trenches of the old American installation, the rain began to get heavier. Peering out from the bunker openings allowed you to envision the reality that former soldiers once endured but without the threat of bullets and mortar strikes. I could not believe I was here and was elated to see remnants of what I studied for years in college.

At the same time battlefields are always very humbling experiences. I walked around the base quickly given the time frame, but still managed to find the time to stand and reflect. The loss of life on both sides was costly. Soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice to defend their brothers in arms at all costs in order to uphold the values and beliefs of their countries. I have family who fought in the war and returned home to America with a piece of themselves still in Vietnam. It was clear to the naked eye that the vegetation still struggled to grow due to the less obvious effects of years worth of American bombing.

Once a major U.S. military installation, the area now was a hollow shell of its former self, but you could feel something in the air. There was a sadness of sorts that hung like clouds in the sky. It was coupled with the white noise of the gusts of wind that made it feel more silent than anything else. The more I stood and thought the sadder I became. All that death and destruction was to end with both sides eventually just walking away from the once heavily contested territory. It made little sense, but what does in war?

Back to Dong Ha for Lunch

We headed back east on Highway 9 at exactly 12:10 p.m. to get to a hotel for lunch. There are a number of other war related sites along the highway between Khe Sanh and Dong Ha that we did not stop at. Smaller private motorbike and jeep tours can more easily stop at a number of them, if not all of them, if your heart desires. Most are other American military installations like Lang Vei Special Forces Base, Con Tien Firebase, Hamburger Hill and Camp Carroll. The ride to Dong Ha took just about an hour and a half. After we arrived we were ushered into the Mekong Hotel for lunch. We were told we had exactly 40 minutes before we continued the afternoon portion of the tour.

Lunch was not included, but I was aware of this fact when I purchased the tour. (Make sure you know exactly what you are paying for at the travel agency, as most meals are not included in the price of the tour.) The waitress came to give us menus so we could order. There were a number of options, but the menu was limited. I kept it simple and ordered a chicken and vegetable dish that came with white rice. Overall, the meal was very subpar and everyone at the table agreed regardless of what they ordered. The day was continuing on a downward spiral. After our meal we had a few minutes to connect to the hotel’s wifi. Some used the bathroom, and others checked email. Continue on to Vietnam – DMZ Tour – Part 2: Highway 1 & Vinh Moc Tunnels for the afternoon portion of the tour.