On July 28th I headed over to The War Remnants Museum, formerly called “The Museum of American War Crimes” (the name was changed when relations with the US improved). It is a museum that exhibits photos and artefacts mainly relating to the American involvement in the Vietnam War.
Since the Vietnam War was so recent, many people already know the history of it, but I’ll give a very brief and simplistic summary. The Vietnam war took place from November 1955 until April 1975 in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and it was fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The North Vietnam was Communist, and was supported by other Communist allies, while the South Vietnam was not Communist and was supported by the United States, and other anti-communist nations. In the end, the North Vietnamese took victory over the South with the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975, and Communist governments took power in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Visiting the museum was difficult, as many of the photos showed awful events and treatment of the Vietnamese people by the Americans. I realize that war is not meant to be peaceful, happy or pretty, but walking through the museum and seeing photos of suffering people and such great destruction is heartbreaking.
Outside of the museum a number of US Military aircrafts and machinery are on display:
Inside the main building there were a number of photography exhibits showing the brutality and effects of the war, specifically focusing on the actions of Americans in the war.
In the photo below, some American troops are performing one form of water torture, where a rag is placed over someone’s face and water poured on it, making it impossible to breathe.
Another form of torture was to drag prisoners behind the tanks:
The museum also showed photos of all the destruction within Vietnam caused by bombings and raids by the US.
In the photo below you can see bomb craters through the countryside of Vietnam:
One of the saddest areas of the museum for me was the exhibit on Agent Orange, it’s use in the war by the US, and how the Vietnamese people are still suffering the effects of exposure, and will continue to suffer for generations to come.
Agent Orange is a herbicide used by the US Military during the war, and it’s main purpose was to wipe out the forests and rural land, forcing peasants to flee to the US dominated cities. During the war the US Military sprayed 12,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as part of Operation Ranch Hand. Agent Orange is highly toxic and caused as estimated 400,000 deaths and 500,000 children born with birth defects in Vietnam alone.
Below are photos of US troops preparing to spray Agent Orange through Vietnam:
The museum also showed photos of the effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people, and the children who were born with birth defects.
I was so saddened while looking at the photos and seeing how these innocent Vietnamese people were impacted so severely. But what is especially saddening is that the effects are passed down through generation, causing birth defects for many generations within families. The impacts of Agent Orange will continue to be a major part of thousands of Vietnamese people for many many years to come.
By the time I finished visiting the museum I felt so sad. Living in Canada, and so far from Vietnam, it’s easy to only get one side of the story – the American side. But I believe that it’s equally as important to see the reverse side, and the major impacts that the war had on the Vietnamese people. I will not place blame or point fingers, as all parties involved in war suffer greatly, but I am happy I was able to be exposed to this perspective of the war.
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