Crossing into the North
- Across the BenHai River
Heading north again, we crossed the Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River, which was the actual dividing line between the VietNams after the surrender of the Japanese in the north to the Chinese and in the South to the French.
Tunnels at Vinh Moc north of the river.
The Bridge here was destroyed by American Bombers in 1967, but until then, the northern half was painted red and the southern half yellow. The Current bridge is very decrepit.
Continuing another 10 km through verdant rice fields, I began to process what it felt like to be in North VietNam for the first time. Turning east at Ben Hai and driving to the coast, we visited the Vinh Moc underground village. This area was a supply base for the fighting in the South. Supplies came overland and by sea for transshipment in small junks to VC as far as Son Saigon and the MeKong Delta. The South VietNamese Navy could never deal with these boats and dozens got through each week. The US responded by carpet bombing the shore line. The largest craters I have ever seen are here, many measuring 30 meters across, and overlapping for some distance.
The little village of Vinh Moc began to burrow into the hard clay cliffs under their houses. The government saw that it was a good idea and encouraged them. In 18 months, 2.8 km of tunnels with living quarters, kitchens, latrines, meeting rooms, arsenals, etc, were in use. The villagers lived underground and photos show no building or tree remaining standing above them. These tunnels became a way station for logistical support of the VC in the South.
Finally, the U.S. Navy took over the patrols off the coast in the South and worked out a system for intercepting the junks. Thereafter, almost none got through and the North concentrated its efforts on overland routes. There is a little museum here with photos. One of them shows 9 children who were born in a hospital deep underground. All of the tunnels are open to this day in this site. I managed about 50 feet and turned back. They were about 10 inches wide at the feet and I banged my head on every timber. It was not designed for my size or my fear of being underground in confining places.
These tunnels withstood all the impacts above. There was one close call when an armor piercing bomb drilled 10 meters into the system, but failed to explode. It would have destroyed the whole system. A similar underground village at Cua Tung Beach, where those huge craters are, did not withstand the bombing and collapsed, burying all the villagers alive.
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