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• 1 media/den ben duoc 2.jpg 2016-12-05T19:52:23-08:00 Experiencing the Tunnels 25 image_header 2016-12-12T18:24:18-08:00

  The tunnels are now one of the most visited attractions in Vietnam. The Vietnamese are using their harsh and violent past to help boost their economy. Upon reaching the gate of the memorial, you will visit a small wooden sign that reads “Please try to be a Cu Chi guerilla. Wear these uniforms before entering tunnels” (Mydans). The small rustic uniforms help you feel as though you are sliding into the skin of a Vietcong soldier preparing for battle against the American enemy. Once you have changed into this uniform you are lead into a small hut where a woman dressed in periodic clothing quickly ushers you inside. A short propaganda video of the devastation and destruction America brought to your beloved homeland is shown, with the intent to motivate you to join the Viet Cong resistance.  A narrator dressed as a Viet Cong guerilla comes forward and talks to you as though he were talking to his own comrades.  He takes you to a self-made weapons hut and shows you how to turn traditional hunting methods into devastating war tactics techniques (Le 77).  After sneaking out of the hut you follow your new comrade down a long, narrow path that leads to the hidden entrance of the tunnels. The ground all around you is covered in artillery craters and burnt earth from the American mortars and napalm strikes.  On audio tapes, off in the distance you can hear the pop of gunfire and the battle cries of Viet Cong soldiers (Le 77).  Some of your new comrades are claustrophobic and do not desire to take shelter inside the tunnels.  To enter the tunnels, you must squeeze in through the camouflaged hatches(Schell 1).  Some of your fellow Vietcong warriors struggle to fit in the small hatches as they were designed for small warriors to attack and quickly return to the safety of the tunnels. The tunnels themselves have been spruced up and include life size plastic figurines of the Viet Cong. Within the maze of winding tunnels you get to experience how the actual Viet Cong fought and lived. You follow your guide through the dusty tunnels to a kitchen and get to eat what the Vietcong would eat (Le 78). Guerrilla food included boiled cassava, a small edible root, with a variety of salts.  This is a tour member’s chance to experience Viet Cong sustenance. When you leave the tunnels, you work your way to the firing range for some target practice. The shooting range gives you a chance to hold and shoot weapons that would have been used during the war. You can shoot AK -47s and M-16s (Schell 2). Once you have a feel for the gun, your guide reminds you that this is just practice and soon you’ll be able to shoot American soldiers. This drives home the fact that you would have to shoot at another human being.  As you leave the monument and tunnels, you take away knowledge and newfound understanding for those who fought in the Vietnam War. You will have the experience of what it was like to crawl through the tunnels that stalled the American war machine and lead to its defeat.
  
  ​To view a short video of the tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels please click here.