The art of war: Viet Cong-style
-
- December
- 12
As I’ve explained in previous posts, the people of Vietnam are very welcoming to Americans today, but all the one-sided memorabilia of the Vietnam War – the American War, as it’s called there – sends a different message to visitors, especially veterans.
Our cognitive dissonance began in Cu Chi, when we were led by extremely friendly Vietnamese guides … to tourist attractions like this.
This image is part of a long mural by an exhibit of the many kinds of booby traps for American soldiers that Viet Cong guerrillas set around this area, which is where my father was stationed with the 25th Infantry Division. The one you see the soldier falling into here is a Punji stick trap, a popular attraction at the Cu Chi complex. Click on the audio link below the picture of the model trap to hear my father explain how it worked.
