Vietnam, The Cruelties Of War

 

No doubt the most heart wrenching and soul searching moments of my visit to Vietnam comes as I leave the outside displays at the War Remnants Museum and venture inside. Here, I  get to see some of the historical horrors and cruelties of war.

 

From tiger cages where prisoners were kept like animals to the point of developing unbelievable deformities to the guillotine and the use of chemical weapons, our inhumanity to each other can reach a point beyond insanity.

 

 

 

 

Victim Of Chemical Attack

 

 

In viewing the displays here the exhibits are weighted mostly to the U.S injustice here but one would be naive to think it did not happen on both sides of the battle field.

 

I am sure the displays at Cu Chi Tunnel only give a hint of what some U.S service men suffered on the other side.

 

 

 

 

In any event, it is a tough pill to swallow seeing some of the exhibits and it does give me a sense of shame for some of our misguided policies here during the war. One of the most lingering affects of the war here was American use of Agent Orange.

 

Even many of our service men and their offspring such as this girl born without a full arm have been forever damaged by this chemical weapon.

 

 

 

However, It is nice to see that areas of Vietnam that were once destroyed are now thriving communities and cities. The before and after comparison are ones you like to see as probably they show us that maybe we have all learned lessons from the mistakes that have occurred here.