VINH MOC TUNNEL – UNDERGROUND LEGEND
Coming here, people always have an indescribable feeling of peace.
Vinh Moc is actually just one of 114 tunnel villages of Vinh Linh, but it is the most typical, the most complete, and the most famous, so it is recognized as a special national historical site and attracts tourists from all over the world. Its appeal does not lie in its size, there are many larger, longer, and deeper tunnels in the world. The problem is that this is truly a great feat based on three factors: the circumstances of its creation, its purpose, and its humanistic significance. The project was built under the extremely fierce smoke of bombs and bullets. The purpose of the tunnel is to protect life and the fight against invasion, and the humanistic significance is that in the end, the power of life has overcome the power of destruction. Civilization has overcome cruelty, morality in life has overcome greed and cruelty, and the indomitable will has been rewarded..
The war story is vividly recreated at the Museum in the Vinh Moc Tunnels relic site.
MEANING AND STORIES ABOUT VINH MOC TUNNEL
At that time, when the old colonialism had not yet recovered from its shock, this time our enemy was much richer, more powerful, and stronger with an unprecedented level of ambition and brutality. This was an almost unimaginable confrontation between a poor hamlet at the 17th parallel north of the Ben Hai River and the strongest US air force and navy in the world. The Geneva Accords ended the war, but our country was temporarily divided. A question arose: why not continue fighting to win complete victory? Of course, the answer at that time was that we were not strong enough. Just a few days after the Dien Bien Phu victory, Uncle Ho told General Vo Nguyen Giap that we would continue fighting the US. That was the reason for this fateful border. The 17th parallel, the Ben Hai River, and the Vinh Linh special zone were not ordinary words, they were the deep pain in the heart of Vietnam, the wound of history and of every bleeding Vietnamese heart. But it is also the pinnacle of human heroism and dignity.
Moving around quite easily in Vinh Moc tunnels – a great construction during the war
The war that the US waged against Vietnam was essentially a war of destruction. It was long flights dropping B52 bombs. Chemical warfare that neutralized Agent Orange on the ground. Vinh Linh alone had to endure more than half a million tons of bombs and bullets. Each person endured 7 tons to survive and win, not only based on will but also on intelligence. That is why the tunnel system was born, people worked day and night, one shift after another to build it in time. Meanwhile, the enemy attacked fiercely. The A-shaped tunnel could not withstand it at first. The lesson from the Cu Chi tunnels was truly valuable. With the motto of comprehensive militarization of the entire area, at first the trenches, including the A-shaped tunnels, were not strong enough or deep enough, leading to very heavy damage. The price to pay was very high, in 1967 Vinh Linh alone, more than 120 of our people died because of bombs collapsing the tunnels.
Cruel images of war
The small tunnels, with tens of thousands of them, are a great system of interconnected horizontal and vertical connections underground like neighborhoods, with hospitals, infirmaries, halls, government offices, kindergartens and schools. The main shafts of the branch tunnels are systems of wells, kitchens, and warehouses for transferring goods to supply the battlefield. Perhaps nowhere in the world is the level of cruelty so brutal. But the strange thing is that the miracle of vitality has never been eliminated from this confrontation. The secret lies in the fact that life has been transferred mainly underground. It was General Tran Nam Trung on his way to the North who suggested and inspired Cu Chi to Vinh Linh to turn this land of fiery smoke into a powerful symbol of love.
Image of Vinh Moc Tunnels in the cloak of peace
So the question is who started the Vinh Moc tunnel? Yes, it was Mr. Le Xuan Vy, who was then the head of the 140 armed police station of Quang Tri province. Every year, he surveyed many places to build tunnels. When he reached Vinh Moc village, he saw that the soil had high adhesion and could be dug deep, so he came up with a plan to choose this place. He mobilized his brothers in the station to dig a well from three dug wells connected together to form a tunnel. The way to connect them together so that there was no imbalance needed to be straight. To do that, our people put three lamps in a straight line, which would make a straight line. If the three lamps were not straight, they would be misaligned. It is strange that although he only finished 4th grade at the village school and the most modern tool in his hand was an old compass, the son of the land of the fierce war during the years of fighting against the US creatively designed a system of bunkers that until today, groups of domestic and international tourists coming here still cannot help but admire the indomitable resilience, determination and extraordinary vitality of the people in a heroic and tragic historical period.
Vinh Moc Tunnels has 17 children born here.
Underground, the most important thing for this tunnel project to take shape is to measure the slope of the hill compared to sea level to calculate the depth of each tunnel layer. He gathered the leaders of the 140 police station and everyone was scratching their heads, not knowing how to get this parameter accurately while there was no machine. Mr. Vy came up with the idea of measuring in sections from the top of the hill down, each section about 1m, a string stretched horizontally from the highest point, then another string to clamp lead down to calculate the slope of that section, then measure another section. After that, he added the slope parameters and each section together to get the final result to create momentum for the tunnel digging teams of the army and people to organize competitions between groups. The group that digs quickly will be awarded the title of digging champion. The faster group will be awarded the title of grandmaster.
Perhaps the ever-present sacrifice and loss is also the reason for the indomitable
will of the army and people that is always ready to rise.
In fact, only eating cassava, the digging speed of Vinh Linh army and people increased significantly. According to calculations, the tunnel was dug in the East-West direction. So why had to dig in the East-West direction? The explanation for digging the tunnel in the East-West direction was that if the US dropped bombs from the sea, it could only destroy a short section. The east-west tunnels, deep underground, would be very safe. One of his calculations was extremely scientific and thrilling. Under the road, the main axis of the tunnel, Vinh Linh people were very smart when digging the ventilation hole, it had to be 5m away from the main axis and dug deeper than the bottom of the tunnel, not 5m, so that when the US dropped cluster bombs, they could not enter the tunnel but only fell to the bottom of the ventilation hole. At the end of the 2nd floor, Vinh Linh people dug the 3rd floor of the tunnel. The tunnel digging tools were only hoes, shovels, and wheelbarrows to transport the excavated soil. Digging the soil on the 3rd floor, the deepest floor, at night, carrying it out to sea and then filling it with white sand, erasing all traces of the entire tunnel project, which has up to 10 items from personal bunkers, halls, combat bunkers, first aid areas, family living areas, restrooms, water wells, etc.
The clear blue sea right in the tunnel is also an attractive image for tourists to visit.
In addition, after 13 entrances to the tunnel, he carefully calculated and continued to dig an escape route up to the surface with a length of nearly 60m with 2 shock teams of 6 people at a depth of 25m at the bottom of the 3rd floor, digging up to the surface for a month. The escape route to the surface was completed after 18 long months with thousands of workers. The entire Vinh Moc tunnel was completed. All the Vinh Moc people and the resistance army at that time were sent down to this tunnel to live and fight, thanks to that, their lives were saved from thousands of tons of bombs and bullets dropped by the US in this area. According to statistics, up to 18,000 workers were mobilized to dig Vinh Moc tunnel in two years. This tunnel was dug in the red basalt soil area from 1965 and completed two years later in 1967 with a total main axis length of more than 2000m, every 4m there was a family apartment, not 8m wide and 1.8m deep, used for 4 people. The air made the clay inside the tunnel harder and harder, so it still exists almost intact until today.
Tunnels attract domestic and foreign visitors
The two sides of the main axis are 3m to 5m apart, deeply concave and form a small tunnel used as a living space for a tunnel family, consisting of three floors. The first floor is more than 12m deep and is used for combat maneuvers and residences. The second floor is more than 18m deep and is where the people live and work, the headquarters of the Party Committee, the People’s Committee and the military command troops. The third floor is the last floor, more than 23m deep, used as a logistics warehouse and to supply Con Co Island and serve the combat of the people of Vinh Moc. Even the third floor is the deepest, but it is still 3m above sea level, so all activities in the tunnel still take place normally during the rainy season. The entire Vinh Moc Tunnel system has 13 exits, of which 7 exits lead to the sea and 6 exits lead to the hill. Each tunnel door is considered a vent. At the tunnel doors, there are anti-collapse wood installed and are regularly reinforced to prevent landslides. The Tunnel dwellers rarely go out, they only go out when necessary and not dangerous. In general, it is a strange miniature society, only the Dong Ang work can be done at night or early morning on the ground, everything else must be done underground. Meals are extremely frugal, just enough to have enough strength to work, fight and deal with the enemy. The endurance of hardship and sacrifice for the great cause of the Vinh Linh people is truly admirable. To maintain a long-lasting fighting spirit and prepare to face new challenges that may appear at any level and form, it is necessary to organize an underground production society.
Poor land nurtures heroes – images of Vinh Linh people who never leave their hometown
The women of Vinh Linh are truly our pride. Their role as catalysts in life and the war is enormous. Behind the innate innocence, diligence and charm of the women in the fields is a strong will and courage because the planes can come at any time and in a split second they must immediately become soldiers. Do those pilots understand that their opponents are beautiful girls? And when they dive down to drop bombs, they still refuse to go down to the bunker and still bravely aim straight at the enemy and shoot. Outside at night, the Chau fire is blazing, in the bunker, the song of victory still resounds. These flowers in the firestorm are precious gems in the world and their dignity, bravery and love of life make the war less tense. How many miraculous stories of Vinh Moc tunnel village and the hill on the sea are beautiful as a dream, all are extraordinary and almost unprecedented.
They are all heroes, noble souls, brave examples and talented creators who have created a mysterious castle of war underground, a fierce army that has successfully confronted the enormous power. The poor farmers of Vinh Moc village, including children, have written a splendid monument of intelligence and a beautiful relief of the human heart to become an eternal memory of history, of time and of pride. The legendary miracle of this small heroic land has become one of the gentle songs of the times for more than half a century, which can encourage, soothe and calm countless hearts of the world.
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