The War Remnants Museum is a factual but confronting display of photos, relics and war machines. It costs only $1, with “war invalids and martyrs' families” free.
It used to be called the “Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes “ and more recently ”Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression” but it doesn’t really push the communists view of the confrontation, it presents the ugly facts and images as they happened on both sides (many from US sources), more as a message that war is a dirty, obscene business, and ultimately a completely waste of lives and resources.
It also reminded us once again that it it’s impossible to win a war on someone else’s home ground.
We took very few photos in the museum as there were images we didn’t want to be continually reminded of, particularly the impact of the war on children and the unborn. There was also a prison area which detailed the atrocities perpetrated on both sides to POW’s.
The museum has a very poignant logo:
It’s one of the most popular tourist locations in Vietnam, and there’s plenty of info on their own website, on Wikipedia and on TripAdvisor about the museum, but was not a nice place to be and holding back tears was very difficult at times.
Once again, it’s a historical reminder of what happened in a far away country not all that long ago, and sadly still happening in parts of the middle east.
It was surprising to us that the Vietnamese people bore no obvious grudge against their opponents and have vigorously embraced capitalism and western values for trade, economics (particularly the $US) and technology, all within a socialist framework.
War machines on display:
A gun display:
Displays of armoured vehicles and aircraft:
Nasty weapons of war:
“Tiger Cages” for holding/torturing prisoners, made of barbed wire, 2 to 7 men per basket, unable to move, sit or stand:
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