Entree Kibbles: War Remnants Museum @ Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

Ever since I read an article on reader's digest on time-inefficient museum-visiting is, I actually don't pencil in any museum when I travel, unless it's part of a tour or the museum is said to be a die-die must go.

War Remnants Museum would be classified as the latter and your trip was said to be wasted if you have been to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) without visiting it. What's the big deal right? Read further to find out more!

Buying the tickets at the entrance; 40,000 dong, less than S$3.00 for each adult. I could of course complain about the exorbitant prices we have in Singapore's museums but as locals, we do get free admissions for some of them.

Actual war machines on display at this open-air exhibition, including chinook, tank, flame thrower. Information panels were available to include details like weight, range, usage and impact during the Vietnam War from 1955 - 1975.

An arena of peacefulness amidst the display of machines that drives violence.

Wall portrait of the devastation of a mangrove forest after chemical warfare. The use of chemicals was widespread during the Vietnam War, with its impact continuing to be felt today.

Bombs that were released in Vietnam, including a seismic bomb capable of destroying an area with 100-meter radius and causing serious damage over a 3.2-kilometer radius, and a chemical bomb that was lethal over a 500-meter radius. Given how small Singapore is and how technology has advanced over the years, our country would literally be razed with just a few of the aforementioned bombs.

Aviation aficionados for war airplanes would likely go crazy over so many of them at the War Remnants Museum, which were abandoned by the US troops when they withdrew from the war.

F5 jet fighter; what's the version we have now? I know Singapore has a few F15 and F16 airplanes, and would be buying F-35B fighter jets, scheduled to be delivered in 2026.

In case you are wondering if people can still fly these planes on display, they were all bogged to the ground using concrete. I believe most of the operation equipment in the cockpit had also been removed.

I was wondering what these were; despite working in an air base during my national service, I had never looked at a war plane up close as my vocation was a dental assistant. Turned out these were "brackets" for missiles and bombs!

Friends who were more knowledgeable than I am.

Time to check out the indoor exhibition; spread across three levels, consisting of permanent topics like war crimes, global resistance against the Vietnam war, agent orange etc.

Waging Peace - this talked about the opposition of war within United States, which was the largest peace movement in America that went against the government's pro-war propaganda. Unlike free-speech democracies like USA, such actions would be considered as treason elsewhere.

The World's Support for Vietnam - similar to Russia's aggression towards Ukraine, the world sat up and rally against the invaders for absurd reasons that went against the freewill of others. Politics is a dirty game, as we all know, and sadly, is part and parcel of our life.

That's why it's important to take a stand, despite our small size. In the case of Ukraine war, Singapore took a strong stance against Russia's actions. Unfortunately, and fortunately, we do not have a culture for physical protests in Singapore although the proliferation of social media had brought the protests online.

Scan the QR code for more information.

Humanitarian effort after the war; essential to rebuild the nation and hopes for the country. Efforts are still ongoing even though many years had passed as the effects of chemical warfare were still being felt to this day.

Outdoor cafe, near the thicket of bamboos.

War Crimes - war brings out the worst in humans; the blatant disregard for human rights, all for the sake of driving fear into your enemy, decimating them, so that you can win a fight.

Disturbing photographs on display; victory killings, corpses strewn over a passage, torture to elicit confessions and information etc. Things that civilians like us couldn't imagine, and wouldn't want to encounter in our life.

Similar to a concrete pipe, this was part of a sewer that three kids (aged 6 to 10) hid in from the American troops; they were still caught with stabbed to death and the youngest disembowelled.

Victims of a massacre at Thanh Phong in Ben Tre province. Kids were not spared and I can't fathom how someone can kill an infant that was only five months old. Such merciless killings deserve punishment but the leader of the raid remained free, and was even "a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992".

Some were convicted though; like this case of William Calley. He and his men raided and murdered hundreds in the village of "my lai", including gang-raping women as young as 12 years old. Imprisoned for only ten years, he was "eligible for parole after serving three years and four months".

Was the punishment sufficient? I believe in just retribution; where one would have to go through the same atrocities that their victims suffered under. As a Buddhist, I can only pray for justice upon the death of the perpetrator but it would have been much more satisfying when he/she is alive.

Award winning photo of the naked napalm girl, which is one of the most represented photo of the Vietnam War; nine years old then, the girl's name is Phan Thi Kim Phuc and she is now a Canadian citizen.

Ammunition used during the war, including hand grenades; it was mentioned in the exhibition that "Vietnam has become an experimental place for all inventions from US military engineers. Their purpose was to use living targets to test their inventions for later use in other battle fields".

Statistics for the Vietnam War; a staggering 3 million killed, of which 2/3 were civilians, another 2 million injured and 300,000 missing. Almost the population of Singapore.

Agent Orange Effects - although I was born after the end of Vietnam War, it was frequently mentioned throughout the years, especially the effects of this specific chemical, Agent Orange, under the Ranch Hand operation.

Its effects can still be seen till this date as dioxin, said to be "the most harmful and toxic chemical ever by mankind to date" and a compound of Agent Orange, can have lasting effects on humans, animals and cause "enormous environmental damage".

The most startling display would be these preserved fetuses; two were conjoined twins connected at the chest and one with a cleft lip.

Photographs would be the best way to present visual evidence of the effects. From 1961 to 1971, the US Army sprayed Agent Orange at almost 26,000 villages covering an area about a quarter of Vietnam; 86% were sprayed more than twice whereas 11% sprayed more than 10 times.

Consequences of Agent Orange through children's paintings.

Statue for peace; despite the war, Vietnam appeared to have forgiven and preferred to pursue peace. It's not a bad thing to move forward although in the Asian context; the ability to acknowledge, apologize and make amends is important. Failing which, it would just take a small spark for the citizens to disrupt society.

Requiem - I have no idea what this word meant and it was defined as "an act or token of remembrance"; in this case, for wartime correspondences who died in action.

They were the non-action heroes bringing us the truth about the war, despite the risks of being killed. Back then, cameras were for professionals and in the current era, we would see more photographs being shared and taken by millions who had smartphones. Only issues nowadays are faked news, disinformation, deep-fake technology etc.

Historical Truths - as the old saying goes, history is written by winners although such sayings might not hold much water given that information is almost seamless with the internet and you need to read extensively, with comparison with other sources, to determine what you believe is the truth.

This would be like the conclusion of the Vietnam War, with victory, admission of fault by some members of the Senate, former defense secretary etc.

Comparison across the three wars that United Stated participated in. Despite World War Two being more well known, the cost of Vietnam War doubled and the tonnage of bombs and artillery shells was almost three times World War Two!

The display of war vehicles on level two / three.

Those who love museums and / or are interested in knowing more about the exhibition can consider renting an audio guide at 80,000 dong, more than the entrance fee.

There's also a museum souvenir shop on the ground floor.

Two more outdoor exhibitions; Tiger Cages and Imprisonment System during Vietnam War. You can click here to read more; the tiger cages are ingenious although cruel!

What's that thing under the tree?

A bell made from a 500-pound bomb canister; part of the buu lam pagoda and donated to the museum in 2020, with the Chinese characters of spring, summer, autumn and winter engraved on four sides.

Ringing the bell; which also concluded my visit to this thought provoking museum that shared the horrors of wars, their effects and consequences, especially given the still on-going Ukraine war. War Remnants Museum is definitely a must visit for first time visitors!

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