One choice today was to visit the Cu Chin Tunnels an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.
The tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and helped to counter the growing American military effort.
I didn’t fancy crawling through tunnels so chose to visit the Long Tan Battlefield, described in the Itinerary as a place and battle “deeply etched into ANZAC folklore”. In brief in the late afternoon of August 18th 1966, D Company (108 men), 6 RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) – despite being heavily outnumbered – fought off a large Viet Cong assault of regimental strength (1,500 – 2,500 men) during a gruelling three-hour battle. This really doesn’t do justice to this landmark battle but a full account can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Tan
After an hour-or-so drive we arrived at Ba Ria to rendezvous with our Australian expatriate guide. Our first stop was to the former site of Australia’s Nui Dat Task Force Base. The Australians had chosen this remote area of South Vietnam to be well away from the Americans and their cavalier attitude to casualties. The occupation of this base required the forced resettlement of the people of the Long Tan and Long Phuoc villages. Little remains of the base today apart from the columns of the main gate. The former runway is now a street in the local village (See photo) and the old helipad is now a soccer field.
Our route had taken us through a large rubber plantation that we now re-entered to visit the Long Tan Memorial Cross, one of only two foreign memorials in Vietnam. The photo shows this monument in open land that has recently been cleared to plant new rubber trees but it is in fact located at the very heart of the battlefield and would have been in thick jungle. The cross was the focal point for a poignant act of remembrance for all those present on this tour.
The tour ended with a late lunch back at Tommy’s Bar 3.
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