Trip to the DMZ

Karen and I hired a car and guide to take us to the Demilitarized Zone, the old UN mandated line of separation between North and South Vietnam. We traveled just North of the line to an area that was heavily bombed by our B- 52's. See black and white aerial photo of bomb craters. They initially dug World War 1 type trenches and bunkers, but soon realized these would not protect them from our huge bombs. To survive, they dug ( with shovels ) complex tunnel systems 75 feet under the villages . The tunnels had cubicles for each family ( I'm crouching in one ) plus areas for soldiers, weapons, wells, maternity ward, meeting rooms, etc . The tunnels are thousands of feet long with camouflaged entrances. That's me standing in a bomb crater outside. They still are scattered around the village. Farmers and children are still dying today from unexplored bombs. 6 international relief agencies are currently trying to find the bombs. The guide said it could take decades to find them all. The guides Father died fighting for the South, his Uncle died fighting for the North.