Old-Time Vietnam – The DMZ, Mr. T and the Highway of Horror
Bright and early at 8am I was ready for the day. I would be meeting Mr. T, an ARVN veteran of Vietnam War that will be leading me on a one-day tour at the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone).
The trip to the DMZ was the main reason why I visited Hue. While I do love Vietnam for its people, food, culture and history, the American War (as the Vietnamese call it) has always been my primary interest as I travel in Vietnam. And Mr. T was the right guide that will lead me into one of the most hotly contested war zones during the American war. He was approaching retirement, and I could not wait to meet him.
The First Stop Along the Way to the DMZ: the Long Hung Catholic Church on the Highway of Horror
Mr. T
Mr. T impressed me with his gentle manners, composure, his commitment to Vietnamese history and very good English.
Mr. T is an ARVN veteran of the Vietnam War. ARVN stands for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. It refers to the army of South Vietnam. He grew up in the 1950s in Hue. Then he moved to Danang in 1968 (likely after the Tet Offensive) and finished high school there. In 1972, with the imminent departure of the American forces, “everybody had to join the army,” Mr. T told me. And so he did too.
There was a mandatory draft in South Vietnam for all male members of the population. The Vietnamese women could join the army on a voluntary basis. Mr. T received 1.5 years of training in Saigon. Then he served in the Danang airbase. He did not have to fight in battles. When on March 29, 1975 the North Vietnamese took over Danang, all ARVN soldiers had to go through reeducation. They were kept at a camp at the border with Laos. Mr. T went spent 2.5 years there. The days were hard in the reeducation camps. They rose early in the morning to farm, and then learned propaganda.
This prison experience was significant. When North Vietnam claimed victory and power over all of Vietnam in 1975, some western countries promised to give VISAs to those who went through at least three years of reeducation camp as a result of the American War. Because he only spent 2.5 years in prison, Mr. T could not benefit from this offer. Then other people told him that he should enter tourism because of his good English and the veteran background. It was certainly the right decision.
A very nice private car came to pick me up. Mr. T greeted me cheerfully. He started telling the story of the American War in Hue as soon as we began our journey.
Photo: The Signage On-site at the Long Hung Catholic Church.
The Easter Offensive of March 1972
Quang Tri lies 57km northwest of Hue and 40km from the DMZ. After the 1954 Geneva Accords, Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. This division resulted in Quang Tri being in South Vietnam. Further northwest, Dong Ha became the northernmost town of South Vietnam, closest to the 17th parallel, which is the border between North and South Vietnam.
In March 1972, the North Vietnamese army, known as PAVN (People’s Army of Vietnam), launched the Easter Offensive against the South. In this offensive the PAVN attacked and captured both Dong Ha and Quang Tri. The PAVN captured Dong Ha in late April, 1972. Quang Tri came under PAVN control by May 2, 1972.
It was believed that the North Vietnamese launched the Easter Offensive intending to bolster its negotiation position before the final peace talks with the United States. At that point in history, the United States seemed to be somewhat “improving relationships” with the communist powers of the world. The foreign policy of détente was in place, but there was an expected summit with the Soviet Union by Richard Nixon. Then the successor to Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon was going to visit China as well. North Vietnam felt the restrained attitude from both China and Soviet Union. Perhaps rightly so, it believed that its interest would be overshadowed by the great power diplomacy at play at the time (Hall at 75-76).
The ARVN would only recapture Quang Tri on September 19, 1972, and only with the exceptional and final aid from the U.S. military. In Operation Linebacker, the United States responded to the Easter Offensive with an air strike campaign. It was the biggest escalation of the war since 1965. Both sides suffered significant casualties as a result of the Easter Offensive and Operation Linebacker that followed.
“Quang Tri was left, as one journalist described, ‘a lake of shattered masonry.’” (Hall at 76). The Quang Tri Citadel, which was built in 1824, was run to the ground.
The Easter Offensive would be the last battle between North and South Vietnam that directly involved the U.S. military. On April 30, 1975, the U.S. Ambassador was the last one to leave Vietnam, by then fully under communist rule.
The Highway of Horror
The first stop that we made on our trip to the DMZ was the Highway of Horror.
Highway 1, officially National Route 1A, runs through the major cities of Vietnam from the Huu Nghi Quan Border Gate near the China-Vietnam border. It extends all the way to the very southern tip of Ca Mau Province. The French colonists constructed this highway in the early 20th century.
During the Easter Offensive of 1972, the PAVN launched serious shelling at Quang Tri in order to gain control of the city. The section of Highway 1 between Quang Tri and Hue became the only escape route for the 20,000 residents of Quang Tri. Almost the entire population attempted to flee the city.
Between the few days in late April and early May, both the civilians and the ARVN military jammed this section of Highway 1, both on-foot and in vehicles, and bumper-to-bumper. The majority of the vehicles were ARVN fleets, consisting of “flatbeds, takers, small trucks, jeeps and ambulances.” When this convoy had gone 6 miles south, the PAVN attacked. Because the ARVN 3rd Division failed to organize flank security, the attack caused serious casualties to both civilians and the ARVN military. I further quote the Wikipedia:
Personal effects, individual equipment and bodies were piled in the vehicles and lay strewn alongside, and to the east, where individuals had attempted to flee to safety.
The Catholic Long Hung Church was built in 1955. Standing in ruins, it is the living testament to the horrifying few days of killing on Highway 1. People were trapped on this road and did not have any other escape routes or cover.
The countless bullet holes on the wall is a chilling display of how brutal the attack was.
And as such, Highway 1 became known as the Highway of Horror.
Sources
Mitchell K. Hall, The Vietnam War (2018).
The Wikipedia on the 1954 Geneva Conference.
The Wikipedia on National Route 1A.
The Wikipedia on Quang Tri.
The Wikipedia on Dong Ha.
The Wikipedia on the Shelling of Highway 1.