Westbound on the DMZ: North Vietnamese Cemetery

Continuing the journey westward, Mr. Chin and I motored along Highway # 9. A little background on Mr. Chin and his family. His parents lived in South Vietnam during the war and they were killed after the war for being supporters of the South. He signaled this by putting his hand by his throat and signaling that they had their throats ripped out. I could sense that Mr. Chin had a heavy past and this confirmed my suspicions.

Our next stop was to be the National Cemetery of the North Vietnamese Army. I was really interested in seeing this because I wanted to see how the Vietnamese honor their fallen soldiers. Although the cemetery was in a remote area along the DMZ, we made our way to it with no problems on the bike. One item of note, most of the DMZ is covered with pine trees. This may seem a little odd, and it is. These trees are around 30 years old and were planted to help restore the countryside after the heavy fighting it saw. These trees are planted in perfect rows and it is possible to look down the rows and also diagonally to make lines out. The trees are really planted that perfectly.

From DMZ

After arriving at the cemetery, I heard someone speaking through what sounded like a loudspeaker. As we got closer, I noticed there were people having a remembrance ceremony for soldiers lost in the war. I was nervous and did not want to walk up, but I inched a little closer. It was an intense experience already for me. As I got closer, everyone noticed me and returned to the ceremony. Some were even encouraging me to take part in the ceremony. I joined them and stood listening to what sounded like names being read. It was an extremely powerful experience. Then all of a sudden the speaker stopped talking and someone began to methodically ring a huge bell. The sound was chilling. I felt the emotions pulse through my body. Soon the ringing stopped and people began to light incense to place on the altar. I was given an incense stick which I placed below a statue of Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the NVA movement. War tears nations, towns, families, and people apart, but what I have noticed that they inevitably bring people back together. All of this takes lots of time and even more healing, for I have found no sound reason to justify the horrors of war.

From DMZ

The cemetery was setup by region. Meaning that all soldiers from Hanoi were in one location and others from Haiphong were in another and so on. There were not any official graves, only names, mainly because a lot of the bodies were not recovered. There are 2 reasons for this. First, the Viet Cong immediately buried their dead or ordered villages to do the work. This is part religious and part respect for the dead. Also, they did not want the bodies lying around as witness to the horrors of the war. This was to help the morale of the soldiers and keep them focused on fighting.

From DMZ

The people from the ceremony were very friendly. They were visiting the Hanoi section of the cemetery. They piled in a huge bus after they were done and kept waving and smiling at me. One even took a picture with me. It is amazing to me that I was welcomed with open arms and even allowed to take part in their ceremony. It was truly a moving experience for me.

Onward we pushed on the motobike.

From DMZ