It wasn't too bad, really

Since our arrival in Viet Nam, we've avoided much that has to do with the American/Viet Nam War, but I felt like it was time. Tam Ky is quite close to the site of the My Lai Massacre (more on Wikipedia) and since our volunteer time finishes this week, we needed to do it now. Sunday was set apart as the day we would go, along with Hannah and Mette. Despite the Vietnam Railways website listing trips between Tam Ky and Quang Nhai, including prices (only 18,000 VND), the train station here confirmed our interpreter's assertion--there is no way to catch the train between the two cities. Instead we went by bus.

And when I say bus, I use the term lightly. Really it was a mini-van rigged to fit up to 22 people. We hailed the first one that came by with a man hanging out the door yelling "Quang Nhai! Quang Nhai!" The five of us piled in as the driver continued to roll along very slowly; as soon as Mette's foot left the ground, the speed picked up and the yelling man had to run and jump into the van (a la Little Miss Sunshine). And for all that fun we paid 50,000VND each. A total rip-off, we were sure. That's nearly $4 for a one-hour ride!

The ride was tight, but we'd learn (on the ride home) just how tight it could get. We had 12 people in the van on the way to the crossroads where we disembarked and were immediately accosted by ten men, all wanting us to motobike taxi out to Son My (the site of the My Lai Massacre). "Khong, cam on. Taxi." After several failed attempts to call the local taxi company, a nearby woman called for us and within minutes, a taxi was there for us and we drove the 12 km or so to the site.

The museum on the site is well done and worth the 10,000VND entry fee. There's the requisite list of the dead: 504 in total with ages ranging from young to old, but mostly at the two ends of the spectrum. It was so very sad to see all the names listed that were followed by an age of less than 5. I stopped counting at 100.

There were artillery shells and bombs that had been dropped, as well as a lot of other artifacts that were left (although given that there were a bunch of homes and families there and all that was left were shells and some ceramics, it isn't much). There were a number of grisly photographs, but you can find those on the web yourself. It was a heart-rending visit, knowing that these people had just been slaughtered without a care and that the man who had ordered the killings (and brutal ones, at that) served 5 days in jail. 5 days. It was hard being an American.

The famous statue of the woman holding her dying baby and others fallen around her was quite powerful in person despite its Russian rigidity. The grounds are beautiful to walk among the grass field and coconut trees, but it's impossible to forget the terror that occured. There are numerous reproductions of the villager's homes, their slaughtered animals and markers for the mass graves.

Our ride home put my limited Vietnamese skills to the test, but we made it (squished in with 14 other people, some standing the entire way from Quang Nhai to Tam Ky). In the end, we paid more than we would have paid Mr Hanh to take us (600,000VND round-trip) but it proved to be impactful and I doubt any of us will forget the site or that ride.