Vịnh Mốc ( ) is a tunnel complex in

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

it was strategically located on the border of

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

and South Vietnam. The tunnels were built to shelter people from the intense bombing of Son Trung and Son Ha communes in Vinh Linh county of Quảng Trị Province in the

Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was a demilitarized zone established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam from July 1954 to 1976 as a result of the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (1955-1975) it became important as t ...

. The American forces believed the villagers of Vinh Moc were supplying food and armaments to the North Vietnamese garrison on the island of Con Co which was in turn hindering the American bombers on their way to bomb Hanoi. The idea was to force the villagers of Vinh Moc to leave the area but as is typical in Vietnam there was nowhere else to go. The villagers initially dug the tunnels to move their village 10 metres underground but the American forces designed bombs that burrowed down 10 metres. Eventually, against these odds, the villagers moved the village to a depth of 30 metres. It was constructed in several stages beginning in 1966 and used until early 1972. The complex grew to include wells, kitchens, rooms for each family and spaces for healthcare. Around sixty families lived in the tunnels; as many as 17 children were born inside the tunnels. The tunnels were a success and no villagers lost their lives. The only direct hit was from a bomb that failed to explode; the resulting hole was utilized as a ventilation shaft. Three levels of tunnels were eventually built.

Geography

The tunnels lie north of the Bến Hải River. Much of the sub-strata of Vietnam is

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

which is soft to dig through yet structurally sound. The limestone allows easy hand digging of the tunnels and no structural supports are necessary.

History

When the

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

took place in Vinh Moc from 1965 to 1973, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

released over 9,000 tons of bombs in the area, with a ratio of 7 tons of bombs on average per person. The locals began to dig tunnels in 1965 and finished in 1967 with simple tools in 18,000 labor days. The total length of the tunnels is nearly 2,000 m long with six entrances to the tops of hills and seven entrances to the

South China sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

Tourism

Today, the tunnels are a tourist attraction and can be visited on organised tours. Beside individual tours to the tunnels, they are regularly part of day trips, starting from

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

to explore the

DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

. In comparison to the

Củ Chi tunnels The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting tunnels located in the Củ Chi District of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunne ...

further south, walking through the Vinh Moc tunnels is a lot more comfortable, because they are situated in a less humid climate zone, and the height of the tunnels allows visitors to stand upright.

Gallery

File:Vinh Moc tunnels, Vietnam, Entry points on the hills.jpg, Entry points on the hills File:Water well in Vinh Moc tunnel.JPG, alt=Water well in Vinh Moc Tunnels., The water-well serving the Vinh Moc Tunnels. File:Bomb Crater in Vinh Moc Tunnel Village.jpg, alt=Bomb Crater in Vinh Moc Tunnels Village., A bomb crater left behind in the former Vinh Moc Tunnels Village. File:TỒN TẠI HAY KHÔNG TỒN TẠI.JPG, alt=TO BE OR NOT TO BE !, "TO BE OR NOT TO BE !" (in Vietnamese). File:Entrance to Vinh Moc Tunnels.JPG, alt=Entrance to Vinh Moc Tunnels., One of the entrances into the Vinh Moc Tunnels. File:Using bomb fragment as a smart to alert everybody.JPG, alt=Using bomb fragment as a smart to alert everybody when necessary., A large bomb fragment tied to a tree (at left) as a makeshift gong to alert everybody when necessary. File:Going down to the next level.JPG, alt=Going down to the next level., Descending down to the next level. File:Maternity Room in Vinh Moc tunnel.JPG, alt=Maternity Room in Vinh Moc Tunnels., The maternity-room in Vinh Moc Tunnels. File:Family Room in Vinh Moc tunnel.JPG, alt=Family Room in Vinh Moc Tunnels., A family-room in Vinh Moc Tunnels. File:Vinh Moc tunnels, Vietnam, Converted oil lamps 2.jpg, Converted oil lamps used in the tunnels. File:Vinh Moc tunnels, Vietnam, South China Sea exit.jpg, Beach of South China Sea at one of the exits.

External links

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Vinh Moc Tunnels in Vietnam's DMZ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinh Moc tunnels Tunnels in Vietnam 20th century in Vietnam Vietnam War sites Vietnam War memorials Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province Tunnels completed in 1966 Fortifications in Vietnam Tourist attractions in Quảng Trị province

Geography

History

Tourism

Gallery

See also

External links