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Vietnam - demilitarized zone
 Quang
Tri is located in the central
Vietnam
near the crossways between North and
South Vietnam,
Laos, and
Thailand
. From 1954 until the defeat of the Americans in 1975, Ben Hai river
marked the division of
Vietnam
5km either side of the river was declared a
DMZ - a stark contrast
to what really took place in this region.
Vinh
Moc Tunnel
In
June 1965,
Vinh Moc was almost entirely destroyed. The people of
Vinh Moc started digging an underground network of tunnels and rooms
for the village population, comprising 82 families for total of 300
people. The passages are approximately 7m under the surface.
Seventeen babies were delivered in the passages during the war.
The
17th Parallel
(Ben Hai River and Hien Luong Bridge)
The
Ben
Hai
River
runs for 100km in the
Truong
Son
Mountains
to meet the sea at
Cua Tung. The widest part of the river is
about 200m and the portion covered by Hien
Luong
Bridge
is approximately 170m wide.
Under
the
Geneva
agreement on
Vietnam
in 1954,
Ben
Hai
River
was selected as a temporary demarcation line separating the country
into two parts. The
Hien
Luong
Bridge
was divided into parts, each serving as a border gate. Nowadays, the
Ben
Hai
River
and
Hien
Luong
Bridge
have become historic landmarks and great tourist attractions.
Khe
Sanh Combat Base
Khe
Sanh is a valley surrounded entirely by rolling mountains and
forest. Topographically, Khe Sanh is similar to
Dien Bien Phu. It used to be a US  Army
defense station believed to be unassailable. The entrenched
fortifications surrounding Khe Sanh comprise three areas: Ta Con,
Lang Vay and Huong Hoa. More than 10,000 army men were stationed at
Khe Sanh, not to speak of many other troops of the NVA. A large and
long battle was waged here during the American war and the base
holds many memories for many US and Vietnamese veterans of the war.
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