The American War
Today we visited the War Remnants Museum. The emotional impact of this place is far too hard to put into words...
The museum is dedicated to the American War (we call it the Vietnam War). It is told entirely from the Communist Vietnamese perspective, but we find this refreshing as we usually only hear about the American side.
The exhibits are chilling. From pictures of children born suffering from horrendous Agent Orange induced diseases, to malformed fetuses in jars, to bombs filled with nails (on impact/explosion hundreds of nails would fly out and into anything nearby).
Most striking for me was the one about photojournalists who died in Vietnam. Something like 87 people. They showed their most famous, most gruesome, most poignant and sometimes final photos taken. I was struck by their devotion to the people of Vietnam, and their commitment to telling this terrible story even to their deaths..
The museum also told the story of the My Lai Massacre. Where 504 women, children and men were slaughtered in a village by American soldiers in just one morning. It brings me to tears to think of the evil we humans are capable of.
Today's visit has caused Mike and I to think about war and our response to it. Of course it brings us to think about current international crises. What is the Christian response? How can we respond lovingly and yet firmly? Do means justify the ends? How do we make decisions of integrity when we don't know what the outcome will be?
Lest we forget.
1 comment:
Hi guys, those kind of places are really moving. We are so far removed from a lot of that stuff in New Zealand. Cambodia will be hard too, with the killing field tourist stuff, but good for you...you are right....lest we forget. I was really moved by a POW camp museum and war graveyard when visiting Thailand all those years ago. Lovely to hear from you...on a lighter note we are heading to Auckland for U2 concert this weekend, yay.
Love ya, can't wait to have you home...Love Susan
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