A B-52 bomber, an F-111 and a French transport plane, all shot down by the Viet Cong, create the center-piece of the display. A Viet Cong female soldier is shown dragging the wing of an American plane across the beach.
After touring the military museum in Saigon early last year, I expected the same propaganda in the Military History Museum in Hanoi. And, I was not disappointed.
The simple weapons and tactics employed by the communist Viet Cong are on display, contrasting them with the sophisticated armory of the United States and France.
On display is the communist tank that smashed through the gates of Saigon's Presidential Palace, tank 843, on April 30, 1975, after the Americans had left Vietnam. The Vietnam War was over.
The American B-52 bomber sits among a lot of other U.S. military equipment, shot down or captured by the Viet Cong. As I look at each piece of equipment I wonder about the Americans that were operating them. Did they survive and return home, or did they die in this foreign land?
The shot down aircraft, the B-52 and F-111, along with a French transporter are stacked high in the center of the courtyard at the museum. They are surrounded by other intact planes, a helicopter and some artillery. There is a large poster of a female Viet Cong soldier dragging the wing of an American plane.
The display is clearly mocking the superiority of a nation that lost over 58,000 of it's citizens and billions of taxpayer dollars trying to defend the democratic South Vietnam. Yet, lost the war to the communist guerrillas that used such low tech tools as bicycles and underground tunnels and booby-traps to win the war.
There are the classic propaganda videos and scores of Viet Cong small arms on display.
There is an MIG fighter on display and a lot of spent ordinance. There is a surface-to-air missle next to the ancient flag tower that at one time was Hanoi's tallest point. It was part of the Hanoi Citadel, built in 1892. Tien and I climbed to the top for the great panoramic views of the city.
The museum is not a tribute to the North Vietnam military, but a collection mostly of wrecked and captured American military equipment. None of the museums mention the fact that America was coming to the aid of the democratic South Vietnamese government. The communist call the war, "The War of American Aggression", making it sound as if the U.S. had the goal of taking over the country. War is an ugly thing
. I am glad I visited this historical place. But, still, it is very sobering. The next stop lightened our moods, though.
Tien, took me on the local bus about a 45 minute ride out of Hanoi about 8 miles. We crossed the Chuong Duong Bridge and traveled down a road filled with pot-holes for out slow trip.
We went to a trade village, Bat Trang. It is a village that carries on the ancient art of pottery making. Wow, their was everything imaginable here. Huge water fountains, that I loved. There were ceramic vases, paintings, tea pots and toys. There were clocks, cups, bowls, spoons and forks, animals and anything else you might desire. What beautiful hand-work from these artistic Vietnamese.
The pottery is shipped all over the world, but here you can buy it at rock-bottom prices. Thanks to Tien for taking me to this place I would never have visited on my own.
Hanoi, Vietnam
2025-05-22