|
Above: Only 20 of the original 70 temples of My Son remain after bombing during the Vietnam War. |
The Vietnam War: 30 Years Later
Apr. 28 (ABC7) - We've heard a lot about the human toll of the Vietnam War -- 58,000 U.S. soldiers killed, three million Vietnamese on both sides died. But the war also devastated important historical monuments in Vietnam. Now, a Bay Area group is working to repair the damage to an ancient site, and in the process, mending the broken spirits of those deeply affected by the war.
There used to be many more. That was before the Vietnam War, before U.S. bombs rained down.
Jeff Morgan, Global Heritage Fund: "This had been the longest surviving center for any civilization in Asia. Over 2,000 years of continuous history was destroyed in one week."
This area was almost entirely destroyed by B-52 bombers during the war, and you can still see the bomb craters they left behind.
There used to be 70 temples here. Only 20 survived the bombings, only 20 left to tell the story of the Cham culture, the Hindu influence from India, the gods they prayed to and the animals they worshipped.
The Global Heritage Fund in Palo Alto is working with archaeologists from Italy to restore the site.
The group focuses on endangered ruins in developing countries, from Guatemala to China, to Vietnam to Russia.
And along the way, it hopes to turn the surrounding communities into thriving tourist destinations.
Jeff Morgan, Global Heritage Fund: "Global Heritage Fund's mission is economic development as well as conservation. We're doing sites because it's in an area that can get a huge benefit. They have very few industries other than agriculture."
My Son is next to the town of Hoi An, where growing rice is the main industry and bicycles the main way of getting around.
Six years ago, the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO, named My Son as a world heritage site. Since then, tourists from all over the world have been coming, including many from the Bay Area.
Thor Rayward, tourist from San Francisco: "It's awesome to see the devastation of war, what it's done, especially to a world heritage site."
Bill Frye, tourist from San Francisco: "When you look at what the war did to an important historical site like this, your thoughts? Unfortunate. War is hell."
Bill Frye knows what war is like because he fought in the Vietnam War as an army sergeant.
For three decades, he has lived with the horrible memories of bloody battles, the images of a long conflict the U.S. lost. For Frye, the war has been unforgiving and unresolved.
Bill Frye: "I came over here to close some doors, bury some ghosts, and I think that's what I'm doing."
Doris Hadley's fiancée served in Vietnam in 1968. He never made it out.
Doris Hadley, tourist from San Francisco: "My fiancée was killed over here so I have very mixed emotions, coming back. So part of it was to heal the past and I'm glad I came."
ABC7's Thuy Vu: "Does seeing this site help in the healing process at all?"
Doris Hadley: "I think it's wonderful. There's been things torn down and now we're building back up. I think that's a wonderful kind of thing."
It's a place of unexpected reconciliation. They came to My Son to gaze upon history, and in the process, made peace with their own past. Please direct media inquiries to:
GHF Press press@globalheritagefund.org
or (650) 325 7520
top
|