Team IX, 1995 Hai Ba Trong, Hanoi

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Team IX arrived in-country in October, 1995. The members of the team and Vietnamese built 2 homes for skull-damaged NVN veterans in the Hai Ba Trung district of Hanoi before the team returned to the US.

Let me begin by saying that the four week trip was a wonderful opportunity to see Viêt Nam as a country and not as a war. Accompanying me were two other veterans, Ken and John. In spite of our small numbers and some problems we faced I feel that we accomplished our mission.

Flying into the airport at Hanoi the craters left by U. S. bombing strikes during the war were a visible reminder of the scar left by that conflict. Hanoi also found us sitting through quite a few meetings. Before we could begin work on the housing project it was necessary to meet with MOLISA, our government sponsor, and the Hanoi Veterans Association.

The people of Hanoi proved to be very friendly. On the job site school kids would stop to visit with us and one morning an older man stopped by and, after introducing himself as a former Viêt Cong officer during the war, invited us to his home for tea. It turned out that he and Ken had both been at An Khe during the war.

One of the highlights was just sitting out in front of the hotel at night with a bowl of pho (soup) watching the life of the city as people washed clothes, dishes, and kids (not necessarily in the order) at the curb.

The houses we worked on for the disabled veterans were in Hai BA Trung district (named after the Trung sisters who led a rebellion against the Chinese). The Peoples' Committee of the district threw a party for us on our last day in Hanoi and presented each of us with a lacquered wood picture of the One Pillar Pagoda.

In addition to the building project we also delivered medical supplies to some clinics built with VVRP assistance. It was good to see visible evidence of past projects enduring. It gave us hope that ours would survive.

One task we had was to return a Ho Chi Minh medallion which Ohio veteran Bill Stafford had removed from the body of a dead Viêt Cong. We decided to leave it at a Viêt Cong cemetery near Bong Son. Ken had served in the same outfit as Bill, the 173rd Airborne Division, and knew that it had been based in Bong Son in 1969 during Bill's tour of duty. Mr. Duc, our guide from Viêt Nam Tourism, helped us locate the cemetery which was 2 1/2 miles off the highway.

We held a ceremony calling on the spirits to witness the return of the medallion. We prayed for the dead of both sides and for the healing of those who still suffer physically, mentally, and spiritually from the war's effects. We lit incense sticks at a number of graves and buried the medal in one of them. We also burned Bill's original letter requesting the VVRP to return the medal for him. It was a symbolic way of ending the connection between Bill's soul and that of the slain man.

It was an emotional moment for all three of us, one I won't soon forget. During the time we were conducting the ritual in the cemetery a very large group of local residents gathered to watch us, maintaining a respectful silence. Although they had no idea of what we were up to, they seemed to sense that our intentions were good.

The other really emotional moment of the trip was our visit to My Lai.

Nothing can prepare you for the experience. The massacre carried out by the American troops under Lt. William Calley left 504 Vietnamese dead, including more than 100 children under the age of one. The tragedy, which befell this sleepy rural hamlet in 1968, made My Lai a synonym for the cruelty of war.

At first glance the grounds at My Lai seem tranquil in the heat of the September day. Three small statues guide you on a path by the museum proper toward the large memorial, which lies directly ahead. A small patch of corn sits perhaps 15 yards on the right. The path then leads you past the mass grave containing the remains of most of the victims. Simple markers at the sites of homes, which are no longer occupied, list the names of individual families and the names of their slain relatives. Trees still bear bullet holes. It is impossible to walk through the grounds and not be moved. At one point I had to walk away from the group for a private cry. Later, conversations showed that John and Ken had had to do the same thing.

The irrigation ditch where so many innocents were slain still resonates with an oppressive tension. As I looked into it my mind almost convinced me that I could still, after 27 years, hear the screams and the pleas for mercy. The actual museum contains the few photos taken during the massacre, as well as the standard (in Viêt Nam) depiction of the Americans as war criminals.

One wall bears a bronze plaque listing the names of the 504 slain. We lit incense sticks in front of it. I am comforted by the fact that the names are listed. They will not be nameless victims of a season of madness, but human beings whose identities are not forgotten.

Six villagers survived. Two returned here to live after the end of the "American war". Only Lt. Calley was court-marshaled for the "incident" at My Lai. He was convicted on 22 counts of murdering unarmed civilians and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1971. After three years of house arrest, he was paroled.

The pain was too deep even to weep as we prepared to leave. I wanted to tell someone, "I'm sorry", and to hear a voice say, "All is forgiven". But I realized the only voices that could utter the words of absolution are forever silenced.

I am grateful for the companionship of John and Ken and appreciate deeply the support, which the VVRP gave us. I hope that Team X will return to complete the housing complex.