Vinh Moc Tunnels In Vietnam DMZ

Introduction

Vinh Moc Tunnels is such an AMAZING work of the strong will and creativity of the Vietnamese during the Vietnam war, a man-made masterpiece.

During the arduous war, when the relationship of forces between Vietnam and France or the US was not balanced. In the eyes of France and the US, Vietnam was too small and had no strength to resist absolute power. But history has proven it was wrong, the Vietnamese won the war. But to win, there must be creativity and ingenuity in combat, and Vinh Moc Tunnels is a symbol of that creativity.

Today, let’s join Hoi An Private Taxi to discover the historical mysteries and glorious stories of Vinh Moc Tunnels. This fabulous tunnel is located in Vinh Moc village, Kim Thach commune, Vinh Linh district, Quang Tri province. This is a military-civilian construction during the Vietnam War of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to fight the enemy. The tunnel system is complex and existed from 1965 to 1972.

If you want to explore Vinh Moc tunnels and many other places in DMZ Vietnam, you can choose Vietnam DMZ Tour from Hue. This tour includes the Vinh Moc tunnels tour and many more places. In addition, we also provide a private car transfer service from Danang to DMZ Private Car for your travel choices.

We also wrote about other destinations on Vietnam DMZ Tour, such as Dakrong bridge and La Vang Holy Land – La Vang Church. You can read it for more information.

Construction History

During the Vietnam War, the first tunnels appeared in Vietnam in 1947 in Phu Tho Hoa, now Ho Chi Minh City. After that, many tunnels were built to serve the needs of war and people’s daily life. In the years 1961 – 1965, in Cu Chi appeared a system of tunnels spread throughout 5 surrounding communes, called Cu Chi tunnels.

At the end of 1963, Mr. Tran Nam Trung stopped by Vinh Giang commune to stop on the way from the southern battlefield to the North. After observing the topography and geology, he suggested Vinh Linh should dig tunnels like in Cu Chi. At the suggestion of Mr. Tran Nam Trung, Mr. Le Xuan Vy, head of the 140 people’s armed police station, built a tunnel here.

Construction began in 1965 and was completed on February 18, 1966. Vinh Moc Tunnels was home to hundreds of households during the war. Thanks to the construction of the tunnels, it was possible to limit casualties from enemy attacks.

Structure Of Vinh Moc Tunnels

Hundreds of people live here in the tunnels, and to ensure safety, many apartments are built along both sides of the tunnel. Each apartment can accommodate three to four people and usually live. In the tunnels, you can see many rooms with different uses to serve human life. Some examples are the maternity ward, infirmary, conference hall, well, surgery station, and many more.

On both sides of the path of Vinh Moc tunnels, every 3 to 5 meters, they will be carved into the wall and used as apartments for households to live in. The main structure of the tunnel is divided into three main floors. The first floor is 12 to 15 meters deep from the ground, a place of temporary combat and shelter.

The second floor is 18 m deep, where the people live and activities, and is the headquarters of the Party Committee, People’s Committee, and Military Command. The third floor is 22m deep, used as a logistics warehouse to supply Con Co island and serve the Vinh Moc army and people combat.

Highlight Characteristics

Vinh Moc Tunnels is one of the Vietnam War Tunnels and was completed within two years, from 1965 to 1967. Dig in the red basalt soil, with the main shaft length of more than 2000m and each 4m; there is a family. Families’ apartments are built 0.8mm wide and 1.8m deep, enough for a family of four to live. The remarkable thing is that most of the tunnel is still preserved today, thanks to the air that has made the clay harder.

The entire Vinh Moc tunnel system has 13 doors to the outside, of which there are seven doors to the sea and six to the hill. At the tunnel doors, anti-collapse timber is installed and reinforced to prevent landslides.

The Process Of Using Vinh Moc Tunnels Vietnam

Life in the Vinh Moc Tunnels

Although it is safe, living in Vinh Moc Tunnels also brings much harm to people living here. Being in the tunnels, lack of light, hot in summer, and wet in winter has caused many diseases for people living here. Most tunnel dwellers suffer from parasites, silvery skin, and bone and eye diseases caused mainly by environmental conditions.

Not only lack of light, but the food shortage problem is also very seriously affected. Because of the great demand and limited food storage, each person was only given a fixed amount of food per day. In addition to the above problems, life in the tunnels is also carried out generally with needs such as study, play, entertainment, and love.

The special thing is that while living in Vinh Moc tunnels, 17 children were born here. The people of Quang Tri province inhabited the tunnels during the fierce war years. During the fiercest war, about 1,200 people lived in the tunnels.

Injuries

During the battle, Vinh Moc Tunnel had to bombard a lot by enemy aircraft. Today, many bombs, mines, and bomb craters are still left here as a testament to the war. But the remarkable thing is that Vinh Moc tunnels did not have any casualties within nearly 2000 days of living here.

Thanks to the experience of previous constructions, Vinh Moc tunnels have been reinforced more firmly. Typically, on February 26, 1967, Don Due tunnels were destroyed by American bombs, killing 4 people. On June 20, 1967, Tan Ly Tunnels (in Vinh Quang) collapsed, killing 61 people. Those are valuable experiences for Vinh Moc tunnels to arrange and process more reasonably.

Vinh Moc Tunnels Today

Tunnels are located in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone and have been recognized as a historical relic of Vietnam. Now it has become a tourist destination. You can go inside the tunnel area to visit. In addition, at Vinh Moc tunnels, there is also a museum, open to visitors since 1995, used to display war artifacts and items of the people living here.

There is all you need to know about Vinh Moc tunnels in Vietnam. Hoi An Private Taxi hopes the above information will be helpful to you. We have a great tour with the information that we give.