Ho Chi Minh and the war

We went to see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum yesterday. It was an experience that I will never forget. Such ceremony and honor!

The Vietnamese Communist Party venerate Ho Chi Minh and his picture is on every single domination of their money, the Dong. His mausoleum is protected by a great number of men and women (soldiers?) in elegant white uniforms. His mausoleum was built in the Russian style with their help and is a dominating stepped block of gray stone, flanked on the left side with a row of communist flags, red with the yellow sickle in the middle, and on the right side a row of Vietnamese flags, red with a yellow star in the middle. It is impressive.

Everyone must pass through security to go to see Ho Chi Minh. There is a fabulous sign in several languages that insists that people need to wear "serious costumes." A woman came down the row of people waiting to go inside and checked our "costumes." I almost didn't get in. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt, a modest one, but sleeveless. A wonderful Australian woman behind me came to my rescue with a white blouse she let me borrow. No cameras were allowed and no purses, backpacks, or other baggage. Our guide held our things for us, but there was a place to check such things otherwise.

Two by two we filed in to the mausoleum, passing many soldiers that checked that we were following other signs of respect. We weren't allowed to speak once we were inside. Our hands were to be at our sides.

Ho Chi Minh's body is still being displayed. He died in '69, the year I was born, in the midst of the Vietnam War (they call it the American War here.) Our guide said that President Ho wished to be cremated and buried in three different locations, in the north, central, and south of Viet Nam. Unfortunately, they weren't able to honor those wishes because of the war, so they decided to preserve his body instead. The Russians had the technology to do this and helped the Vietnamese. He is kept underground at a certain temperature for most of the day and only brought up for display for a few hours in the morning. One month of a year he is taken off display to have maintenance done. It used to be done in Russia, but the Russians shared their expertise and now the Vietnamese do it themselves.

He looks like he died yesterday.

The mausoleum is a complex of buildings. One is the presidential palace, a beautiful yellow stone French colonial building that our guide called "The Yellow House" that no president lives in. It is for visiting dignitaries. Ho Chi Minh's house is in the complex, too. It is a simple wooden house on stilts, two rooms above, a bedroom and study, and a open air dining room under the stilts. It is also guarded with soldiers in white uniforms and has been lovingly cared for.

Our guide, Ha, told us a story for our amusement about one visiting dignitary that stayed in the "Yellow House." It was a certain President George W. Bush who visited a couple years ago. Apparently he wanted to bring 2000 body guards! There wasn't enough room to accomodate all of them, so they negotiated down to 700. Then, at some point President Bush wanted to go somewhere (I forget where, but it was only a few blocks away.) Any other president, apparently, would have just walked. But no, George W. needed to have a car and an escort and it turned into a parade.

Ah, to be the laughing stock of the world.

After we went to the mausoleum, we went to a Military Museum for the American War. It was a simple museum, not large, with an assortment of helicopters, tanks, destroyed airplanes, and the like on the outside. Inside they showed a movie about the war in English. I've seen so many showing the American perspective that it was fascinating to see the Vietnamese perspective. Apparently, the Vietnamese are very proud of their ability to fend off larger enemies. I've heard it described as a "David and Goliath" syndrome. They fought off China for a thousand years, fought for their independence from France, and then defeated the mighty Americans. They are very proud of themselves.

There was one item on display that I had a visceral reaction to. I am not a paint me red white and blue patriot. I am not terribly proud of my government and their policies, especially recent ones. But I do love my country. It is my home.

They had a captured American flag on display. It was a simple exhibit in the corner of the museum, of all the flags of the "puppet" South Vietnamese government. Among those was an American flag they had captured during some battle during the war.

I wanted to take down that flag, stuff it under my shirt, and take it home with me. (I didn't, of course.)