A mural of a dove welcomes the visitor to the War Remnants Museum.There will be no rhetoric from me as to "not for the faint of heart"; however, I wish we were as frank about the legacies of war as I found this to be. Most telling is the plaque on the wall entitled "Historical Truths". It begs for recognition. The Museum has assembled a permanent collection of U.S. war materiel in a plein air fashion; among the stars are 3000 lb. bombs, an A37B Attack aircraft, land shaking bombs, guns, artillery, and a framed stone representing the image of Buddha, which was given to Viet Nam by Hiroshima in the name of peace. It stands guard as a silent protestor on the outside war arsenal display.

Fascinating is the collection of photos taken by international photographers as a reminder of the pivotal role they played in archiving the war at a time when real-time news was not at our disposal. Particular homage is paid Bun’yo Ishikawa of the Japan Press. His Nikon camera, camouflage outfit and an anti-war poster are under glass. Some of the photos are familiar, having appeared in our own national publications, or having won prestigious awards. They are nonetheless horrific. I learned that world opposition to this war was far greater than imagined: posters in French (they warned us to stay away), German, Danish, Japanese, and many in English from the US asking for an end to the hostilities. Yes, denouncements of Agent Orange, with documentation of its still occurring human abnormalities 4 decades later. And proudly presented is the apology of one American Sgt. William Brown, with all of his war medals assumingly returned to the Vietnamese with his regret.

Several buildings comprise the exhibit, but they are numbered, and you can follow the sequence, if order is something you need. You will find facsimiles of the tiger cages (building # 3), which were built by the French in 1939 and later used by the US to house "non-combatants". If you are not familiar with these structures, please visit this link . And as expected, the entire exhibit is told from the perspective of the Vietnamese; I would not imagine any country in the world that was being invaded to do it differently. Some things strike more than others: the quasi-methodical manner by which the American War arsenal is described – factual, historically accurate, to the point. One simply cannot ignore some of the "writings on the wall" literally. At the end of one exhibit, I photographed the following:

"We would like to thank the communist parties and working class of the countries of the World, national liberation movements, nationalistic countries, peace-loving countries, international democratic organizations, and progressive human beings for their wholehearted support, and strong encouragement to our people’s patriotic resistance against the US for national salvation".

The War Remnants Museum was previously known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, but changed its name to steer clear of controversy and to avoid offending certain tourists. The museum is transparent in all aspects of the Vietnam War, depicting it in gruesome and heart-wrenching pictures not fit for the faint-hearted. Though portraying the enemy in such a way is seemingly biased, the pictures do speak for themselves.

The museum consists of the outdoor exhibitions displaying war utilities, like tanks, planes, cannons, jets, helicopters and bomb craters; six rooms consisting mainly of photographs and history boards; and the tiger cages and guillotines. For those who have little knowledge of the chronicles of the Vietnam War, it is advisable to visit the sections according to the number orders. Each room tells the grisly and dreadful war story from the beginning to the end.

The photographs depict the war in a way that one can never imagine. It can be rather traumatizing scanning through such compelling reality; planes dropping tons of bombs from the air, villages under attack, soldiers shooting at random, torture, mass killings, piles of mangled bodies on the roadside, the affects of agent orange on the Vietnamese children, and so many other despicable events. There is no need to read the picture descriptions or history cards to feel the chill running up your spine. The war is right in front of your eyes.

There is more light towards the end of the exhibitions, of the Vietnamese building a new life from the aftermath of the war, with the promise of peace and a better life. Drawings of little Vietnamese children give the museum a sense of balance by bringing in more color, and clear the mind of the dreary black-and-white sepia photographs throughout the museum.

The introduction to the War Remnants Museum brochure ends with, "In retrospect, the Vietnam War is not for inciting hatred, but just for learning lessons from history: human beings will not tolerate such a disaster from happening again, neither in Vietnam nor anywhere on our planet."

Let’s all pray to that.