During the war in Vietnam, thousands of people in the Vietnamese province of Cu Chi lived in an elaborate network of underground tunnels. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and played a major role in North Vietnam winning the war.
The Cu Chi tunnels were built over a period of 25 years that began sometime in the late 1940s during the war against the French. The excavations were used mostly for communication between villages and to evade French army sweeps of the area. When the National Liberation Front (NLF) insurgency began around 1960, the old tunnels were repaired and new extensions were excavated. Within a few years the tunnel system assumed enormous strategic importance, and most of Cu Chi district and the nearby area came under firm Viet Cong control
This thatched roof hut over the Cu Chi Tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City is used today to show a 1960's North Vietnam propaganda film about the Cu Chi Tunnels.
When the tour guide pulled this sod-covered trap door over his head, the entrance to the Cu Chi tunnel was completely hidden.
This entrance is used by visitors to explore the Cu Chi Tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
My mom was one of the brave ones from our group who went down into the narrow tunnels. She said the tunnel was spooky and a very dark, narrow passageway.
This booby trap looks like grass until an unsuspecting person steps on it and falls through onto the numerous punji stakes shown in the next photo.
These punji stakes were just one of many examples of booby traps used by the Viet Cong guerrillas living in the Cu Chi Tunnels during the Vietnam-American War.
Vietnam uses mannequins to demonstrate the way of life for those living in the Cu Chi Tunnels.
The deep network of underground Cu Chi Tunnels are ventilated using these shafts disguised as termite mounds. Look realistic, don't they?
This tank is one of the many items captured by the Viet Cong and on display at the Cu Chi Tunnels and at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon.
The Viet Cong who lived in the tunnels also worked in the tunnels. Many spent their time making small bombs, ammunition, or booby traps.
The Viet Cong even cooked meals underground in the Cu Chi Tunnels during the Vietnam-American War.
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