Taken from Fellow Traveler's Notebook by Elaine Elinson:
As we made our way in the darkness of the Vinh Moc tunnels, I ran my hands over the well-worn rock of the narrow passageway. Every few yards, light from someone's small flashlight would illuminate tiny caves. These, our guide Truc explained, were dwellings for entire families.
Elaine Elinson with new friend Huong,11, at Friendship Village, HaNoi.
Half-way through the length of the tunnel, we came upon a cave with life-size figures in it. A woman lying on a cot, another woman bending over her, a baby in her arms. This was the maternity room. Seventeen babies were born underground: as US artillery bombarded Quang Tri, seventeen new lives emerged. St. Augustine said that hope has two beautiful daughters: anger and courage. These seventeen babies were born of hope.
I remembered in college seeing a grainy, black- and-white French film about the tunnels, unsteady camera shots of an operating theater, school and living quarters deep underground.... Read More