After winning the war, Vietcong promoted Củ Chi Tunnel as the outstanding underground military base. Therefore, do not listen to the communist talk, let’s watch and review what they did. As the experience, whoever mentions about the communist, let’s imagine” when a communist is born, obviously the midwife sees the mouth”. The so-called Củ Chi Tunnel is the worse cheat of Vietcong, but it could deceive the foreign tourist, even the Vietnam people who have never lived in Củ Chi region, they could be the victims of the tricky propaganda. However, the truth defeats the lie, the question about Củ Chi Tunnel has the answer and testimony from the witnesses.
The Củ Chi tunnel is the underground network that combined many parts as the commanding station, hospital, stores, dwelling for guerrilla and the other facilities. Củ Chi Tunnel belongs to the Củ Chi district, outskirt of Saigon, the capital of the South Vietnam. In the Tet offensive 1968, Củ Chi was a base of Vietcong.
The US and South Vietnam Army recognized it was a den of Vietcong, so few operations launched as Operation Cedar Falls, actually the Operation Crimp began on January 7, 1966, with B-52 dropped 30 tons bomb with high explosive, mostly the tunnels collapsed. The US army had 8,000 troops from the US 1st Infantry Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat team and 1st Battalion of Royal Australian Regiment.
In a tactic region as Củ Chi, Vietcong couldn’t carry out the biggest project during the war, actually the South Vietnam army controlled the territory and the allies helped with the air force, artillery supported. If Vietcong had not the interior activities being laid inside the South Vietnam government, so Vietcong couldn’t perform the Củ Chi Tunnel.
Major Lê Xuân Sơn, chief district Củ Chi who flagged Vietcong digging the tunnel. Major Lê Xuân Sơn was born in North Vietnam, the family fled to South after the Geneva treaty signed on July 20, 1954. Obviously, his family resettled at Bình Chính, a suburb of Saigon. In 1966 he graduated from the Army Academy at Dalat. His first career was the reconnaissance company commander of infantry division label 25. The company located at the boundary of Cambodia and Vietnam, its region was the intersection of the smuggle, including drug. He met a woman named Mười An, a financial cadre of Vietcong at the eastern provinces in South Vietnam, she held a smuggle ring to supply the food, medical and the other needs to the Vietcong secret bases in the area. Miss Mười An offered her daughter named Vàng for Lê Xuân Sơn, despite she married with 2 children. Miss Mười An also established contact with Lieutenant General Đổ Cao Trí, commander in chief of the Third Army Corps, so Lê Xuân Sơn quickly promoted, it just was in a short time, he became Major and also transferred to the Củ Chi district. The role of Miss Mười An was important, so Mr. Stephen Young suspected. In the book” Khúc Quanh Định Mệnh” written by author Lê Hữu Cương, pre-chief Củ Chi district, he graduated from course 16th of Army Academy, on page 282 confirmed Miss Mười An was a mogul of smuggling between the boundary of Cambodia and Vietnam.
During the period in charge the Củ Chi district, Major Lê Xuân Sơn colluded with Vietcong in the region, so the Củ Chi tunnel carried out easily. At night, Major Lê Xuân Sơn ordered the regional force stayed away from the digging area, then Vietcong could dig the tunnel safely. When the day breaks, Major Lê Xuân Sơn ordered the engineer corps took the soil away to make the road.
After Vietcong won the unpredictable war on April 30, 1975, Major Lê Xuân Sơn spent a short time in the re-education then he came back Củ Chi with the asset while the most ARVN members were castigated and imprisoned long term. In 1994 Major Lê Xuân Sơn resettled in the US under the Orderly Departure Program (ODP), he lived in San Diego. The witnesses and Củ Chi residents alleged about the tunnel, at last, Major Lê Xuân Sơn came back Vietnam and he founded a website” http://www. Haingoaiphiemdam.com” in Vietnam, he used many ten names as Nghiêm Võ, Nguyễn Trọng Hoàn, Lê Vũ, Nguyễn Tiến Đạt, Lính Dù, Đồ Biển, Zuyên Hồng Trần…. Major Lê Xuân Sơn published the fake news, created stories, the target aims to the anti-communist activists overseas.
Vietcong strongly pushes the propaganda the Củ Chi Tunnel after the Vietnam War for making money and attracting the foreign terrorist, including the Vietnam people. However, Marine Corps Colonel Tôn Thất Soạn who was high commander of multiple battalions, his last position was chief of Hậu Nghĩa province. He spent 13 years in the re-education camp after South Vietnam lost, now he lives in Iowa City (US).
Former Marine Corps Colonel Tôn Thất Soạn shared the experience about Củ Chi Tunnel to everyone on the Hậu Nghĩa, Special Magazine published in 1999. The most linking tunnels disabled in the rainy season and tiger snake, insects, scorpion fled to tunnels. Many Vietcong guerrillas were killed by the tiger snake, the most Vietcong being struck by the skin diseases. In the war, a high-ranking cadre Võ Văn Kiệt hid in Củ Chi Tunnel in few month, at last he moved to Cambodia territory because the worse living condition (Võ Văn Kiệt who recruited the South Vietnam girls then sending to North for sexual service for Hồ Chí Minh and his comrades, he did a good job so Mr. Võ Văn Kiệt was promoted the Prime Minister from August 1991 to September 25, 1997, he was a billionaire too). Moreover, the tunnels had no ventilator’s system, so the air was a problem, actually, the cooking could cause of the suffocation.
Marine Corps Colonel Tôn Thất Soạn released the truth about Củ Chi Tunnel: from the period of US Major General Weyan commanded Division 25, the most Vietcong secret bases as Đồng Dù, Củ Chi, Hố Bò were paralyzed by multiple sorts of artillery 105, 155, 175 and bombarded by B.52. A rumor told the US Army released a kind of Africa ants could bite the guerrilla in the tunnels.
In January 1972 Lieutenant General Weyan (former commander of Division 25), he was in charge as the head advisor of the Third Army Corps. He launched the campaign Rom Plow with heavy 12 machinery vehicles, the most tunnels to be eradicated and destroyed. Therefore, after the Vietnam War ended, Vietcong rebuilt the Củ Chi Tunnel that aims to make a profit and cheat the tourist and also propaganda.
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