This summer, my friends and I had the opportunity to visit Quang Tri. As people who grew up in Saigon, I always heard a lot about the bombs and bullets of those days. That has nurtured in my heart the desire to go to the front line, to the fiery land of Quang Tri, both to find traces of those painful years, to collect lessons from history, and more importantly to understand more about the sacrifices of the previous generation.
Bodhi School 1967-1972 29th meeting.
The brutality of enemy bombs and bullets is clearly visible on every wall here.
Not only the walls, the roof of the building was also heavily damaged by bombs.
In 1972, the US launched many attacks to retake Quang Tri. The entire Quang Tri province was bombed for 81 days and nights, many areas were leveled and devastated, and the ancient citadel of Quang Tri was leveled to the ground. Strangely, during the rain of bombs and bullets, there was still one remaining structure, standing tall and proud against the enemy's bombs and bullets, that was Bo De High School, located right in the center of Quang Tri town.
The bomb holes crisscrossing the wall revive the pain of war.
The old classroom and school are still there. Which room are the old teachers and friends in? That's a difficult question for anyone to answer.
After the country's reunification, Bo De School was kept in its dilapidated state to be preserved as a historical relic of the resistance war against America. Bo De School is one of the cultural and historical tourist destinations in Quang Tri.
The school is a historical and cultural relic ranked as a national historical relic in 1986. In 2013, together with Quang Tri Citadel and other locations, the school became part of a special national relic complex commemorating the 81-day and night event in 1972.
The hallway, which should have been filled with laughter, was now deserted and deserted.
Many people still do not understand why Bodhi School can exist in such a miraculous way.
The dry land has now blossomed, peace has now returned to this rocky land of Lower Laos. For a young person like me, being able to visit Quang Tri, to the front lines of the war, is truly an indescribable feeling. It makes me feel like everything happened yesterday. The great sacrifices of our ancestors and compatriots seem to come alive through the overwhelming images of the brutality of war. All the experiences and emotions on this journey will follow me throughout the upcoming wanderings.
We can't go back and touch the past, but we can definitely learn and gain experience from it.
More information:
About transportation: Quang Tri does not have an airport, from Saigon or Hanoi, you must fly to Phu Bai airport (Hue) or Dong Hoi airport (Quang Binh), then travel to Quang Tri. If you like the experience, you can rent a motorbike to travel in Quang Tri.
About the author: Thinh, a curious person, passionate about learning about culture and geography. Thinh has stories, told through films, photo albums, or a few lines of travelogues. A story by Thinh is a personal sharing about the emotions in the magical journeys of youth.
