The Imperial City of Hue and My Thoughts

I am sitting in my hotel room after my second day of exploring the Vietnamese city of Hue, the ancient Capitol and struggling with putting thoughts down on paper. I'm very aware of a few things, 1. Being American and  2. Being a young American. Unlike what I experienced in North Vietnam the people here seem to know I am American without doubt. I don't really have an specific examples, it's not like someone called it out on the street and was like "Hey, YOU American!" But it's different, it's not unfriendly by any means but it is different. It's a feeling I get - especially around the older Vietnamese. They know. And they know for good reason. American's were all over this region of Vietnam during the War. They are familiar with us. We destroyed their ancient city.

I never knew what a building looked like after it was hit with an artillery shell, until I visited the Imperial City of Hue.  There was a battle here during the Vietnam War, maybe more, I don't really know specifics nor do I really care. The Vietcong had taken over the city and so the American's stormed it, or something like that I am told. We marched into the ancient part of the city and destroyed over half of it in hand to hand combat. By destroyed it I mean we walked into one of the most ancient cultural palaces of the Vietnamese people and burned and shot it to the ground. According the Internet, the Americans were originally ordered not to bomb or shell the ancient city due to its historical buildings, but when things got bad they lifted the ban and now only 10 of the 160 buildings remain. As I walked around this ancient palace, I found myself thinking am I walking around an ancient emperors palace or an American/Vietnamese graveyard. 

View of the destroyed buildings outside one of the Emperors buildings.

What was also striking about the Imperial City, was how little information there was about the war. Granted I just walked through it without a guide who perhaps would have given more information on the war, but every sign focused on the Emperor and the Emperor's way of life or his artifacts or harem etc. But then, after reading about the Emperor's Eunochs you walk into the plaza and you see where 5 buildings used to stand and the crumbling walls that remain and you think..... That was us. Which then makes you think... How many people died here within my eye sight? Why did we destroy a center of their culture? It's an unsettling feeling. Do we even Have anything irreplaceable in America that's as important to us as this was to the Vietnamese? "No, I don't think" so is my short answer, but I am somewhat talked out of it by my travel partner, who says we'd be upset if the Statue of Liberty or White House was lost. I do agree with that, but also its one statue and one house, if we really wanted to we could rebuild it (and probably would). The biggest similarity of this would be like if the whole mall in Washington was lost. 

I mentioned how the second awareness I'm having is of being a "young" American. I didn't grow up during the war and barely know anyone who fought in it - I think I can think of 1 maybe 2 people. My travel partner, who studied history in undergrad, knows much more about the Vietnam War and grew up in a working class neighborhood where he was surrounded by plentiful Vietnam Veterans. His mom's best friend's brother died here in Hue, when he was 20. He saved 6 marines in open fire and got shot while he was saving the 7th.  He got a metal of honor from the president and his family went to the White House to get it. My travel partners mom was with the sister when she found out her brother died in Vietnam. He is having a totally different response to being here than me. I tend to relate more to the young Vietnamese who never had to fight for their freedom- they are like "hey, that's old stuff, I'm over it - we are going to build a nation that rivals Japan!" I can't help at times feel the same way, "who cares about all this really important old stuff anyway!" It's not that I don't care, I just get sick and tired thinking about the war so much. 

I think that's all I really want to write about this for now because it's making me pretty upset. We were the only Americans I saw in the Imperial City that day. Most of the white people were French.