As usual and peaceful as many other places in Central Vietnam, the Ben Hai River and the land along the river became famous and known worldwide as soon as the US came and wanted to turn the South of Vietnam into its new colonial.
Many people have come, and many others wish to go here to see “the historical witness,” who suffered the painful wound of national division for nearly 20 years and witnessed plentiful cases of the sacrifice of people on both sides of the river for the country’s reunification.
This historic river, Ben Hai, had its former name, Minh Luong. It is 100 kilometers long and 200 meters wide at its largest part. It originates from the Truong Son range and goes along parallel 17th in the West-East direction (at the present boundary between Vinh Linh and Gio Linh districts) and reaches the East Sea at Cua Tung beach, which leads to the famous Vinh Moc Tunnels.
In the West, the Truong Son mountain range forms many beautiful mountains in Vietnam. At the border between Vietnam and Laos, there is a very high mountain called Dong Mang and a spring that is very clean and fresh all year round.
According to the legend, angels used to go there to swim. One day, the angels realized that earthy men watched them. Getting angry, the angels went back to Heaven and ordered the Mountain God to punish such people. Those who passed this way had to wear a big chain at the neck. The heavy chain was so big that it kept people from looking aside or up. The Mountain God would kill those who did not obey this.
From this mountain, the spring is divided into two streams. One is named after Sebangchieng and flows to Laos; the other is named Ben Hai and flows to Vietnam.
The Ben Hai River flows about 80 kilometers to the East, mingling with the Sa Lung River from the North-West. Standing at Hien Luong Bridge, we can see the two rivers.
The mingling of the two rivers flows past Minh Luong village (on the north side of the river), so the river was named Minh Luong. Under the Minh Mang dynasty, because the river name “Minh” was the same as the King’s, the river name had to be changed to Hien Luong.
After the Geneva Agreement was signed (July 20th, 1954), the Ben Hai River became well-known worldwide. According to the Agreement, Vietnam was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel: the North and the South. The parallel was considered a temporary boundary for two years until the general election in July 1956.
According to this Agreement, the DMZ was established along the Ben Hai River, 5 kilometers from the riverbanks. The DMZ line was identified by white painting milestones and signs written in both Vietnamese and French:
Provisional military demarcation line
(Ligne de de’cramation militaire provisoire)
At the DMZ, neither side was allowed to allocate military forces except the police to guard and secure the boundary.
The reality was quite different from this regulation. The US and its followers had goals to divide our country for a long time. They wanted to turn the South into a separate country, confronting the North and the people’s desire for national unification.
The imperialist US, who replaced colonial France, carried out the brutal war for 21 years. The Ben Hai River became a painful symbol of national division instead of a temporary boundary.
“One river endured divided love
One bridge stood separate fate”.
There were many moving and painful stories in this dividing area. A child saved and taken to the river’s north bank often went to the river, was called “Mum,” and was kept in the South Riverbank.
The mother cried each time she heard the child’s call but did not know what to do. Although the river was only a dozen meters away, people at the riverbanks were unable to meet each other for a dozen years. They contacted each other through signals.
For example, to inform of a dead person, people in the South Bank wore funeral clothes and put two hands on their faces; to tell of a person being caught, people in the South showed two hands tied at the back to encourage the fight, and people showed their tight fists upwards.
It is said that for one funeral, there were ” four” groups of people escorting: one group on the South bank, the other group on the other bank, and the two shadows of the two groups reflected in the water also going along. It was a sad reflection of the division.
Every year, during Tet or holidays, people in the South and the North went to the riverbank to look for their relatives. It wasn’t easy to find them because the river was so crowded.
For people on the southern bank, going to the river to look for their relatives is a significant risk. They are often threatened or beaten by the Southern police. The US and its followers never gave up any ideas of dividing people into both sides.
They beat or killed anyone who had the idea of crossing the boundary for the relations with the people on the north side. Seeing such brutal acts of the US and the followers, people in the Northside could not do anything because we had to abide by the Agreement. People on the north bank often cried.
“Seeing the enemy but unable to shoot them” (in the period 1954-1964)
Many people in the South are threatened because their husbands or wives live in the North. In the end, they had to get rid of their beloved.
Many people who could not bear the pressure and domination of the US and the Southern military risked their lives by swimming across the river.
For example, on May 20th, 1967, people in Xuan My, Bach Loc, and Trung Son villages escaped from the concentrated hamlets and swam across the river. On the other side of the river, people on the north bank rowed their boats to save the swimming people. The enemy in Doc Mieu informed Fleet No.7 to shoot artillery at people crossing the river. At Tung Luat Wharf, Tran Thang was known for his bravery and received the Medal of Ho Chi Minh. At Trung Son, the US artillery killed and wounded 120 people.
At Hien Luong Bridge, the southern soldier educated by the northern people drove the car to cross the bridge. When the vehicle touched the line in the middle of the bridge, its tires were shot flat. The soldiers in the vehicle had to get back and were put in prison.
However, there was a saying, “No sword could chop the Ben Hai River.” With the tradition of bravery and the mind of revolution, solidarity, and blood relations between the North and the South, people on both sides had to stand the war and death to protect the country and fight for national unification. The ambition of the imperialist US and the southern army to “Level the Ben Hai River and go to the North” completely failed in 1972 when two-thirds of Quang Tri province was liberated.
(Quang Tri Management Board of Relics and Tourist Sights)