Even the Women Must Fight: Memories of War from North Vietnam

243 Pages·1998·16.52 MB·English

by  Karen Gottschang Turner, Phan Thanh Hao

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A searing chronicle of wartime ,t' , i' ii 'iences,
Euen the Women Must Fightprobes L,: :ultur-
al legacy of North Vietnam's American'//a1, its
influence and its aftermath. Unflinching in its
portrayal of hardship, valoq, and personal sac-
rificg this wrenching account is nothing short
of a revelation, banishing in one bold stroke
the familiar image of Vietnamese women as
passive onlookers, war brides, prostitutes, or
helpless refugees. The fighting women of Viet-
nam embodied the meaning of the term warrior.
The active participation of Vietnamese
women after 1965 tipped the balance befiveen
victory and defeat. It is estimated that the total
number of women in the regular affny of North
Vietnam, the militia and local forces, and pro-
fessional volunteer teams was somewhere near
two hundr6d thousand. Women with training
and education operated underground commu-
nications networks, staffed and directed jungle
clinics, and recorded the war as journalists. Oth-
ers ran jungle liaison stations and ammunition
depots, led and served in combat platoons, made
coffins and burial cloths, and collected and
buried the dead. Local militiawomen learned
to shoot at American planes from factory
rooftops and village fields, carried supplies, and
treated the wounded-all the while maintain-
ing agricultural and industrial production at
prewar levels.
Karen Gottschang Tumeq an East Asian
scholaq, traveled to Vietnam over a period of
three years, researching, recording, and, above
all, listening as the women warriors she encoun-
tered poured out extraordinary oral histories:
"We had to disguise the hospital. Liuing in the
jungle for tmyears, I ran the hospital almost alonc
because mry nurses had to go out Lr.d forage for
supplxes. Some of them left and n 1i,: ' ','"turned.
. . . I had to take arry duty that r. i'ti,, tt r. ( ,uas
the chief of the hospital and tht,, .v,,,
;,"',.ft!
women and seuen men who worhrt, y', ttti'
(continuet, l 1,,1,'ll',,l-l
(continue'r. i, rr iili11 ;%p)
" Whm ale i r :, {i rl, i' ht the tunnels, we could go out
only at nigi,rll, r". ni ',t' qizr a month of this, we u)ere
blinded by the i,l"t ; iight when we emerged, Iike
molcs, frotn our uncbrground home to work, on
the road. lt wouW tuhe two da.ys for our Etes to
adjust to the light. . . .
"One time when a bridge had been
bombed and there was no time to rebuild it, we
used our bodies to hold the planks so the truchs
could keep mouing. Sometimes peoplc drowned
in the mountain riuers and streams."
"The bombs hit a villnge, and the uillnge ro06 on
fire.I was in the team thnt carricd water to put t:he
fire out.We got water from fishponds or anywhere
else we coul.d. . . .I willneuerfrrga, seeingthrmgh
the smoke, a child sruch head doun in the debris,
hls legs making aV-shape aboue the rubbl.e."
By including mittary accounts, private
writings, and the literature of Vietnam's Amer-
icanWar, Turner provides a rich context for the
words of those who lived it. Today, they still
carry the emotional and physical scars of their
shared responsibility and purpose amid the exi-
gencies of war. Now, forthe firsttime rnEumthe
Women Must Fight, Karen Gottschang Turner
enables Vietnam's women warriors to speak
eloquently and unforgettably for themselves.
KAREN GOTTSCHANG TURNER is an
associate professor of EastAsian history at Holy
Cross College and a senior research fellow at
the Eastfuian Legal Studies Program at Harvard
Law School. She has traveled and written exten-
sively aboutAsia, and has lived and worked in
Vietnam. PHAN TFIANH FIAO is a joumalis!
writeq, and former diplomat living in Vietnam.
Couer Design: :: :1,, ,,t ( i'insky
Couer Photoll l;. -,: t c,ii 'lrts! of the author
Even the Women Must Fight
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Memories of War from North Vietnam
I(ar en Gottschang
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Militiawoman, painting by Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, 1974. TU
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
. . . . .
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
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fven the Women Must Fight
Memories of War from North Vietnam
I(ar en Gottschang
ltrner
with Phan Thanh Hao
Qs q,
1o,{
Militiawoman, painting by Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, 1974. TU
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
. . . . .
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
J
This book is printed on acid-free paper. @
Copyright @ f998 by Karen Gottschang Turner
Published by ]ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
To owr m.others)
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans-
mittid in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, Wronicn Walsb Niewerth nnd. Vo Bang Tbnnb,
scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 a.nd. our d.aughters,
United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Pub- Ngo Bich lInnh, Suzanne Zhnng Gottschang,
lisher, or authorization through payment ofthe appropriate per-copy fee to the Copy-
right clearance center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], and.IGlley Gonschang
fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to
the Permissions Department, fohrr Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York,
Nv I 0 I 5 8 -00 12, (212) 8 50-60 I l, fax [phone], E-Mail: PERMREQ@IITLEY
.COM.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in re-
gard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher
is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Iflegal ad-
vice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional per-
son should be sought.
Library of Congress Cntaloging-in-Pabl'i'cation Dntn
Turner, Karen Gottschang
Even the women must fight : memories of war from North Vietnam /
Karen G. Turner with Phan Thanh Hao.
p.
cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-47f -14689-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
L Vietnamese Confl ict, 19 6L-I97 5-Women-Interviews.
2. Vietnanrese Conflict, 19 6l-L97 l-Personal narratives, North
Vietnamese. 3. Women-Vietnam (Democratic Republic)-Interviews.
I. Phan, Thanh Hao. II. Title.
DS559.8.W6T87 I998
959.704'30922-dc2l 97-3028L
Printed in the United States of America.
r098765432L
J
This book is printed on acid-free paper. @
Copyright @ f998 by Karen Gottschang Turner
Published by ]ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
To owr m.others)
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans-
mittid in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, Wronicn Walsb Niewerth nnd. Vo Bang Tbnnb,
scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 a.nd. our d.aughters,
United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Pub- Ngo Bich lInnh, Suzanne Zhnng Gottschang,
lisher, or authorization through payment ofthe appropriate per-copy fee to the Copy-
right clearance center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], and.IGlley Gonschang
fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to
the Permissions Department, fohrr Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York,
Nv I 0 I 5 8 -00 12, (212) 8 50-60 I l, fax [phone], E-Mail: PERMREQ@IITLEY
.COM.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in re-
gard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher
is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Iflegal ad-
vice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional per-
son should be sought.
Library of Congress Cntaloging-in-Pabl'i'cation Dntn
Turner, Karen Gottschang
Even the women must fight : memories of war from North Vietnam /
Karen G. Turner with Phan Thanh Hao.
p.
cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-47f -14689-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
L Vietnamese Confl ict, 19 6L-I97 5-Women-Interviews.
2. Vietnanrese Conflict, 19 6l-L97 l-Personal narratives, North
Vietnamese. 3. Women-Vietnam (Democratic Republic)-Interviews.
I. Phan, Thanh Hao. II. Title.
DS559.8.W6T87 I998
959.704'30922-dc2l 97-3028L
Printed in the United States of America.
r098765432L
ONTENTS
C
Achnowled'gments lx
Mop: IGy Arens Mentioned. in the Text xii
ChronologY xlll
I
Introduction: Lucky Distance
PART ONF:. Messages
I Through a Hairnet: Mothers, Warriors, and the Nation 19
2
War's People: Through a Woman's Lens 39
t Broken Promises: The Lives of a Militiawoman 5I
PART TWO: Memories
4
A Bombshell for a Vase: Leaving Home to Save Home /5
5
Shovels, Hoes, and Guns: Women on the Ho Chi Minh Trail 93
6
Only Soldiers: Women and Men in War TT7
7
Only Women: Maternal Soldiers r,35
8 Picking Up the Pieces: Going Home r5r
PART THREE: Meanings
9
A Rice Meal Without Rice: The Costs of War r67
Bpilogue: Women's Worries r8l
l9r
Notes
Mnterinls Conswhed. and. Suggestions for Fwrtber Read.ing 205
Ind,ex 217
vll
ONTENTS
C
Achnowled'gments lx
Mop: IGy Arens Mentioned. in the Text xii
ChronologY xlll
I
Introduction: Lucky Distance
PART ONF:. Messages
I Through a Hairnet: Mothers, Warriors, and the Nation 19
2
War's People: Through a Woman's Lens 39
t Broken Promises: The Lives of a Militiawoman 5I
PART TWO: Memories
4
A Bombshell for a Vase: Leaving Home to Save Home /5
5
Shovels, Hoes, and Guns: Women on the Ho Chi Minh Trail 93
6
Only Soldiers: Women and Men in War TT7
7
Only Women: Maternal Soldiers r,35
8 Picking Up the Pieces: Going Home r5r
PART THREE: Meanings
9
A Rice Meal Without Rice: The Costs of War r67
Bpilogue: Women's Worries r8l
l9r
Notes
Mnterinls Conswhed. and. Suggestions for Fwrtber Read.ing 205
Ind,ex 217
vll