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00:01Yeah, Vietnam. Always been fascinated.
00:05All right, big man.
00:09I'm sure you'd be maybe a bit the same as me.
00:12Your brain automatically goes to war, doesn't it?
00:15The Vietnam War.
00:17But that was 50 years ago.
00:1950 years since the end of that war.
00:22It's no better time to come to see how the job's ticking along.
00:27And so on the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War,
00:32Guy Martin will explore the country's past, present and future.
00:37This is the transit van of the Vietnam War.
00:44He'll discover the surprising sight of Vietnam
00:46and why it's one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
00:50Someone's house here.
00:51Oh, yeah.
00:52Rolls-Royce.
00:53And he'll find out how one of the last five communist regimes in existence
00:58is plotting a wealthy, high-tech future.
01:04120 mile an hour.
01:07We definitely wasn't expecting anything like this.
01:12Good man.
01:13Yeah, we've got two weeks to go and suss the job out.
01:16Yeah, I want to find out what makes this place tick.
01:18In the heart of Southeast Asia, with its river deltas,
01:31tropical beaches, and rock formations supposedly planted by dragons,
01:37the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a strip of land 1,000 miles long
01:43and home to 100 million.
01:48Guy's journey begins in the capital, Hanoi.
01:52A city of 8.5 million people and 8 million vehicles.
01:57All right, Doc, how are you getting on?
01:59As you can see, she's quite busy.
02:02What a place.
02:03The amateur explorer's first stop is what locals call the real Hanoi.
02:10The 36 hectic streets of the old quarter.
02:16Understanding Vietnam today means understanding its past.
02:20It's a story built into Hanoi's very bricks and mortar.
02:23PHONE RINGS
02:28Are we right? Yes.
02:29So no better place to start the next adventure than a corner shop.
02:34It's busy, mate, it's busy.
02:37Let me tell you about it, right?
02:38That says something like Hanoi Government Food Centre.
02:43Proper piece of communism, that.
02:44So what I'm talking about here, sort of 70s, 80s, right?
02:47The height of the communist era in Vietnam.
02:50Once a month, you'd have queued up with your little ration book
02:54and you got your 15 kilos of rice.
02:56That's all you'd have got.
02:57Twice a year, maybe.
02:58You might have got a bit of meat.
02:59Twice a year, maybe, if he's lucky.
03:01And then you'd have mooched on down to your house.
03:03Or you was probably living there with another four or five families
03:05that you didn't know before you moved there.
03:07They just chucked you all in.
03:08That's what it was all about.
03:09Central planning.
03:10That's how it worked.
03:11That's how it works.
03:12And it went on for the end of 20 years.
03:14And it got to 86, right, 1986.
03:17And I sort of realised this central planning
03:19isn't really going to plan.
03:21We're running out of rice.
03:23Folk are getting hungry.
03:25There's a bit of unrest going on.
03:27We need a change.
03:31Right, come on, follow me.
03:32Follow me.
03:38I'm going to get out of the way before I get run over.
03:40We came up with this system called doughy moey.
03:42Doughy moey just means...
03:43Can you see?
03:44It's a bit of renovation.
03:45That's what it means.
03:46Like the modern term would be free market capitalism, right?
03:50And really, that means do a bit of buying and selling.
03:55Yeah, so this very same shop that used to hand out the rationed rice
04:00now sells...
04:01Well, what don't they sell?
04:04Come and have a look here.
04:05Look.
04:08I have never seen such a thorough biscuit collection.
04:12Look here.
04:13Look there.
04:14This is the most thorough boiled sweet selection I've ever seen.
04:18And now I'm going to take you to the sellotape collection.
04:21Come and have a look here.
04:22Come on, watch yourself.
04:23Watch yourself.
04:24Yeah, for me, this is the best bit.
04:25This is the best bit.
04:26You all right, big man?
04:27You all right.
04:28You need to get far back so you can appreciate the size.
04:31Look.
04:32As wide as my hands can go.
04:33Look.
04:35Every width and every length you can think of.
04:40And bubble wrap.
04:46Today, the country's politics are still communist,
04:49but its economics are not.
04:52Vietnam hasn't stopped growing since it introduced the free market.
04:56The economy is now 30 times bigger, with GDP doubling in the last decade alone,
05:04as the country positions itself as a competitive manufacturing alternative to China.
05:13So, yeah, we're all in with a free market job.
05:15She's going down a treat.
05:22Signs of the old communist era are never far away if you know where to look.
05:28Soviet-style apartments are one legacy.
05:33And what happens at the driving test center is another.
05:36Spare land is at a premium, and so the same place that issues both car and bike licenses also doubles as a hangout for biker gangs.
05:48Wherever we go, we do like to find a motorbike gang, don't we?
05:58And I think we've struck gold here, and we've found the Soviet biker gang.
06:04The sidecars, and I'm just here, and I'm looking up there, and there's a picture of a sidecar on two wheels.
06:09Right, I think I'm probably going to get involved in that somehow.
06:13But anything could happen.
06:14Let's, let's, yeah.
06:18The Three Free Wheels Club are Ural enthusiasts.
06:22A Russian military motorcycle and sidecar that's a hangover from Soviet supplies during the Vietnam War.
06:31Club president Mr. Van makes the introductions.
06:34Okay, hello, Mike, Martin.
06:37Nice to meet you, Mike, thank you.
06:39Guy, Martin from England.
06:43Yes.
06:44Mr. Buck.
06:45Mr. Buck.
06:46Mr. Hoa.
06:47Mr. Wan.
06:48Mr. Chang.
06:49Mr. Teng.
06:50Mr. Vinh.
06:51Mr. Deng.
06:52Nice to meet you.
06:54Very handsome guy, right?
06:56Very handsome guy.
06:57Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're on it, mate.
06:59Nice to meet you.
07:00Nice to meet you.
07:02Lovely.
07:03What is this?
07:04Yes.
07:05So, we start to ride now.
07:07You ride this one.
07:08Okay.
07:09Mr. Wan.
07:10Okay, okay.
07:11Well, I go in here.
07:12Oh, yeah.
07:19This is a biker gang that isn't interested in speed.
07:22Instead, it prioritizes skill.
07:25Oh, yeah, yeah.
07:26I'm thinking.
07:27I'm really sure.
07:28You're going to ride a motor speed of speed.
07:30And the ability to drive a motor?
07:32I'm not going to drive a motor speed of speed.
07:34It's not good.
07:35It's very strong.
07:36And before long, the riders demonstrate their party piece, balancing a total weight of nearly half a ton on two wheels.
07:48Oh, ho, ho, ho.
07:50Oh, ho, ho, ho.
07:52Now I'm impressed.
07:56A special lesson is arranged for Guy
07:58with the master of this art,
08:02Mr. Wan.
08:18Can I just hold on?
08:30Mate, that's nice.
08:32Mate, that's lovely.
08:34Lovely control, mate.
08:36Beautiful.
08:38For the club,
08:40being able to share this experience
08:42makes it much more than just a stunt.
08:44The car feels a lot.
08:46The car feels a lot.
08:48The car, the car, the car,
08:50we can drive.
08:52We can drive.
08:54We can drive.
09:02Year number one.
09:04Mr. Wan's Yule dates back
09:06to the 60s, one of only
09:08500 in the entire country.
09:10But he happily hands it over
09:12to see if his new student
09:14can ride it on two wheels as well.
09:16Very good.
09:18Very good.
09:22And he can still trust my new student
09:24by the way.
09:26Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
09:28Ok, ok, ok, ok.
09:30Go.
09:32Hello, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho...
09:34In fact, Mr. Wan has such confidence in Guy, he joins in himself.
09:54And then, they had one more passenger.
10:10In Vietnam, doing things as a community is deemed better than doing them alone.
10:20The man, the man. Thank you.
10:29What a set of lads. Never met me. Trusting me in their pride and joy.
10:36I've never rode a sidecar before, never mind on two wheels.
10:40I wouldn't trust me, right?
10:42But these boys are just, yeah, a bit of crack Saturday morning.
10:45What to do.
10:47Cheers!
10:50For me? Oh, thank you. Thank you.
10:54The key ring.
10:56Guy's adventure is underway.
10:59Next, he's on the trail of the Vietnam War.
11:11Come on.
11:12Guy Martin is exploring Vietnam.
11:15Xin chào.
11:17Cheers, boss.
11:18Saying hello to the streets of Hanoi.
11:20Goodbye.
11:21You see up there, we've got the hammer and sickle there, which is a Communist Party flag.
11:25This must be some sort of government building.
11:29Xin chào.
11:30How are we getting on, boys? You all right?
11:31Good man.
11:33Good man.
11:34Cheers, mate.
11:35Someone's house here.
11:36Rolls-Royce.
11:37What a setup.
11:38Yes, it's a bit busy and it's a bit hectic.
11:44But it's not mental.
11:46Everyone treats everyone with a bit of respect.
11:48No one's really trying to get one over on anyone else.
11:52There's no aggression.
11:53So, yeah, I think they're on to something.
12:02Vietnam's modern history starts with the French.
12:06The country was a French colony between 1887 and 1954.
12:11The influence is still visible in Hanoi.
12:14From the Gothic cathedral inspired by Notre Dame, to a Parisian-style opera house.
12:23The most famous legacy of all is the Thousand Mile North-South Railway.
12:29A 40-year building project that is a must-see attraction for intrepid travellers.
12:35We're in full tourist mode here.
12:45We don't normally do tourist things.
12:48But we're making an exception for this.
12:50This is train street.
12:52Yeah, as you can see it's a bit cosy.
13:07Yeah, the French built this in 1902.
13:11Narrow gauge to be able to get the trains down between the cafs and the houses.
13:17Right, so I'm just waiting to check a number.
13:19Just check a number here.
13:21Right.
13:23Yeah, looking at that's about a thousand mil.
13:26Right.
13:27About a thousand mil.
13:28British gauge would generally be 1435 mil.
13:32The Stevenson gauge, a fair bit wider.
13:34Obviously the trains are bigger.
13:35The trains can go faster, they can carry more weight.
13:37But the benefit of a narrow gauge is, yeah, this would be loads cheaper to build.
13:42It's interesting, isn't it?
13:44Local fabricators use the rails as a workbench.
13:48But cafe owners clear the tracks when a train is due.
13:51Visitors pick a spot they hope is safe to see if a locomotive really can squeeze down a side street.
14:00Here we go.
14:01She's coming, Matt.
14:03We're two minutes late.
14:06I think I'm going to be alright.
14:11Just have a bit of a touch as it comes past.
14:13A bit risky, I think.
14:14I think we'll be alright.
14:15Are we even backing off much?
14:19Don't do this at home.
14:22That is hard, isn't it?
14:23That is hard.
14:24There we go.
14:25There we go.
14:26There we go.
14:27Within seconds of the train passing, Train Street returns to its everyday business.
14:54Thank you very much.
15:00After eight years of war, the French were thrown out in 1954.
15:06Finding out about the political power that took over means visiting a unique park.
15:19There was a way to one of the most popular places in the city to keep fit.
15:25Retired people in particular had here well before sunrise.
15:30in front of the city to keep fit with one of the costumes in the city.
15:33NUMBLES
15:38NUMBLES
15:40We are not seeing this in Grimsby.
15:43Some flexibility here!
15:45Look.
15:46I will get involved but I can't keep up with you girls.
15:50I would get involved, but I couldn't keep up with you girls.
16:00Oh, we're getting the heavy stuff on now.
16:07What time was they up to be here at bang on five o'clock in the morning?
16:11Do a bit of stretching.
16:13Some dedication, this.
16:15In 2022, the World Health Organization reported that Vietnam had the lowest rate of obesity anywhere in the world.
16:25The culture of fitness stems from the long communist tradition of doing things that will benefit the whole of society.
16:33It's a mindset thing, isn't it?
16:35It's a very certain type of person. It's in their heads, you know what I mean?
16:44Mad, isn't it? Anyway, who's watching all of this? Can you see him? You can see him there.
16:53The big man. Who is that? That's Vladimir Lenin.
16:56The first boss of the Soviet Union.
17:00It is one of the few statues of Lenin outside of Russia.
17:06His communist ideals were about giving power to the people.
17:10Teaching that inspired the most famous Vietnamese revolutionary of all.
17:16Where's the boss? Right.
17:19Who have we got here?
17:21Who's that? You see him? You got him?
17:23The leader of the Communist Party, Ho Chi Minh, city named after him now.
17:28His forces, but without the French, and his government is still in power today.
17:35The charismatic Ho Chi Minh is revered as the father of modern Vietnam.
17:42President of the Vietnamese Nationalists for nearly 30 years,
17:45he was beloved by the working classes, living and dressing simply,
17:51right down to his iconic sandals, made from old tyres.
17:58You all right, big man?
17:59Sinch out, sinch out.
18:01Yeah, they say, never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes.
18:06I'll tell you what, I'm going to go and make his shoes, and then we'll know what we...
18:09In the past, the communist government would make its citizens visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum.
18:19The people have never lost the habit.
18:21More than 30 million Vietnamese have made the pilgrimage
18:24to a museum dedicated to their Uncle Ho.
18:29And round the back, under a tarpaulin sheet,
18:32is a team of artisanal craftsmen
18:35preserving the art of making Ho's legendary sandals,
18:38constructed now as they were then,
18:41out of truck tyre rubber.
18:45Ah, right, I see.
18:47Yeah, I see.
18:48It's nice.
18:49Yeah.
18:50Trick.
18:52Beautiful.
18:54My favourite sort of thing.
18:56Just watching someone that knows what they're doing
18:58with his tools and just, yeah,
19:01it's no effort.
19:02Hopefully, he's going to let me get involved at some point.
19:05As you can see, my trainers are about knackered.
19:07I'm nearly on slicks.
19:09You say, I am in the market.
19:12Behind the scenes,
19:14Guy is helped by local translator Kimmy Fun,
19:17who points out the strict dress code
19:19when dealing with a hallowed national figure.
19:22When you come into the museum...
19:23Yes.
19:24...you have to cover your legs,
19:26like, all the way through.
19:28Dear.
19:28Yeah.
19:28So, um, this is what they give you
19:30if you don't have trousers.
19:31Okay.
19:32Yeah.
19:32You can put it on.
19:33Yes, thank you.
19:36Something like that.
19:37Okay?
19:37Yeah.
19:38Brand new.
19:39Grand job.
19:41Cheers, mate.
19:42Now he's slipped into something more appropriate
19:44the team can set to work.
19:46Oh, sharp, mate.
19:47Cheers, mate.
19:48Cheers.
19:48Guy begins by slicing a tyre
19:50with a fearsomely sharp push knife.
19:53All right, there were, uh, that one, then.
19:55Look, you can see that one.
19:58Oh!
19:59Cheers, mate.
20:02Bye, mate.
20:02Bye, bye, bye.
20:06Practical folk.
20:07Keep going, mate.
20:08Making use of what you've got.
20:1030 pairs of sandals out of one tiger.
20:14Oh, that's nice.
20:16Making a nice job of that, boys.
20:17Born Nguyen Senggong in 1890,
20:22Ho was the son of an academic.
20:25Well done, boys.
20:25Xin chào, Minh.
20:27His early life was a mix of political study
20:29and searching for work.
20:32Oh, Chi Minh spent 30 years travelling the world.
20:35China, Russia, France.
20:37Even lived in Crouch End in North London,
20:39washing pots out there for a bit.
20:40So, yeah, very worldly man.
20:45Look, I've got holes in me socks, mate.
20:47Sorry about the state of these bloody toes, mate.
20:49They're a bit scabby, mate.
20:50All right.
20:5242.
20:5342.
20:53Perfect.
20:55Ho also had a keen eye for branding.
20:58He called himself O Chi Minh,
20:59which translates to bringer of light.
21:01So, yeah, he's got a few quid on himself.
21:03So, he knew about marketing, propaganda.
21:07All right, big man.
21:08All right.
21:09Gammon.
21:10Gammon.
21:11I think that means thank you.
21:15The next step of sandal making
21:17involves another terrifying blade.
21:21Oh, look at that.
21:22This is trick.
21:24Oh, yes.
21:26You're not picking this up in a tea break.
21:27Three years to get to this standard.
21:29Look at this.
21:30That's a feel for a tall lat, boys.
21:33Nice, mate.
21:34Nice.
21:35I don't know how your risk assessment
21:36went down with this job.
21:38You didn't account for doing this, did you?
21:39Bare feet, cutting the tyres.
21:41What will I say when I watch this back home?
21:42They're going to be shaking their head, aren't they?
21:44Yeah.
21:44Yeah, this won't go down well.
21:48Perfect.
21:49Mega.
21:51Yeah?
21:52Cheers, mate.
21:52Cheers.
22:00Ah, sing, sing, sing.
22:01Oh, perfect.
22:23Perfect.
22:23Perfect.
22:25They are the job.
22:27You don't tie a sandals.
22:30Couldn't be happy.
22:30The best.
22:33This camera over here.
22:35Dammit.
22:36Thank you very much.
22:37All right, all right, all right.
22:39Ho Chi Minh's communist uprising,
22:41so off the French,
22:43but left his followers in the north,
22:45pitted against non-communists in the south.
22:49The ensuing fight to unify Vietnam
22:52was about to become an international conflict.
22:56You all right, big man?
22:57Can you see me?
22:58Hang on, I'm going to get this sorted.
22:59All right.
23:00Right.
23:03The next leg of Guy's journey
23:05takes him to a backstreet coach station.
23:09We need to do a bit more learning about this war business.
23:13What we're going to do,
23:14we're going to get on a bus 400 miles south.
23:17Bus travel is quite a common form of travel in Vietnam, right?
23:24Well, obviously, this looks bloody posh,
23:26but this is a quite normal way to do it.
23:30Look at the state of this.
23:32Look at the state of this.
23:35Upstairs, downstairs.
23:38Lucky boy.
23:39Right, so, yeah, 400 miles south.
23:43About 10 hours or so.
23:45Job's a peach.
23:48The cost of a ticket on this business-class spaceship
23:51for the journey equivalent of London to Edinburgh
23:54is £40.
23:57Bus is nice, isn't it?
23:59Better time to watch a film.
24:00What are we going to watch?
24:02The world's first televised war.
24:08She's aware.
24:13The Vietnam War was a 20-year civil war
24:17between Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnamese army
24:20and the anti-communist South.
24:26All right, gentlemen, keep your hands down.
24:28The USA supported the South,
24:31committing serious combat forces from 1965.
24:37Man in the hall!
24:42American leaders were attempting to contain
24:44the rise of communism
24:46and were petrified of the so-called domino theory.
24:50They said, if communism gets hold in Vietnam,
24:55next thing, it'll go to Thailand,
24:57next thing, Japan,
24:58next thing, it'll be holding Australia and New Zealand,
25:00and then they'll have a massive communist superpower
25:03to deal with.
25:04And, yeah, America,
25:06they want to be the only superpower in town.
25:09But now, you've got all the historians looking back
25:11and they're saying,
25:12actually, what a lot of codswallet that was.
25:14You know what I mean?
25:17Domino theory may have now been discredited,
25:20but over the course of the war,
25:22it convinced the USA to send nearly 3 million troops
25:26to fight in Vietnam.
25:30Anti-war protests quickly flared up
25:33on the streets of the USA
25:34and also in Britain,
25:37which had no real involvement in the war.
25:39Regular reports from Vietnam
25:44were beamed into British homes
25:46on the 10 o'clock news.
25:48I'm halfway through my report on last night's film,
25:52and they have already begun to start firing rockets in.
25:57And now the building's on fire.
26:00Michael Nicholson, New Zip 10, Saigon.
26:02Nowhere in Vietnam was safe,
26:07but there was one aspect of the war
26:09that presented a threat bigger than any weapon.
26:13What we're going to go see is what
26:15the USA's National Security Agency called
26:20one of the 20th century's
26:22greatest military engineering achievements.
26:26That's what we're going to go see.
26:27I'll see you in the morning.
26:28Travelling 400 miles south of Hanoi,
26:43Guy Martin has arrived in Quang Tri.
26:45Here we go.
26:46Get her on the pipe.
26:47Get her on the pipe.
26:50This province is one of the most beautiful areas in Vietnam.
26:55What a lovely part of the world, isn't it?
26:58But guys travelling through territory
27:00that saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the Vietnam War.
27:08The US Defense Department assumed
27:11they'd be fighting untrained peasants.
27:14But the North Vietnamese Army,
27:17the Viet Cong guerrillas,
27:19and well-drilled village militias
27:21made for a mighty force.
27:23They were all volunteers
27:26determined to defend their homeland to the death,
27:30and unlike the American soldiers,
27:33were at one with Vietnam's environment.
27:44Limited resources
27:45had made them skilled engineers
27:47and masters
27:49of the booby trap.
27:53These jungles
27:54were littered with them.
27:56It's a crude weapon indeed,
27:57but very effective.
27:59This is a foot trap
28:00usually used by the Viet Cong.
28:03When a soldier walks along,
28:04he goes through the camouflage
28:05and strikes the trip device.
28:08But the greatest construction of all
28:10wasn't a weapon.
28:12Go on then.
28:14What is it?
28:14This most amazing piece
28:16of war engineering.
28:19It's a trail.
28:21The Ho Chi Minh Trail.
28:24Right,
28:2410,000 miles
28:26of dirt trails.
28:28Some of it in
28:29Vietnam,
28:30most of it in Cambodia.
28:32And it was to get supplies
28:34to the front line.
28:37This is what they say.
28:38Soldiers win the battle,
28:40logistics wins the war.
28:46The Ho Chi Minh Trail
28:47carried 1 million tonnes
28:49of war supplies
28:50from bases in the north
28:52to fighting in the south.
28:56A few pictures.
28:58Right.
29:00This is the Ho Chi Minh Trail
29:02in action.
29:03We was using push bikes
29:05as pallet bearers.
29:07It was carrying 200 kilos.
29:09Look how they'd adapted them.
29:13A bit of bamboo
29:14to extend the handlebar
29:15so they could walk alongside.
29:17Bit of bamboo
29:18in the seat tube hole
29:19so we could hold it upright
29:20and then get cracking.
29:2125 mile a day
29:23these people were doing.
29:24It's a marathon a day.
29:26That could be a bit of ammo
29:27in there.
29:28It looks like a bit of ammo,
29:29doesn't it?
29:30Handle with care.
29:31Could be.
29:32Right,
29:33and that was all right
29:33but they were taking
29:34steel lengths down there,
29:36RSJs and channel
29:38to go over water.
29:39You know what I mean?
29:40So we could make our own bridges.
29:41Oh, it looks to be fair gushy
29:43in that water.
29:43It's coming up to the knackers
29:44in water
29:45or beyond
29:46up to the nipples in water.
29:48Fair play to them.
29:50Eh?
29:50Yeah, we built a bridge
29:51and then our man
29:52Oh Chi Minh
29:53he somehow convinced
29:55the Russians
29:56and the Chinese
29:57to give him
29:58two billion quid's worth
30:00of tackle.
30:01So guns,
30:02ammo,
30:02trucks.
30:03And that was them.
30:04Russian trucks,
30:05Chinese trucks,
30:06the lot.
30:07What do trucks need?
30:10Trucks need fuel,
30:11right?
30:12So what have we done?
30:12Built a pipeline
30:13down the Oh Chi Minh trail.
30:15We'd send petrol,
30:15diesel down it.
30:16Don't look to be much more
30:18than just a bit of drain pipe.
30:19Hey, did the job.
30:21This is the sort of
30:22resourceful people
30:22the Yanks were up against.
30:24They were going to be snookered,
30:25weren't they?
30:29Taking on
30:30an endlessly inventive opponent
30:32made Vietnam
30:33an exhausting fight
30:34for the Americans.
30:36Despite them spending
30:37around two billion dollars
30:39a month
30:40on men and machinery
30:42at the height of the war.
30:49relics of some
30:51wartime classics
30:52survive
30:53at one of the most famous
30:54former American combat bases,
30:57Kaysan.
31:02Home to 6,000 troops,
31:05the base withstood
31:06a 77-day siege
31:08in 1968.
31:11One of the vital lifelines
31:12was a vehicle
31:13that has become
31:14symbolic of the conflict.
31:17The Bell UH-1
31:18Iroquois.
31:21The Huey.
31:22Yeah, I've been looking forward
31:23to seeing this.
31:24This is the transit van
31:26of the Vietnam War.
31:27Do everything.
31:29Troop carrier.
31:33Ambulance.
31:34Gunship.
31:397,000 of these
31:40were used
31:40in the Vietnam War,
31:41right?
31:4236 million missions.
31:44Yeah.
31:45Pilots loved it.
31:46And they said
31:47when you pull back
31:47on a stick
31:48it was like
31:49falling upwards.
31:50That's what I loved
31:51about it.
31:53Powered by a jet engine
31:55and used by famous units
31:57like the 1st Air Cavalry,
32:00the Huey was fast
32:01and reliable.
32:01Troops no longer
32:04had to march
32:05for days
32:05looking for the fight.
32:07They could be delivered
32:08straight to it.
32:16It put the American infantry
32:18on a production line
32:19of war.
32:21Second World War,
32:22on average,
32:23a soldier fought
32:24for 10 days a year,
32:27right?
32:27But in the Vietnam War,
32:29because it was so easy
32:30to get troops
32:30into the battle,
32:31they fought
32:32for 240 days a year.
32:35All because of this.
32:37In all,
32:3958,000 Americans
32:41were killed.
32:42More than half
32:43were aged 18.
32:451,000 were killed
32:47on their first day
32:48of combat.
32:55See that?
32:56Home is where
32:57you dig it.
32:58with things going badly
33:05on the ground,
33:05the U.S.
33:06turned to the air.
33:08Operation Rolling Thunder
33:10was a three-year campaign
33:11to try and bomb
33:13Vietnam into submission.
33:15In one month,
33:16America dropped
33:17as many bombs
33:18as they had
33:19in the whole
33:19of World War II.
33:20They didn't just
33:23pulverize the countryside.
33:25They burnt it, too,
33:27with 400,000 tons
33:29of terrifying incendiary.
33:37It was one of the most
33:39feared weapons
33:39of the Vietnam War.
33:43Napalm.
33:43The fuel-based gel,
33:47now banned as a weapon,
33:49was designed
33:50to create
33:50a prolonged,
33:52intense fire.
33:56And that's about us, boss.
34:03It is associated
34:04with some of the most
34:05shocking imagery
34:06of the entire war.
34:08Well, that's napalm.
34:15That is the worst weapon,
34:18isn't it?
34:19Absolutely horrible weapon.
34:22You sling that out
34:23of the back of a plane,
34:24it'll stick like shit
34:25to an army blanket.
34:26The fire will be
34:27that intense,
34:28it'll drag oxygen
34:29from wherever it can get it,
34:30so it'll suffocate
34:31you wherever's
34:31in the building.
34:33The heat would be,
34:35yeah,
34:351,000 degrees.
34:38You're not lasting long.
34:40Awful stuff.
34:50But for all the ferocity
34:52of the American war machine,
34:54and between 2 and 3 million
34:56Vietnamese killed,
34:58little more than a stalemate
34:59was achieved.
35:01After eight years
35:02of draining struggle,
35:04the US withdrew
35:05in 1973.
35:08Yeah, let's be in no doubt,
35:10this isn't a museum
35:12for interesting aircraft.
35:13No, no, no, no.
35:14This is a Vietnamese
35:15trophy cabinet,
35:17because it's not
35:18a point of debate, right?
35:20Vietnam won this war,
35:22simple.
35:24On the 30th of April 1975,
35:28North Vietnam rolled
35:29onto the streets of Saigon,
35:31promptly christened it
35:32Ho Chi Minh City,
35:33and parked their tanks
35:34on the lawn
35:35of the seat of power.
35:37Well,
35:38this is the presidential palace
35:39under new management.
35:42A chaotic American
35:43evacuation ensued
35:44as diplomatic staff
35:46and their collaborators
35:47scrambled to make
35:49the last helicopter out.
35:52In one final symbol
35:54of failure,
35:55retreating Americans
35:56had to push
35:57shoeies off
35:58aircraft carriers
35:59to make room
36:00for more evacuees.
36:0250 years
36:09after the end
36:10of what the Vietnamese
36:11called the resistance
36:12war against America,
36:14its legacy lives on.
36:17Have another laugh
36:18at it, boy.
36:19Frustrated
36:20by all the hiding places
36:21provided by the forests
36:23and jungles,
36:24during the war,
36:25the Americans
36:26had tried to destroy
36:27the entire ecosystem.
36:29The strategy was called
36:30tactical herbicides,
36:32which really
36:33was just extreme
36:35weed killing.
36:37They used the same
36:38weed killer
36:39as they used to kill
36:40the weeds on the road,
36:41but it was
36:4120 times stronger.
36:44And the land mass
36:45that they covered
36:46was bigger than Wales.
36:49Actually,
36:50it was a British idea.
36:51They used it in Malaya
36:52in the 1950s.
36:54So we're to blame.
36:56Known as Agent Orange
36:57and linked to birth defects
36:59and cancers,
37:00an estimated
37:01three million Vietnamese
37:02are still dealing
37:03with the aftermath
37:04of this toxin.
37:05I'll go a bit behind you, mate.
37:07Get my toes run over, mate.
37:08OK, OK.
37:10People like sun.
37:12I'll take my shoes off, mate.
37:13What do you do?
37:16What's your job?
37:17I'm a teacher.
37:18I teach a mathematics
37:19and a computer
37:20programming.
37:22OK.
37:23Interesting.
37:24We've come here
37:25to find out really
37:25how has Agent Orange
37:28affected you?
37:29Ba mình là tham gia
37:30quân đội.
37:33Thì trong cái quá trình
37:35cái là đang đi hành quân
37:37thì bị một cái
37:37chất lỏng
37:38trừ trên đổ xuống.
37:40Từ máy bay của Mỹ
37:41đổ xuống.
37:42Soaked in it.
37:42Và sau này
37:43thông qua những cái
37:44xác nhận.
37:45À, để có những cái
37:46xác nghiệm là xác nhận
37:47là đã bị chất
37:48ảnh hưởng chất độc da cam.
37:50Và ba đã bị ung thư
37:51và mất vào năm 2006.
37:56Thì cái hậu quả
37:57nó vẫn còn
37:58là do chất độc quá học
37:59là ảnh hưởng
38:00những đời sau.
38:01Rất bất công.
38:03Dạ.
38:04Tôi đi không được.
38:05Anh ngồi, anh đọc
38:06thì nó chập
38:07anh phải nằm.
38:08Fall down on my face.
38:10Yeah.
38:12Và được người cha
38:13một cái chiến sĩ
38:15cộng sản
38:16đã truyền cho tôi
38:17cái, đã dạy tôi từ nhỏ
38:19cái ý chí
38:21vượt qua khó khăn.
38:22Which you have done.
38:23Obviously, look,
38:24you're a mathematician.
38:25You're teaching in schools.
38:26You know what I mean?
38:27That's an amazing achievement.
38:29Thì thực sự Việt Nam
38:30cũng có câu đó là
38:31mình phải tự cứu lấy mình.
38:33Yeah, we seem to be
38:35taking this from
38:35Vietnamese people.
38:37You hardy people.
38:38You get your head down
38:39and you get on.
38:40We have a lot
38:41we could learn from you.
38:43Nah, son,
38:43fair play to you, mate.
38:44Thank you very much.
38:46Gentle resilience
38:47is found
38:48throughout Vietnam.
38:50And nowhere
38:50is it needed more
38:52than the sight
38:53of Guy's next visit.
38:54Guy Martin
39:08is exploring
39:09central Vietnam
39:10where the people
39:12are peaceful
39:12and life is quiet.
39:16Xin chào.
39:18How are you getting on?
39:20We're having a pain
39:21here today.
39:22But 50 years ago
39:25these picturesque
39:26villages were battlefields.
39:29While most have become
39:30scenic beauty spots
39:31once again
39:32some are still
39:34a deadly no-man's land.
39:36During the time
39:37of the Vietnam War
39:38five million tonnes
39:39of bombs were dropped.
39:41About a third of them
39:41still lay in the ground
39:43today on exploders.
39:45They're as lethal today
39:47as the day
39:48they were dropped.
39:49So, yeah,
39:49we need to do
39:49something to bear.
39:52The mines advisory group
39:55known as MAG
39:56employs 700 people
39:58to help clean up Vietnam.
40:02Guy will be helping them
40:04in the most heavily
40:05bombed place on earth.
40:08A hundred thousand casualties
40:10since the end of the war
40:12through, like, kids
40:13seeing a bit of shiny metal
40:15grabbing hold of it
40:15kaboom.
40:17Farmer in the field
40:18getting his plough
40:19knotted up in summit
40:20cluster bomb.
40:22Yeah, so that's
40:23what we're here to see.
40:23This has been going on years.
40:25Quang Tri province
40:27covers 1,800 square miles
40:29and only 11
40:30of its 3,500 villagers
40:33survived the war.
40:35Tanti Lee-Vun is in charge
40:51of a team of 13.
40:54Although today
40:54there will be 14 people
40:56on our bomb squad.
40:57Guy's work will be in the red zone.
41:20This area contains live,
41:24unexploded ordnance
41:25and is where small groups
41:27must work spaced apart.
41:29You can see
41:31if anything goes wrong
41:34try and minimise casualties.
41:37That's why we've got
41:3725 metres separation
41:38between the different work crews.
41:41You see?
41:44Lanes are carefully marked.
41:46OK.
41:47Nice lie.
41:48Straight.
41:50To ensure every inch of ground
41:52can be methodically covered
41:53by metal detectors.
41:56Oh, what's up there?
41:58The signal is too small
41:59so we'll keep moving.
42:00OK.
42:01A fatality in this province
42:03earlier in the year
42:04means every step
42:05is double-checked.
42:07Avoid that.
42:09On average,
42:11one bomb is found
42:12every day.
42:13Yeah, definitely something there.
42:32Bloody hell,
42:32that's a big one, that.
42:33Anything that triggers
42:34the sensor is marked.
42:36OK.
42:37So that it can be excavated
42:38later by a second team.
42:40We found a bit of summits.
42:46Team leader over there,
42:47she thinks we're onto summits.
42:48Dig it up,
42:49see what we've got.
42:52Only team leader Tan,
42:54a mother of two
42:55who used to work
42:56in an office in Hanoi,
42:57is allowed to uncover
42:58the object.
43:00It quickly becomes apparent
43:02that it's a live explosive.
43:07Yeah, well,
43:08so what we found,
43:09a BLU-24B.
43:11They call it
43:11anti-personnel cluster bomb.
43:13The sole goal of that
43:14is just to kill people.
43:16So there's one here,
43:17there's one over there,
43:17I found one over there,
43:18sort of in a line,
43:19so you'd written
43:19an American bomber
43:20has come overhead
43:21this way or that way
43:2250-odd year ago,
43:23dumped a load,
43:24and that's one of these.
43:25389th Squadron F-4 crews
43:30attack an enemy village
43:31in the northwest corner
43:32of Quang Tree Province.
43:35The strike crews
43:36attack the area
43:36with eight pods
43:37of Type-25 cluster bomb units
43:39with 100% target coverage.
43:42The only way
43:43to deal with this
43:44is to have
43:45a controlled explosion.
43:46So, fuse in there,
43:48bag it up,
43:48load of sandbags,
43:50kaboom.
43:55Today there will be
44:05exploding two bombs.
44:07While the detonation cord
44:09is laid out
44:09to a safe distance
44:10of 250 metres away,
44:13the explosive charge
44:17is ready
44:18and the rest of the team
44:20warn the locals
44:21to clear the area.
44:25VT-7
44:26.
44:29Tan and Guy
44:44get ready to flick the switch.
44:46.
44:47.
44:48.
44:53.
44:54.
44:54.
44:54.
44:54.
44:55.
44:55.
44:55.
44:55.
44:5510, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
45:12We weren't expecting that, wasn't we?
45:20That went with a rattle, didn't it?
45:23Anyway, that's two done.
45:25How many do you reckon there is left?
45:28Hundreds.
45:31Well, it's made a bit of an hole, hasn't it?
45:36Yeah, that's the shell of the cluster bomb.
45:42Come on.
45:44After a few more days' work, another square kilometre of land will be released back to
45:51agriculture.
45:52Come and start collecting these bags up.
45:53Ends your time now.
45:55I've got to make use of my scent while we're here.
45:57But there are at least 10 years of bomb-clearing ahead for this province alone.
46:04Thank you very much for letting me get involved.
46:08Yeah, it's been fascinating.
46:09It's been fascinating.
46:10Thank you very much.
46:11Good luck to Gavin.
46:13Good luck to Gavin.
46:14Cheers.
46:15Cheers.
46:16Cracking folk.
46:18Couldn't be more impressed.
46:21So, the next plan, get further into the south and let's see what we make of modern day Vietnam.
46:26Next time, Guy will find out how communist Vietnam plans to become a high-tech workshop of the
46:33world.
46:34If that's the sign of things to come, the West is going to be snookered.
46:37If that's the sign of things to come, the West is going to be snookered.
46:41Just a few months to come, the West is going to be snookered.
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