Ordanance and Snakes
Vietnam is one of the many countries plagued by perilous
landmines and UXO. During the Vietnam War (1959–1975)—and to a lesser extent in
other conflicts in the region—landmines were used in border conflicts to
threaten the enemy and 30 years later continue to threaten the country.
Approximately 350,000 to 800,000 tons of landmines and UXO
are leftover from the Vietnam War. There may be as many as 3.5 million
landmines in Vietnam, affecting all 61 provinces in the country. Between 1975
and 2000, Vietnam officials recorded 104,701 mine/UXO casualties killing over
38,000 people. Currently, casualty rates number between 1,200 and 3,000 people
a year. According to Chuck Meadows, the executive director of PeaceTrees
Vietnam, “UXO accidents come mainly from farming, scrap-metal collecting and
meddling with the ordnance items.”1 From 1975 to 2002, the Vietnam
army cleared 1.2 billion square meters (463.32 square miles) of land and
destroyed four million landmines and eight million items of UXO. The majority
of these mines are located in Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue
provinces, located in central and south Vietnam.
The author below with an excavated Grenade on site…
Snakes. US soldiers in the American War used to say that there are 100 types of snakes in Vietnam—99 were poisonous, and the last one could crush you to death. The real numbers are more like 140 species, around 30 of which are poisonous…
The author below with a snake on site….
