When the Americans arrive in their helicopters, what happened?

Should I begin talking now?

Yes, Please.

At that time, during the raid, they came in helicopters and their troops jumped down from the helicopters and arrested us. This happened throughout and so there was no place for you to flee to. The members of each household had to remain in the home. Then they rounded us up and herded us to the soccer field where the administrative headquarters is now. Then they told us to bring our oxcarts and cattle to that place and to bring along some of our personal belongings. But we should leave the houses as they were because they were helping us take care of our houses.

But this was only a lie that they were telling us. But we were afraid of the bombs and the shelling and so we had to follow them. When we got to the soccer field, they detained us there for ten days and placed guards all around us, making it impossible for us to go anywhere at all. This was because people were taken away by boat slowly and only twice or three times daily. It took them more than ten days before they could remove all the inhabitants of Thanh-tuyen. It began in the 11th month of the lunar year and ended in the 12th month, well into the first week of the 12th month.

When we arrived at the relocation camp, they forced us to live in tents. As for food, as soon as we arrived they handed some rice out to us. But after that we had to work and earn our own living. They forced us to do all kinds of work, making bricks and building houses. After the rows of houses had been constructed, they rounded us all up and had a lottery. We would be given a certain house at a certain lot, in a certain section of the camp, depending on the lottery number we got. When we got to our house, we had to go out and hire out our labor in order to earn a living. They would provide us with nothing more.

I only got a few sheets of corrugated iron, that was all, for the roof above me. In contrast, when I was back here in the village, my house was brick and tile. It was a large house with two separate sections. They said that I should leave and come back when they had the area built up and when they finished building their military posts. But we did not know that we had to go away that long. We left in 1966 and it was not until 1975, when peace finally came, that we were able to come back to the village.

We did not dare to come back before then. When we left, we had cows and buffaloes in the house. But when they rounded us up, we could only bring a pair of buffaloes and a pair of cows and an oxcart with us. They carried our oxcart by plane and they transported us and the buffaloes and cows by boats. After that, they even took some cows out by airplanes. Everything was taken by them. We did not take anything with us, not even our belongings. The things that we left behind were all taken by the soldiers. All the furniture and other things were all taken and destroyed by the soldiers.

When you first arrived at the relocation camp did the Americans promise you anything?

When we arrived there they promised that they would provide us with housing and food for a certain period. But sometimes they gave us some rice and sometimes they did not give us anything at all. They never gave us food regularly. They gave it to us off and on for only six months. We had to clear the forests and planted beans and then sold the beans in exchange for rice. Therefore, when my children got down there two of them became crippled. One son who was tending cows stepped on a mine and got killed.

Another son was wounded, one of his legs got blown off. And another son went into the shooting range and picked up an anti-personnel bomb. He did not know what it was and smashed it. So he got his two arms and a leg completely blown off. He died a couple of years ago when he was in his early twenties. So life down there in the relocation camp was very harsh. You had to work very hard in order to survive. I had many children.

Please just continue with your story.

When the soldiers were still here, the marketplace was very crowded. After that, they pulled their troops out of the military posts. And so only the local inhabitants were left in the area. The local inhabitants also tilled the paddy fields and engaged in trade to earn a living. After the troops were withdrawn from this area, there came many bombs and shells. And so we had to dig our bomb shelters to hide in. So when the Americans came, surrounded the village and told what to do, we had to obey them. There was nothing we could do and no place we could run to. They moved us down there in 1966 and we were not able to come home until 1975.

According to you, why did the Americans force you to leave the village?

They rounded us up and relocated us so that they could get rid of the Viet Cong. If we lived here, then we would mix with the Viet Cong. So when they rounded us up this was what they told us. They said that we should move down there and that they would feed us, adding that they wanted us to leave to that they could get rid of the Viet Cong.

This was what they said, and so we had to leave. We were forced to leave. The rounded us up and herded us out to the ferry landing and transported us out one by one for more than ten days until there was nobody left in the village. They began taking people away in the 11th month, and it was not until the 12th month that they took everybody out. The herded us out there to the ferry landing and kept us there, not allowing us to go anywhere at all.

Please continue.

So they relocated us down there and we had to find ways to make a living, that's all. At that time, they forced us to go. And we were afraid of them so we had to do as we were told. After we got relocated there, we had to clear the forest and planted roots to live on. We did not dare to protest or anything like that.

Were the Americans brutal or were they kind? Did they kick people on their behinds?

Yes, they did kick people on their behinds. But in the camp where I was this did not occur often because there were simply too many people there. The thing was that when we got there, we could be sent anywhere and told to do anything at any time. Sometimes, after taking us there they would again take us elsewhere to allow us to find work and to try to earn a living.

People did not want to live there. Because the children got sick and died in droves in the tent city. Many children died. So then sent us places to enable us to make a living. They did not allow us to live in our native village and relocated us in places where we did not know what to do at all. But we had to manage and to hire our labor out to the local inhabitants there in order to survive.

The Americans did so many things. Did they achieve anything at all or did they simply fail?

To tell you the truth, when I got down there I did not go and find work because I had many children. But many people did work for them as chamber maids and servants. I had many children and I just stayed home with my children so I did not know about those things. But other people, when they got down there, had to service the Americans in order to survive. They had to become chambermaids and the like. My children were still very young and I had to stay home to take care of them.

Did the Americans take care of you in any way?

This was what they said. But after they relocated us, they us neglected us and abandoned us. We had to take care of ourselves. Sometimes they gave us some rice. Sometimes you did not get anything for a whole month. The promise was to give us food for six months and then after that we would be on our own. Sometimes they gave us some food, sometimes we got nothing at all.