The exhibition was not the first of its kind for the North Vietnamese side, but rather followed a tradition of such exhibitions exposing war crimes, first those of the French and then those of the Americans, who had operated at various locations of the country as early as 1954.
In 1990, the name changed to Exhibition House for Crimes of War and, dropping both "U.S." and "Puppet." In 1995, following the normalization of diplomatic relations with the United States and end of the US embargo from a year before, the references to "war crimes" and "aggression" were dropped from the museum's title as well; it became the "War Remnants Museum".
The museum comprises a series of themed rooms in several buildings, with period military equipment placed within a walled yard. The military equipment includes a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter, an F-5A fighter, a BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" bomb, M48 Patton tank, an A-1 Skyraider attack bomber, and an A-37 Dragonfly attack bomber. There are a number of pieces of unexploded ordnance stored in the corner of the yard, with their charges and/or fuses removed.
The War Remnants Museum is currently one of the most popular museums in Vietnam, attracting approximately half a million visitors every year.
Notes:
Address: 28 Vo Van Tan, Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Location: 2km from city center
Entrance fee: 15,000VND (75 cents). Children under 6 years of age are free of charge
Opening hour: all days of the week (including holidays) from 07:30 to 12:00 & from 13:30 to 17:00
Highlights:
Outside there were a set of military aircraft, tanks and guns. These were cool to see in real life and scary to read how much damage they would do.
Entering the museum there were small rooms to walk around but the best displays were upstairs. Rooms were well laid out and all had their own theme. The most memorable room was probably the orange room where photos displayed results of the biological warfare that the US used on the Vietnamese. Some of the photos were very confronting and showed in detail how the chemicals affected people and babies. This room will mostly leave a mark on you. Downstairs there is also an awesome gift shop where you can buy heaps of stuff.
The museum has plaques in English that more-or-less guide you around the place, but be aware that some of the photos are very heavy hitting - probably not suitable for young children or anyone squeamish.
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