Blood Road Page #4

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is a 10,000-mile-long network

of interconnected

paths and roads

crisscrossing the dense jungles

and rugged mountains

of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The trail, named for Vietnamese

communist leader Ho Chi Minh,

was primarily used to secretly

move military troops

and supplies

during times of conflict...

most notably during the war

with the United States

from 1964 to 1975.

At that time,

a treaty temporarily

split Vietnam

into two countries...

North and South Vietnam.

The communist North sought

to reunite the South,

but the U.S. government

feared the Domino Theory,

which could lead

to other communist takeovers

within the region.

In order to help South Vietnam

fight off the North

and the spread of communism,

the U.S. sent arms,

aid, and eventually troops.

The North Vietnamese knew

the Americans

had superior firepower,

so they resorted

to guerrilla warfare tactics,

while secretly

transporting supplies

on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Initially, the North Vietnamese

primarily used bicycles, troops,

and even elephants to move

supplies along the trail.

But as the war intensified,

they realized

the trail needed to expand.

my father tell about the war.

The bomb

on Kham Thien Street in 1972.

At that time

my father, every day,

he go to Kham Thien Street

and collect a lot of bodies

of many, many people,

everywhere.

And in my garden,

there's a big hole.

Now, there's still a hole?

NGUYEN:
Hole from bomb.

RUSCH:
Why didn't he put dirt

in the hole, to make it go away?

Because many fish live there.

The fish live in the bomb hole?

Yes.

In the crater.

RUSCH:
You know, that same year, 1972,

is the same year my father died.

My...

Yeah, your father died.

'72.

You need more food

to take with you?

No. No,

it's enough.

You have enough, okay.

RUSCH:
It could go nose down more.

MAN:
Yeah.

It's a vegetable.

Very good for health.

Very good.

So you're back

a little less than a centimeter.

All right, thank you, guys.

MARTIN:
All right.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

RUSCH:
Okay. Let's go.

How do I say it in...?

(NGUYEN TRANSLATES

INTO VIETNAMESE)

BAUER:
I'm guessing we can

probably catch them at 40K.

And then another 864 hours.

(HORN HONKS)

Whoo!

It's a head.

That's a head.

Do people eat the eyeballs?

Yes.

Yeah?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Here?

Excuse me?

Hello?

Excuse me?

(SPEAKS VIETNAMESE)

Oh, this one. Okay.

(SCOFFS)

RUSCH:
There's not really

a line system here.

Oh, where's my passport?

Where's yours?

Make sure nobody has it.

Excuse me?

My passport.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Thank you.

RUSCH:
As soon as we crossed the border

into Laos, I felt different.

It was really cool

to just look around

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