JOURNEY IN TIME

This ANZAC Day, on 25 April, retrace history by visiting former battle sites and war monuments in the region

WORDS NITHIA DEVAN

Walk across the Bridge on
the River Kwai to imagine
what it was like working on
the “Death Railway”
Photo: JTB Photo / Photolibrary

For a memorable and poignant cultural experience on your holiday, reflect upon the battles lost and won at these moving tributes to history in Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Darwin.

Thailand – Kanchanaburi

Surely few people would visit Thailand’s third largest province, 130km west of Bangkok, if not for the tragic role of its infamous River Kwai Yai in World War II.

The black iron Bridge on the River Kwai was assembled under Japanese supervision by Allied prisoners-of-war (POWs) and Asian labourers during World War II. It became part of the 415km-long “Death Railway”, linking Thailand with Burma, which resulted in 16,000 POWs and 100,000 labourers dying during the 16 months it took to build. The brutality was recorded in the book and film of the same name.

Kanchanaburi War cemetery
is a place

of remembrance
for Australian, Dutch

and
British POWs
Photo: Dennis Johnson / Lonely PlanetYou can learn more about its history at the Thailand–Burma Railway Centre. Next door, at The Kanchanaburi (Don Rak) Allied War Cemetery, you can pay your respects to the 6,982 Australian, Dutch and British POWs who lost their lives during the railway’s construction.

At the JEATH War Museum visitors can view photographic, pictorial and physical memorabilia. JEATH stands for Japan, England, Australia/America, Thailand and Holland, the main nationalities involved in the construction of the railway.

An interesting way to discover the area is on the Kanchanaburi Cycling Tour (tel: +66
(2) 636 0360), a three-day trip which starts and ends in Bangkok.

Singapore

Canons facing the sea on
Singapore’s Sentosa
island
didn’t fire a single shot
as

the Japanese came
overland from Malaysia
Photo: Singapore Tourism BoardIn the tiny city-state, a wealth of information on World War II and the Japanese occupation (1942 to 1945) is within easy reach.

The Battle Box in Fort Canning Park was the largest underground command centre of the British army in Malaya during World War II. Visitors are transported back in time to witness the British surrendering, when the Japanese army marched into Singapore on 15 February 1942.

The Changi Chapel, within the Changi Museum, is a symbolic replica of the many chapels built during the Japanese Occupation. Exhibits include letters, photographs, drawings and personal effects relating to the hardship of the Japanese Occupation and imprisonment of more than 50,000 civilians and soldiers in Changi.

Located near City Hall, the Civilian War Memorial is dedicated to all those who perished during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, from 15 February 1942 to 12 September 1945. A memorial service is held here on 15 February.

Built by the British in the 1880s to protect the west entrance into Singapore, Fort Siloso is the only British coastal fortification in Singapore still intact. During the Japanese Occupation, the Fort was used as a prisoner-of-war camp. Today, Fort Siloso has been converted into a military museum.

Kranji War Memorial honours the 4,458 Allied soldiers who gave their lives during the Japanese Occupation. Their graves stand in neat rows on manicured lawns in the grounds of this former hospital and military cemetery.

Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City

The first tank to crash
through the

gates of the
Presidential Palace
on 30
April, 1975
Photo: Philip Game / Lonely PlanetHo Chi Minh City (HCMC) today is an exciting holiday destination but during the Vietnam War (1960–1975), when it was known as Saigon, it was witness to some shocking events.

The War Remnants Museum should be the first stop on any trip to HCMC.

Apart from military equipment, such as a M48 Patton tank and an A-1 attack bomber, replica “tiger cages”, which housed South Vietnam’s political prisoners, are on display, as is a guillotine used by the French and the South Vietnamese to execute prisoners. The exhibits, covering the effects of Agent Orange and napalm bombs, combat scenes, interrogation techniques and the My Lai massacre, are particularly harrowing. The graphic black and white photographs are moving and poignant memories of this turbulent period. Few museums drive home war’s atrocities like this one.

The home of two former South Vietnam presidents, the The Reunification Palace is most notable for its symbolic role in the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, when its gates were breached by North Vietnamese tanks and the victor’s flag hung on the balcony. Visitors can view the Presidential Receiving Room, living quarters, a decrepit helicopter and the basement of tunnels.

A guide
crawls through the
Viet Cong tunnels
Photo: Peter Solness / Lonely PlanetStretching over 200 kilometres,the Cu Chi Tunnels network played a vital role in the war, allowing the Viet Cong to control a large rural area, just 30–40km from HCMC. The network includes booby traps, living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centres and kitchens.

The legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail was the supply line used by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong to link North and South Vietnam during the American War. Soldiers, ammunition, weapons and supplies were carried by hand, bicycle and truck for hundreds of kilometres through mountainous jungle. The trail, which is popular with motorbikers, starts near HCMC and goes through Khe Sanh to Hue, the former imperial capital of feudal Vietnam. Travellers can view bombsites and areas stripped bare by Agent Orange, and visit other famous war sites along the network of old roads, jungle paths and waterways.

For Australians, the single most costly battle of the Vietnam War was held in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, 110km east of HCMC. The Long Tan Memorial marks the Battle of Long Tan, which took place on 18 August 1966 and left 18 Australian soldiers dead. Each year, an Anzac Day Dawn Service is held at 5:15am, on 25 April. Contact Vung Tau Tourist Corporation (tel: +84 (64) 857 527 or 511 043; email: vungtautour@hcm.vnn.vn) to obtain a visitor’s permit.

Darwin

Screaming in across Beagle Gulf on a sleepy February morning in 1942, 188 Japanese warplanes launched the first of 64 World War II bombing raids over Darwin.

A memorial
plaque in Darwin
Photo: Tourism Northern TerritoryThe onslaught killed more than 250 defence personnel, including 91 sailors from USS Peary, which sunk with eight other ships in the harbour. Civilian fatalities included 22 waterside workers and all nine Darwin post office staff. The annual ‘Bombing of Darwin’ commemorative ceremony is held at the cenotaph overlooking the harbour on the very same day as the attack.

Reminders of Darwin’s World War II role include preserved gun turrets, bunkers, plane wrecks and an Esplanade avenue of plaques commemorating every defence group that served here during the war.

The World War II Oil Storage Tunnels form a labyrinth on Kitchener Road, carved out under the city to store oil for the region’s frontline military effort. Guides talk about the tunnels’ history and there’s an excellent photographic and memorabilia display.

Tucked among wartime installations, the East Point Military Museum at East Point Reserve has imposing concrete gun turrets pointing across Beagle Gulf. Highlights include the wartime collection and terrifying archive footage of the bombing raids.

From the cliff top above the tunnels, you can scan the harbour over historic Stokes Hill Wharf from Survivors’ Lookout and read about the ships destroyed in the bombing. – Kerry Sharp