- Title: VIETNAM: Underground air raid shelter discovered in a hotel in Hanoi
- Date: 26th May 2012
- Summary: VARIOUS OF PHOTOS OF JOAN BAEZ, AMERICAN FOLK SINGER, TAKEN DURING THE WAR TIME IN VIETNAM. VARIOUS OF JANE FONDA'S PHOTOS TAKEN IN VIETNAM DURING THE WAR
- Embargoed: 10th June 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Vietnam
- City:
- Country: Vietnam
- Topics: History
- Reuters ID: LVA9LS76UAQMKNKB2UJEEMU3M2QY
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: While renovating the floor of a bar in the courtyard inside the renowned Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, workers stumbled upon a concrete ceiling of what appeared to be an abandoned air raid shelter built during the Vietnam War.
The cold war-era conflict was a prolonged struggle which lasted from 1955-1975 between nationalist forces attempting to unify Vietnam under a communist government and the United States, who wanted to stop the spread of communism.
During the war, the North Vietnamese government used the French colonial-era hotel to host foreign guests. Singer, songwriter and activist Joan Baez spent thirteen days in Vietnam and stayed in the bunker.
The underground bunker was built to shelter head of states and other important guests from the frequent bombing operations of the US. The bunker's life-saving importance was highlighted during 1972's Operation Linebacker II, often known as "The Christmas bombing". It was around this time that hotel guest Jane Fonda made a radio speech on North Vietnamese radio, which ignited fury at home and earned her the nick name "Hanoi Jane".
Robert Devereaux, a 76-year-old retired Australian diplomat based in Perth, had a year-long posting at the then newly established Australian Embassy, which at the time occupied several rooms at the Metropole Hanoi. Robert often spent time in the bunker and carved his name on the wall.
"It seems like another person did this. But I see it suggested in a newspaper I did this so I can find my way around. Anyway, it's a strange feeling to come back and see this. Still, it's a long time ago." He said.
Journalist Gemma Cruz- Areneta was crowned Miss International in Long Beach, California in 1964. As the new beauty Queen, she went to a hospital to visit American soldiers who were wounded in Vietnam. The experience led to Gemma coming to Vietnam to see what was going on for herself.
"So at 2:30 in the afternoon, we heard the siren and well, I know that we had to run here and the hotel staff started banging on the doors to tell us please go down to the shelter, so we did." Gemma said.
Adding: "Everybody in the hotel, there were Russians, Chinese, Latin American. So we all backed in here and try to be cheerful to each other."
General Manager Kai Speth first learnt about the lost and forgotten bunker while brushing up on the hotel's history. Since then he has been keen to learn more:
"I wanted to complete the puzzle. I wanted to put it there in honour of the employees of the hotel who still had to come to work at difficult times. They were asked to continue to operate the hotel for the guests of the government that visited during those, you know, tough times in Vietnam." He said.
Sofitel Metropole is the oldest hotel in Hanoi, which opened in 1901. The 364-room hotel welcomed special guests like Charlie Chaplin, writers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene, and in recent years actors Michael Caine as well as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The hotel appeared on the cover of Life Magazine in April 1967, with pictures of 1.5m trenches on the outer pavement, which is now the La Terrasse Café- a favourite place for soon-to-be Vietnamese brides to pose. . - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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