Our first stop after surviving the tunnel crawl was the National Defence Sports Shooting Range. There were a variety of American, Soviet, Chinese and Vietnamese guns on display. For the price of about $10 the would-be marksman could choose to fire ten rounds from an M16, AK-47 or a machine gun -- an M60, I believe. On the recommendation of Mr Hai Bill chose the machine gun. Everyone near the firearms was issued ear protection. While Sue-On snapped photos, Bill took aim and expertly kicked up dust all around the target -- the target escaped without injury.

Villagers had long used a variety of traps to capture wild boars or as a defence against marauding tigers. During conflict such traps were adapted to protect the tunnels and villages from enemy soldiers. These hidden booby traps were designed to impale the unfortunate enemy with their spikes and claws and very often to make it difficult for the injured person to be moved to safety and treatment without taking the whole trap with them. The Viet Cong were very skilled in hiding these deadly traps in unexpected places -- certainly demoralizing weapons that that did much in hindering the advance of the enemy.

The Booby Traps were all displayed in a row in front of a mural showing their entrapped victims. Uniformed attendants used bamboo poles to demonstrate the triggering of the traps. Descriptive names were assigned to each of these man-traps: Sticking Trap ~ Clipping Armpit Trap ~ Rolling Trap ~ Window Trap ~ Folding Chair Trap ~ Swinging Up Trap ~ Fish Trap ~ SeeSaw Trap.

Mr. Hai pointed out a many-pronged trap that he nicknamed the Durian Trap. This many-spiked metal sphere would be dropped from the trees upon an unwitting prey below. He also demonstrated a door trap. This would be triggered by opening a door. A heavy framework with spikes would swing into the doorway, empaling the victim in the groin.