Souvenirs of war
Military badges and other artifacts from the Vietnam wars are for sale in the former Demilitarized Zone. (Learn more)
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Visible in the tray are metal badges from U.S., French, and Vietnamese soldiers as well as “dog tags” worn by U.S. soliders for identification, silverware, a pocket knife, a razor, a string of old Chinese coins with holes in the center, and two wild animal tusks.
Most of the metal items were lost by U.S. or French soldiers, but Vietnamese soldiers would have owned the small Vietnamese flag lapel pins, the antique Chinese coins (valued throughout Southeast Asia), and the animal tusks. In many parts of Southeast Asia, crocodile, wild cat, and boar tusks are valued for warrior’s amulets or sometimes for medicinal ingredients.
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Photographs by Margery Freeman · Text by Lorraine Aragon
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