Have Camera Will Travel | Places HomepageHave Camera Will Travel | Places

David Coleman Photography

  • Places
  • Washington DC
  • Cherry Blossoms
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Photos
  • Africa
    • Tanzania
  • Americas
    • Mexico
    • Guatemala
    • Nicaragua
    • Panama
    • United States
      • Washington DC
        • Cherry Blossoms
    • Argentina
    • Chile
    • The Caribbean
    • Canada
  • Antarctica
  • Asia
    • Myanmar (Burma)
    • Vietnam
    • Laos
    • Japan
  • Australasia
    • Australia
    • Vanuatu
  • Europe
    • Denmark
    • Norway
    • Turkey
    • Belgium
    • Greece
    • United Kingdom
      • England
      • Wales
    • Czech Republic
    • Austria
    • Portugal
    • Poland
    • Italy
    • Germany
    • France
    • Russia

Hanoi’s Vietnam Military History Museum

Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam

Vietnam Military History Museum Tank Exhibit

A captured tank. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam // military· museums & galleries· Southeast Asia Location: [post_gps_latitude], [post_gps_longitude]

Perhaps more than any other country, Vietnam’s self-identity over the last century has been defined by war. First, it was ejecting the French colonials. Then a brief repulsion of the imperial Japanese. Then the Americans.

As tragic and destructive as that history of war is, it is also both important and rich. The Vietnam Military History Museum doesn’t do it justice. It was set up in 1956, just two years after the French were defeated in dramatic fashion at Dien Bien Phu. And it has all the hallmarks of a 1950s museum designed by a bureaucratic committee of a cash-strapped government. It has none of the provocative flair of the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.

The exhibits in the main building don’t seem to have been updated since the 1950s. Most are focused on the First Indochinese War, glorifying the brilliance of leaders such as General Giap and the sacrifices of Vietnamese patriots in driving the French out of Vietnam. One or two exhibit walls focus on the war against the Japanese towards the end of World War II. Old metal floor fans provide some air circulation. The walls and ceiling are caked in mold. Artifacts are displayed inside sliding-door glass cabinets. The exhibits are old and stale.

A newer building focuses on the war against the Americans–the American War, as it’s known here. There’s a tank, a jeep, a life-size jungle diorama, and various random artifacts.

But it’s outside where the two highlights of the museum are. First, there’s the large stone tower–Flag Tower–that stands tall over the surrounding countryside. Built in the early 1800s, it now serves as a giant nationalist flagpole. A Vietnamese flag has flown at its top day and night since October 1954.

At the tower’s base is a courtyard of large-scale war souvenirs–tanks and planes and helicopters–captured from the Americans. And looking like the makings of a giant bonfire, the wreckage of a B-52 bomber–that symbol of American military superiority–stands on its nose surrounded by the crumpled wreckage of other planes like an F-111 fighter-bomber.

Photos of the Vietnam Military History Museum

Vietnam Military History Museum Captured Planes and Tanks

A view from the top of Flag Tower over a courtyard filled with captured American military hardware. The wreckage at the top is from a B-52 bomber. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Jungle Exhibit

An exhibit on jungle warfare in the newer section of the museum. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Front Entrance

The main entrance. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Crashed B-52

The wreckage of an American B-52 bomber. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi Flag Tribune with American Plane

Flag Tower. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Bike with Rice Sacks

An exhibit on low-tech warfare, with a bicycle to transport bags of rice. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi Flag Tribune with Wreckage

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Cu Chi Tunnels

A model depicting a cross-section of the Cu Chi Tunnels. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Vietnam War Exhibit

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Home Front

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi Flag Tribune with Vietnamese Flag

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum French Defeat Map

A map depicting military victories over the colonial French in Indochina. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Tank Exhibit

A tank that sits in the main foyer of the newer wing. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Jeep

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Beating Gongs Sculpture

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Indochina War Field Uniform

Indochina War field uniform. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Tank and Jeep

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi Flag Tribune with US Air Force Stencil

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Courtyard

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Rifles

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum B-52 Wreckage

The wreckage of an American B-52 bomber. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Japanese War

An exhibit in the old section on the war with the Japanese. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum American Plane

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Grenades

Grenades. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi Flag Tribune with Plane

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi Flag Tribune with Field Cannon

A field cannon in front of the Flag Tribune. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Light in Tower

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum View from Tower

A view out over Hanoi from the top of the tower. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi Flag Tribune Cannons

Captured French cannons at the base of the Flag Tower. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Exhibit Room

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Helicopter

Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum National Resistence

An exhibit in the old section on the Vietnamese national resistance. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

Vietnam Military History Museum Vo Nguyen Giap Bust

A bust of famous Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap. Photo by David Coleman. How to license & download this image.

What To Know Before You Go

License Photos of Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi

If you’d like to download any of my photos from Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi, you can license them directly from Alamy here. It includes most of the photos displayed on this page, as well as others. Pricing depends on the type of use, and there are licenses for various types of uses, including personal use and editorial publication.

Where to Next?

  • Photo of Shells on display at War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
    Vietnam's War Remnants Museum
  • Vietnam Museum of Revolution Statue and Artillery
    Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution
  • World War I Exhibit at Military Museum in Lisbon Portugal
    Lisbon’s Military Museum
  • Ho Chi Minh City Hall in Saigon at Night
    Ho Chi Minh City Hall
  • Models of Fishing Boats at the Museu de Marinha (Maritime Museum) in Lisbon Portugal
    Portugal's Maritime History Museum
  • Stained Glass Windows of Greek Goddesses at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City
    Chapultepec Castle (Mexico's National Museum of History)
  • Great Court of the British Museum in London
    The British Museum
  • Istanbul Naval Museum
    Istanbul Naval Museum
  • Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Guards at entrance
    Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum


Travel Advice for Vietnam

You can find the latest U.S. Department of State travel advisories and information for Vietnam (such as entry visa requirements and vaccination requirements) here.

The British and Australian governments offer their own country-specific travel information. You can find the British Government's travel advice for Vietnam here and the Australian Government's here.

Health & Vaccinations

The CDC makes country-specific recommendations for vaccinations and health for travelers. You can find their latest information for Vietnam here.

David Coleman Photography

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between. You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com. Or check out what’s in my go-to travel photography kit. Or get in touch here.


Location: Vietnam Military History Museum
Country: Vietnam
Coordinates:
      Latitude: 21.03281389
      Longitude: 105.84007778

      # military
      # museums & galleries
      # Southeast Asia



About David Coleman

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living.

I’m based in Washington, DC.

You can find my photography gear reviews and tips at havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer.

David Coleman Photography

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between. You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com. Or check out what’s in my go-to travel photography kit. Or get in touch here.

Licensing & Prints

Looking for travel stock photos or prints? I might be able to help. You can search my collection here:

If you already have a buyer account with Alamy and would prefer to use that, you can search my images directly here.

Get in Touch

Member

© 2009–2021 David Coleman · Have Camera Will Travel LLC · all rights reserved


Photos by David Coleman. Please contact me for licensing images.
All images are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.


Privacy & Disclosure · Cookie Declaration · Disclaimer · Terms of Service · Copyright · Contact


XML Sitemap