Connecting the Past and Present at a Military Museum

In the morning of the second day of the museum field school at Vietnam Military History Museum, one particular issue captured my interest: how can military museum become more relevant to future generations? In the afternoon, as we tried to incorporate memories into the exhibition and I experienced the power of memories myself, it became clear to me that using memories can be one of the most effective solutions to this problem.

My group visited a small section in the gallery dedicated to the 2nd of September of 1945 – Vietnam’s Independence Day, which was later chosen as Vietnam’s National Day. This section included a photo of the parade in Hanoi, and below the photo there were musical instruments that were used to play the national anthem on that day. Both the photo and the instruments were accompanied by simple caption. In fact, this was the typical issue of the whole museum’s exhibition. Halls after halls, visitors were presented with displays arranged in similar amount of space, overwhelmed by a number of historical artefacts with little accompanied information. This method, along with the authoritative voice of the museum, made it hard for the visitors, especially foreigners who usually explore the museum by themselves, to grasp the significance and meaning of each stages in the chronological flow of narrative.  I particularly felt like I was back at school, getting bombarded with date and figures which I were told to learn by heart; yet at the end of the day, I still had trouble engage them or fully appreciate the relevance of that history in my own life.

For my group project, we came up with many ideas to include more voices in the gallery. First, we wanted to contact and include the stories of the musicians who played the instruments and the people who participated in the parade as many of them are still alive. Second, we intended to provide an audio of the national anthem as well as the translation of the lyrics into different languages. In addition, we thought that the museum can also collect testimonies of different generations to demonstrate the differences between the National Day of 1945 and that of modern day. By including these voices, the museum can use memory to connect the past and present. The personal stories and feelings of the people who were present in 1945 can evoke empathy from the visitors, which might not be achieved by the authoritative voice of museum. Moreover, an audio of the national anthem and a translation would help the international visitors connect the music to words and bring the triumphant tone of the exhibition alive. 

Another point to consider is the comparison of the past and present from the audience. Inter-generation personal memories of the national day and how it meant to them can create the opportunities for visitors to reflect on change in perspectives and the changes in Vietnam’s society. By understanding and reflecting on Vietnam’s National Day, visitors can turn a historical event into a symbol of pride, nationalism, or change based on their personal memories. Similarly, enriching the experience with memories for visitors could help connect the past to the present, and make a military museum more relevant to younger generation.

Coincidentally, as we were going back to present our suggestions, I got a glimpse of how memories could achieve this goal by observing the interaction between a group of marine veterans and a family who happened to be at the same gallery. The veterans were just starting their guided tour in the building when the family consisted of an elder and two boys saw them. What followed was a brief but touching interaction: the faces of the old man and the two boys lit up as they saw the marines. Both parties smiled as the old man took a picture of the boys with two veterans leading the group in their uniform.

After one of the boys expressed his wish to join the marine, the two veterans gave the boy a pat on the soldier and told him that he would be able to join if he worked hard and took good care of his sight (he wore a pair of glasses). The groups then parted; but just by being at the same place together, old memories were shared and new memories were created for the veterans, the old man and the two boys, and for me as an observer. It is evidence that museum can be a place for people of different generations and backgrounds to come together to learn, to share and to celebrate their memories.