Con Son Island
Encyclopedia
Con Dao
The Con Dao Islands are an archipelago of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, in southeastern Vietnam, and a district of this province.-Description:Situated at about from Vung Tau and from Ho Chi Minh City, the group includes 16 mountainous islands and islets...
archipelago, off the coast of southern Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The island is also known after its Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
name as Pulo Condore (pulo as a corruption of pulau, meaning "island"), while its French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
variant Poulo Condor was well-known during the times of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
.
Early modern era
In 1702, the British East India CompanyBritish East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
founded a settlement on the island of Poulo Condor off the south coast of southern Vietnam, and in 1705 the garrison and settlement were destroyed.
In 1787, through the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles (1787)
The Versailles Treaty of 1787 was a treaty of alliance signed between the French king Louis XVI and the Vietnamese Prince Nguyễn Ánh, the future Emperor Gia Long....
, Nguyễn Ánh (the future Emperor Gia Long
Gia Long
Emperor Gia Long , born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh , was an emperor of Vietnam...
) promised to cede Poulo Condor to the French. In exchange Louis XVI promised to help Nguyễn Ánh to regain the throne, by supplying 1,650 troops (1,200 Kaffir
Kaffir
Kaffir and similar may refer to:*Kafir, an Arabic term used by Muslims to describe non-Muslims.*Sunbeam Kaffir, an engine built by the Sunbeam car company*Kefir or Kephir, a fermented milk drink from the Caucasus region...
troops, 200 artillery men and 250 black soldiers) on four frigates.
In 1861, the French colonial government established a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
on the island to house political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s. In 1954, it was turned over to the South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
ese government, who continued to use it for the same purpose. Notable prisoners held at Côn Sơn in the 1930s included Phạm Văn Đồng
Pham Van Dong
Phạm Văn Đồng was an associate of Ho Chi Minh. He served as prime minister of North Vietnam from 1955 through 1976, and was prime minister of a unified Vietnam from 1976 until he retired in 1987.- Early life :...
and Lê Ðức Thọ
Le Duc Tho
Lê Đức Thọ , born Phan Đình Khải in Ha Nam province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1973, although he declined it....
.
Not far from the prison is Hang Duong Cemetery, where some of the prisoners were buried.
“Tiger cages”
During the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, prisoners who had been held at the prison in the 1960s said they were abused and tortured. In July 1970, two U.S. Congressional representatives, Augustus Hawkins and William Anderson
William Anderson (naval officer)
William Robert Anderson was an officer in the United States Navy, and a U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1965 to 1973.-Early life and naval career:...
, visited the prison. They were accompanied by Tom Harkin
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin is the junior United States Senator from Iowa and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives ....
(then an aide
Aide
Aide may refer to:* A person who assists another; an assistant. In military contexts; an officer who acts as assistant to a more senior one; an aide-de-camp.* Aide , a purported Basque deity....
), translator Don Luce, and USAID Office of Public Safety
Office of Public Safety
The Office of Public Safety was a US government agency, established in 1957 by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower to train police forces of US allies. It was officially part of USAID , and was close to the Central Intelligence Agency . Police-training teams were sent to South Vietnam, Iran, Taiwan,...
Director Frank Walton. When the delegation arrived at the prison, they departed from the planned tour, guided by a map drawn by a former detainee. The map led to the door of a building, which was opened from the inside by a guard when he heard the people outside the door talking. Inside they found prisoners were being shackled within cramped “tiger cages”. Prisoners began crying out for water when the delegation walked in. They had sores and bruises, and some were mutilated. Harkin took photos of the scene. The photos were published in Life magazine on July 17, 1970.
The prison on Côn Sơn Island was closed in 1975, when North Vietnam (now unified as Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
) toppled the South Vietnamese government, in the wake of the withdrawal by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and its allies (South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) from the Vietnam War.
Along with the earlier disclosure of the Mỹ Lai massacre
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
, and the later disclosure of the Pentagon Papers
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967...
, the revelation of the conditions and purpose of Côn Sơn Island prison led more Americans to believe that supporting the South Vietnamese government was improper, and that they should oppose the war
Opposition to the Vietnam War
The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...
.
Recreations of tiger cages can be seen today at the War Remnants Museum
War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City)
The War Remnants Museum is a war museum at 28 Vo Van Tan, in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It primarily contains exhibits relating to the American phase of the Vietnam War....
in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
.
LORAN Station Con Son
At the request of Secretary of DefenseUnited States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
, the U.S. Coast Guard started pre-construction plans for a chain of Loran-C radio stations to serve southeast Asia 15 January 1966 in support of Operation Tight Reign during the Vietnam War. The actual construction of Station Con Son began during April with the delivery of construction materials by and award of construction contracts to Morrison-Knudsen Corp. and Brown and Root Company.. Station Con Son was one of five stations in the southeast Asia chain and was designated SH-3 Yankee. It consisted of a 625 feet (190.5 m) tower, transmitter equipment buildings, fuel tanks, generators and barracks for personnel located on the north end of Con Son Island.
The personnel complement for the station was two officers and 23 enlisted men. After commissioning 2 September 1966 the station began the testing phase of operations and the five station chain was fully operational by 0400 28 October, just nine months after the initial request from the Department of Defense. The station provided, along with its sister stations in the chain, signals that allowed aircraft and ships to receive accurate all-weather positioning data for navigation purposes. During January 1973 the operation of the station was turned over to civilian contractors who were responsible to the Coast Guard for all functions of the station. The Coast Guard continued to supply logistical and technical support on an as needed basis When the fall of the South Vietnamese government was imminent, Station Con Son was directed to stay on the air until the last possible minute to provide navigation signals to aircraft and ships fleeing South Vietnam. Station Con Son stayed on the air until 1246 local time 29 April 1975 after the crew oversped the generators and damaged critical pieces of electronic gear.
External links
- The Con Dao Archipelago
- The Tiger Cages of Con Son
- THEN THE AMERICANS CAME - Mrs. Truong My Hoa
- Con Son Prison Photo Gallery by Matthew Herschmann at pbase.com
- VisitCondao.com