Sounds of lament could be heard from a distance. Neighbors were quietly preparing for the funeral. An altar was set up right at the main entrance to the living room. A green curtain separates the altar from a bed in which laid the body of Nguyen Duy Khanh covered under a rush mat. On one side of the bed laid Khanh’s two sons facing down on the cement floor. They’d been shocked and exhausted for crying too much. On the other side of the bed were the rest of the family members: sisters, mother and daughters, all were grieving.

The accident happened at 5p.m on the previous day, August 23rd, 2005. Khanh and one of his sons, Nguyen Van Chung were hoeing land in an area about 3 kms east from Nhi Thuong village. It is a sandy hill by the coast of Gio Linh known as “hill 31” to locals. The hill once served as the starting point of the McNamara’s line, a defensive system established along the southern edge of the DMZ. Chung was about ten meters away from his father when he heard an explosion. He turned around and saw his father was down on the ground. He rushed up and realized that the father was in serious condition: he lost his left hand, broke his right arm and the right thigh was broken off. Khanh was bleeding hard and this scares the young boy. He ran out to look for help and returned with four more men. The injured was taken to commune aid station and then forwarded to district hospital but Khanh couldn’t make it. He died on the way.

Khanh is 52 years old and is father of 5 dependent children. His first daughter is a college student while the youngest child is still in the 6th grade.