The Real Hanoi Hilton

      From 1964 to 1973, the infamous Hoa Lo prison was better known by its G.I. epithet..."the Hanoi Hilton."    Originally built by the French around the turn of the 20th century, it was a colonial prison for Vietnamese dissidents long before becoming the one of the ”premier" gulags for captured American flyers during the Vietnam War.  It became, in the American mind, synonymous with torture, starvation, inhuman treatment and the most gruesome living...and dying conditions. Recent visitors to the remains of the old prison, now a tourist attraction, reported finding an old, French-style guillotine still on display. There is no way of knowing how many of its "guests" never checked out. But a quarter-of-a-century later, just the mention of that nightmarish compound, with glass-embedded mortar in the top of its walls, still evokes painful memories among veterans.

      That was then. This is business. Now that Vietnam is again open to Americans and other westerners, corporate types have seen the potential to turn a handy profit. Not that I have anything against enjoying a healthy return on investment, but some things should never be--if for no other reason, out of simple respect.  In a mind-numbing display of avarice and insensitivity, a large portion of that formidable prison, in which countless Americans, and Vietnamese before them, suffered and died,  was recently demolished--to make way for a new $62 million, 5-star hotel,  complete with marble bathrooms with telephones beside the toilets,  fitness facilities, a state-of-the-art business center,  grand ballroom,  fine dining and entertainment.

    You guessed it. It is a Hilton--the Hanoi Hilton Opera, to be precise. The new, 269-room establishment is a joint venture between Hilton International, Ltd., Vivendi of France and Vietnamese state-owned partner Dong Loi Tourism Company. Of course, Hilton is unapologetic about its grand inn, noting new spirit of friendship between the U.S. and Vietnam.  A pre-emptive news release stated the prison's nickname was coined by U.S. servicemen in an attempt to picture home comforts during a time of hardship.  In the end, Hilton did make one concession, though. The new hotel was constructed next to the Hanoi Opera, a short distance away, rather than on the actual site of the old prison as plans originally dictated. Instead, an upscale high-rise owned by a Singapore businessman filled the spot.

    I hope they're both haunted.