War sites in Pleiku: prison, museum and Plei Me

Pleiku Prison (Nhà lao Pleiku)

The French built the prison in 1925 to hold ordinary convicts, mostly from ethnic minorities, and rebuilt it more solidly in 1941. Later it also held political prisoners, under the French and then under the Americans, before 1975. At the end of 1956 it passed to the southern government and stayed in use. On the afternoon of 15 March 1975 the political prisoners rose up and left the prison. It became a national historic site on 12 December 1994, and today the Diên Hồng ward authorities look after it as a place where students learn local history.

Two events explain why it was kept. During the 1968 Tết offensive, political prisoners broke out but 46 were shot dead; afterwards the prison held up to 800 political prisoners. Youth and party groups have also come here to meet former prisoners and hear their stories, so this is a good stop if you are with students or older relatives who want the history told.

What you see today are the remains: the main cell block of five rooms. Rooms 1 and 2 held political prisoners and room 3 held ordinary convicts, while room 4 held convicts and army deserters. Room 5 was for the political prisoners considered most dangerous; it is 50 m2 with 2 rows of 8 cells, each with a wooden platform 1.6 m wide and 2 m long, and 2 of the cells are only about 0.5 m wide. In the grounds there is a memorial stele, a well used by the prisoners and a recreated scene of forced labour. It is open to Vietnamese and foreign visitors alike.

The prison is on Thống Nhất street, Diên Hồng ward, which a phone map lists as 64 Hùng Vương. Same place. If the pin points you wrong, search “Di tích lịch sử Nhà lao Pleiku” and look for the spot about 300 m south of the Gia Lai Provincial Post Office.

Pleiku Museum (Bảo tàng Pleiku)

Pleiku Museum (the Gia Lai Provincial Museum) is at 21 Trần Hưng Đạo, Pleiku ward. It is closed on Mondays and opens from 7:30 am on other days.

The history side is mostly rotating exhibitions. One covers the first ten years after reunification, 1976 to 1986, with more than 220 photos, documents and objects. Another show, with more than 150 photos, documents and objects in 4 parts, ran from 25 August to 25 September 2026. Because exhibitions change, what you see depends on the day, so do not come for one specific show.

Plei Me and Ia Drăng

The Plei Me campaign ran for 38 days and nights in 1965, in two battles: at the Plei Me camp and in the Ia Drăng valley. The camp was set up by US Special Forces and attacked first on Chư Ho hill; Ia Drăng, south-west of Pleiku, was one of the first big battles between US and South Vietnamese forces and the South Vietnamese National Liberation Army. Each side claimed victory, so reading material from both sides you will find the same battle told with two different endings. The table below has the dates.

Today the Plei Me victory site, in Tân Thủy hamlet, Ia Pia commune, has been a national monument since 2009. The monument was once placed in Ia Ga commune in the old Chư Prông district, with an area of about 11.5 ha that has been marked out. The Ia Drăng battlefield was listed as a provincial historic site in 2024. In the valley now you will see coffee hills and pepper gardens. On 18 November 2025 Ia Pia commune held a flower and incense ceremony for the 60th anniversary of the Plei Me victory.

For veterans and their families it carries more meaning: in October 1993, Lieutenant General Harold G. Moore, who had commanded a battalion of the US 1st Cavalry Division, met General Nguyễn Hữu An, who led the Plei Me campaign, when he came back to the old battlefield. It is still a place where veterans and later generations from both sides come to remember and reconcile.

A cultural-historic route links Bàu Cạn commune, Bak 1 hamlet, strongpoint 771, the Plei Me site and the Ia Drăng valley. Treat the whole route as one long day out of town rather than a quick stop.

The campaign by date

The two sides remember the same campaign with different details. Rows marked “Vietnamese account” follow Vietnamese newspapers; the row marked “English-language sources” follows outside material.

What you will find at Plei Me today

Go expecting an open-air memorial rather than a site with an exhibition hall. The Plei Me area covers about 11.5 ha and is marked out, but it has no detailed plan, and visitors mostly come on their own or with a few small groups. Before you go, ask the Ia Pia commune office (Tân Thủy hamlet) about the entrance and whether someone looks after the site.

The Ia Drăng valley now belongs to Ia Púch commune, while the Plei Me site is in Ia Pia commune; they are different communes, so check your destination on the map. For the 60th anniversary, the province also held a scientific seminar, “60 years of the Plei Me campaign victory”, on 18 and 19 November 2025.