Two petite women in protective gear walk slowly down an empty field in Vietnam, carrying a large metal detector that clicks and whirrs, searching for unexploded ordnance.

Medic and safety officer Nguyen Thi Ha Lan supervises her teammates, the “landmine girls” as they are known, preparing to detonate a cluster bomb left behind from the war with the United States that ended in 1975.

It is one of many underneath the soil in Quang Tri province, north-central Vietnam.

Once the team is ready to detonate, Ms Lan warns people to clear the area. A siren goes off and then an earth shattering boom.

Ms Lan is part of an all-woman explosive disposal team working under the project named NPA-RENEW (in full, Norwegian People’s Aid-Restoring the Environment and Neutralising the Effect of war), which helps to rehabilitate more than 60,000 hectares, or 150,000 acres, of agricultural land.

The secret army still fighting Vietnam war Show all 4 1 /4 The secret army still fighting Vietnam war The secret army still fighting Vietnam war 322802.bin KC Ortiz The secret army still fighting Vietnam war 322804.bin Cha Her, 46, a veteran who fought for the CIA during the vietnam war at a secret Hmong camp in the jungles of Laos. He says "I am a veteran. My military identification is 292973. I was a CIA soldier of America during the Vietnam War. America recruited us to fight the war in Laos. We fought the war for America for 15 years...In 1975 they started eliminating us, We are 100% soldiers of the CIA. They continue killing us to this day. All died to pay the price of America." KC Ortiz The secret army still fighting Vietnam war 322803.bin A Hmong woman shows off a scar where she was shot by Lao army during a raid. Almost every member of the group has scars and wounds from bullets or bombs. They are considered the lucky ones as many other Hmong have been less fortunate and have lost their lives to enemy fire. KC Ortiz The secret army still fighting Vietnam war 322801.bin Cong Pha Thao, 65, a veteran of the CIA's secret war in Laos, walks through the jungle. KC Ortiz

The area was one of the most heavily bombed of the war and the US Department of Defence estimates that 10 percent of the 80 million tons of munitions used by the US army in Vietnam failed to detonate on impact.

For Ms Lan, being part of the 16-member team has a special meaning.

At the age of 12, her mother Hoa lost both legs and an arm due to unexploded ordnance (UXO), while playing in her front yard.

She has spent most of her life in a wheelchair, but still raised two children. Lan’s younger brother works as a de-miner in another NPA-RENEW team.

Hoang Thi Hoa and her daughter Nguyen Thi Ha Lan, a member of all-female landmines clearance team at homein Quang Tri province 4 March 2020 REUTERS/Kham (Kham/Reuters)

“When I look at the kids playing in my front yard, it reminds me of my mother and I used to cry silently inside,” Ms Lan says.

“My job now enables me to have a stable life and the kids are able to play around me on Quang Tri soil and all over Vietnam too.”

In Quang Tri alone, there have been over 8,500 casualties from accidents involving UXO.

Nearly a third of the victims are children who mistake the round, tennis-ball sized cluster bombs for something to play with.

Explosive Ordnance teams such as Ms Lan’s have helped clear over 5,600 hectares (14,000 acres).

De-mining work is gruelling and dangerous. Working under the scorching sun and temperatures that can reach 42C means that skins tan no matter how much sunscreen they use.

“It is an honour to wear the uniform of the project everyday, so even if we aren’t able to wear make up or a beautiful dress like everyone else, we all feel proud from the bottom of our hearts,” says Ms Lan.

Ms Lan also appreciates the camaraderie that the landmine girls share, working in such dangerous conditions.

There are still many explosives to be cleared. In August 2018, more than 1,400 items were found in an underground cache. But Quang Tri had no accidents last year. The plan is to clear the province of unexploded ordnance by 2025.