Thousands of Vietnamese gathered on Wednesday to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, a moment the country’s top leader hailed as a “victory of faith”.
The commemorations peaked with a grand military parade in Ho Chi Minh City, featuring thousands of uniformed troops, patriotic displays, and an air show showcasing Russian-made fighter jets and helicopters. Crowds waved red national flags and sang revolutionary songs as they honoured the milestone.
The date marks the capture of Saigon by Communist North Vietnamese forces on April 30, 1975, a decisive moment that signalled the collapse of the US-backed South and the beginning of the country’s reunification. Saigon was soon renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honour of the North’s revolutionary leader.
“It was a victory of faith,” declared Communist Party General Secretary To Lam during the anniversary address. He described the triumph as one of “justice over tyranny” and invoked a quote from Ho Chi Minh: “Vietnam is one, the Vietnamese people are one. Rivers may dry up, mountains may erode, but that truth will never change.”
The fall of Saigon occurred nearly two years after the withdrawal of the last US combat troops and marked the end of a brutal two-decade war that left an estimated three million Vietnamese and nearly 60,000 Americans dead, many of the latter conscripted into service.
According to a Reuters cable filed on the day Saigon fell, Communist troops entered the southern capital virtually unchallenged, bringing relief to civilians who had braced for a violent final battle. The report described the advancing forces as a mix of heavily armed soldiers in jungle fatigues and young, barefoot fighters.
The world watched in awe and despair as iconic images emerged of US helicopters evacuating around 7,000 people from rooftops in the city, including many South Vietnamese citizens. The final US helicopter lifted off from the roof of the American embassy at 7:53 a.m. on April 30, carrying the last Marines out of the country as North Vietnamese tanks approached.
Although the symbolic reunification occurred in 1975, the formal unification of Vietnam was completed the following year, 22 years after the country was first divided following the end of French colonial rule.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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