Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, and the end of the Vietnam War, the nation marked the anniversary with a huge military parade on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to watch soldiers march in front of the Independence Palace on Wednesday morning, joined by leaders including President Luong Cuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
After decades of brutal conflict, the war between the North and South Vietnamese forces left the country devastated, with an estimated 3 million Vietnamese dead, the nation scarred by bombs and its economy in tatters. More than 58,000 US soldiers – who supported the South – were also killed.
The war ended as Communist North Vietnamese forces stormed Saigon, marking the defeat of South Vietnamese forces and forcing the last US officials to flee from the US embassy.
Delivering a speech at the event, general secretary of the Communist Party, To Lam, said: “After the end of the resistance war against French colonialism, like many peoples in the world, the Vietnamese people wished for a peaceful, independent and free life.”
“However, the US imperialists quickly replaced the French colonialists to intervene in Vietnam, carrying out the plot to divide our country, turning the South of our country into a new type of colony, an outpost to prevent communism in Southeast Asia.”
The day’s events included an aerial display featuring Yak-130 trainer jets, Su-30MK2 fighters and helicopters.
Around 13,000 personnel from the military, police, militia and mass organizations participated in the parade, along with troops from China, Laos and Cambodia. More than 100 Chinese soldiers marched alongside Vietnamese forces.
Vietnamese soldiers march during a parade marking the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day. Mark Edward Harris/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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