The End of the Vietnam War
April 30, 1975
This is the date the war in Vietnam ended. The government in Saigon announced its unconditional surrender to North Vietnamese forces and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam.
President Duong Van Minh, who had been in office for just three days, asked his forces to lay down their arms and called on the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong to halt all hostilities.
The gates of the presidential palace were smashed by the North Vietnamese troops and the war came to an end. The looting over the previous 24 hours stopped, and power was restored that day. Only the United States embassy remained closed and silent, ransacked by looters. Saigon was immediately renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
The last evacuation of Americans was completed and the United States government felt humiliated with the chaos of the final hours. In December 1974 Congress had passed the Foreign Assistance Act, cutting off all military aid.
By the end of the involvement of the United States in Vietnam we had lost 58,119 killed, 153,303 wounded, and 1,948 MIA.
It is time the United States Vietnam War Veterans are thanked for their service, for their sacrifices. It is time they are treated with respect and appreciation.
It is time, 35 years later, to say Thank You to those veterans who fought in this war, this conflict.
It is time to welcome them home with open arms, something they never received upon their return from Vietnam.
