Politics
50 years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam tweaks the story of its victory
HO CHI MINH CITY — Military officers stoop to inspect slim green cannons along the Saigon River. Construction equipment whines as workers erect towering bleachers in a downtown park. Fighter jets and helicopters roar above the city in practice drills.
For weeks, Vietnam has been preparing this city for the anniversary of a defining moment in the nation’s history: On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces stormed the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the governing seat of the Republic of Vietnam, just days after U.S. troops had withdrawn. The victory of the communist regime over the U.S. allied armies in the south in effect ended a costly, three-decade conflict and unified the country.
Fifty years later, Vietnam is celebrating April 30 like never before. But amid the fanfare of parades, fireworks and airshows, a long-standing debate over what to call the holiday continues, a subtle acknowledgment of the lingering scars of a contentious war.
Victorious North Vietnamese troops take up positions outside Independence Palace in Saigon on April 30, 1975.
(Yves Billy / Associated Press)
The official designation is “The Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day,” but it’s known by many other names. Vietnamese who are aligned with the ruling communist party here often refer to it as Liberation Day or Victory Day, while those who resettled in the U.S. still use terms such as Black April or National Day of Resentment. Many Vietnamese in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City — as Saigon is known today — say they simply refer to it as April 30.
In the run-up to the 50th anniversary under General Secretary To Lam, who assumed party leadership in August, academics say that state media and government have embraced the shorthand “Reunification Day.”
“It has been a divisive issue for Vietnamese within Vietnam, and also between the government of Vietnam and the diaspora,” said Tuong Vu, a professor of political science at the University of Oregon and founding director of its U.S.-Vietnam Research Center. “But this year, they have talked a bit more about national reconciliation and unification.”
Throughout history, different names have often been given to the same wars and holidays, depending on who is framing the conflict. Here the Vietnam War is referred to as the American War, or the Resistance War Against America.
The Hien Luong Bridge, located within the Demilitarized Zone in Quang Tri province, is a symbol of the Vietnam War.
(Magdalena Chodownik / Getty Images)
The American Civil War was sometimes referred in the South as the War Between the States, and, later, the War of Northern Aggression. The 1973 Arab-Israeli War is also known as the Yom Kippur War and the October War, among other names.
Academics suggest that, for Vietnam, using the more neutral name of Reunification Day could help bridge a gap with the generations of Vietnamese who grew up abroad.
“It does show an effort to reach out to the other side, and that’s what many people have been advising the government,” Vu said. “If you want to take advantage of the strength of the diaspora, then you have to tone down your rhetoric.”
In February, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said the holiday should be considered a day of peace.
“It must be affirmed that it was a war of national defense, not about winning or losing. On the day peace came, there were mixed emotions — some felt joy; others sorrow. But after 50 years, personal sorrow needs to merge with the joy of the nation,” he said, according to Vietnamese media.
Vietnam’s determination to navigate a changing geopolitical landscape — with a flexible approach known as “bamboo diplomacy” — has also influenced the language its leaders use to describe the past.
For example, Vu said official statements now have fewer references to a “puppet government” in what was formerly South Vietnam, a term used to delegitimize its former adversary and denounce America’s involvement in the war. He added this shift was probably made in the hope of improving cooperation with the U.S. and to strengthen Vietnam’s territorial claims to several islands in the South China Sea.
The country has benefited from maintaining strong bilateral ties to both China and the U.S., its two largest trading partners, even as the rivalry between the two superpowers has intensified.
A gardener waters flowers outside the newly rebuilt Kien Trung Palace within the Imperial City of Hue.
(David Rising / Associated Press)
“They just kind of worked to build relationships with everybody and become a bigger player because of their economic development,” said Scot Marciel, a former ambassador based in Vietnam when it resumed diplomatic relations with the U.S. in 1995. “The business community has tended to view Vietnam as really a rising star in the region. It’s been a very steady, very pragmatic approach.”
The Trump administration may be taking action that could dim that star. Earlier this month, President Trump proposed a 46% tariff on U.S. imports from Vietnam, which could stall the country’s manufacturing and economic growth. Various news outlets have reported that Trump has also told senior diplomats in Vietnam not to attend the April 30 festivities.
Vietnam also invited military personnel from China, Cambodia and Laos to participate in its holiday parade.
“Vietnam prioritizes its relationship with regional and ideological allies as much as this strategic partnership with the U.S.,” said An Nguyen, a historian and lecturer at the University of Maine. “Maintaining that balance, I think, is becoming much harder in today’s context.
Hai Nguyen Hong, a senior lecturer of politics and international relations at Vin University in Hanoi, said he’s noticed the use of terms such as Liberation Day and Anti-American War has decreased over the past three-plus years. That shift, he said, can go a long way in changing perceptions in Vietnam and promoting national harmony.
“The day itself is a historical day. You can’t change it,” Hong said. “What you can change, and what you can see and observe change, is the mood and the attitude of the Vietnamese people.”
Vietnamese media and online discourse are tightly controlled, and there are no national surveys that include uncensored opinions about the government. But ahead of the high-profile commemoration on Wednesday, reactions to the celebration on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City ranged from enthusiasm to ambivalence.
Tran Thi Loan Anh, 27, and Phan Minh Quan, 26, in Ho Chi Minh City, said they will camp out in the early morning of the parade on Wednesday to get a good view of the 50th anniversary celebration.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
Tran Thi Loan Anh, a 27-year-old tax advisor, said that she and her friends plan to camp out downtown at 3 a.m. the day of the parade, in order to secure a front-row view.
“I’ve been impressed by how the government has organized events that foster patriotism and national pride,” she said. “I’m especially struck by how music is used — traditional songs about the nation performed in such powerful, stirring ways.”
Pham Phu Quy, a driver and deliveryman, was a teenager in Saigon in 1975, with a father who worked for the South Vietnamese government, and a mother who worked for the northern army. Today, the 69-year-old said, Vietnam provides a freedom that differs from his childhood experiences. During the war, soldiers and checkpoints kept him from traveling. Now he rides his motorbike all around the country, taking selfies and photos along the way.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but this is a good enough life for me. Of course, debates between the two sides still continue to this day,” he said. “I just feel that if the country hadn’t been reunified — if the war had continued — everything would still be incredibly difficult.”
Pham Thao Anh, 75, is used to spending the national holiday in the capital of Hanoi where she grew up. But this year, she plans to fly to Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate.
“I remember that some of the soldiers that drove the tank into the Independence Palace that day were from my hometown,” the retired hospital worker said. “So this day has very special meaning to me.”
Le Anh Dung, 23, right, grew up hearing stories about the war from his grandfather and says he watches the April 30 celebration on television every year. His grandfather, Nguyen Van Them, 73, will travel to Ho Chi Minh City with other retired military officials to attend the 50th anniversary commemoration this year.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
Nguyen Thuy Vy, a 32-year-old translator, said her generation generally has less attachment to the April 30 anniversary than other holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas or Lunar New Year. “Young people I think nowadays are busy with work, and they don’t care about this traditional holiday,” she said.
But Le Anh Dung, a 23-year-old graphic designer in Hanoi, grew up hearing stories about the war from his grandfather, a former military officer who was working in North Vietnam’s artillery unit the day Saigon fell. Reading about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have made him more appreciative of peace at home, he said, adding, “I feel so lucky that I don’t have to endure the smell of gunpowder or crawl into a bunker once in a while, like previous generations did.”
His grandfather, Nguyen Van Them, 73, said watching the celebrations on television helped his grandchildren understand what previous generations sacrificed for them. He believes that tweaking the holiday’s name makes it more meaningful.
“‘Liberation of the South’ is not quite right, because it only mentions one half. But the other half also looks forward to the country’s liberation, unity, harmony and oneness,” Nguyen said.
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Jan. 6 Rioter Hired by Pentagon
Elias Irizarry, who pleaded guilty to climbing through a broken window at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, now works for an office responsible for uncovering and defending against terrorism plots at the Pentagon.
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“Full pardon or commutation?” “Full pardon.”
By Alisa Shodiyev Kaff
June 4, 2026
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Democrats splintered over a resolution seeking to block the U.S. from assisting Israel’s war against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, on Thursday.
The measure, offered by progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., would require President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Lebanon. For months, Israel and Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group and Iranian proxy, have been at war in southern Lebanon, but the United States has not joined the conflict.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., rejected the measure. Critics argued the resolution could aid Hezbollah and potentially hamstring U.S. military operations in the country.
Tlaib’s resolution failed 92-324, with more than half of House Democrats joining nearly all Republicans to vote it down.
The Lebanon war powers resolution divided Democrats, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joining Republicans in rejecting the measure. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg)
REP RASHIDA TLAIB MOVES TO BLOCK US OPERATIONS IN LEBANON BUT IGNORES HEZBOLLAH
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., an Israel critic, was the lone Republican to support Tlaib’s measure. Meanwhile, Reps. Derek Tran, D-Calif., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., voted present.
House Democratic leaders said shortly before the vote they would oppose Tlaib’s resolution and work with the progressive lawmaker on a narrower measure exempting some U.S. military operations in the country. Their statement also denounced Hezbollah as a “violent terrorist organization” and a “sworn enemy of the United States.”
Tlaib, who has accused Israel of committing “ethnic cleansing” in Lebanon, did not mention Hezbollah in her resolution. She and other proponents of the measure also avoided discussing the Iranian proxy force during heated floor debate over the measure.
Republicans highlighted the omission and accused the legislation’s supporters of serving as “proxies for Hezbollah.”
“Apparently they don’t want to see Israel killing Hezbollah, even though it’s Hezbollah that is killing Israeli children, Israeli adults, Israeli elders,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said Wednesday, referring to his Democratic colleagues.
Tlaib asserted that her resolution would only affect U.S. forces actively engaged in hostilities. Republicans, however, disputed that claim and suggested it would hurt U.S. efforts to counter Hezbollah.
“It doesn’t say anything about [whether] you can keep the Marines that are in the embassy,” Mast said, referring to the U.S. embassy in Beirut. “That’s a pretty big oversight. It doesn’t say anything about whether we can keep United States armed forces that are training missions with the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces]. Again, pretty big oversight.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, attempted to bar U.S. forces from joining Israel’s war in Lebanon. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg)
RASHIDA TLAIB HIT WITH HOUSE CENSURE THREAT, ACCUSED OF ‘CELEBRATING TERRORISM’ IN PRO-PALESTINIAN SPEECH
The debate turned personal when Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, linked Tlaib to Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization … and its members are butchers that you like to hang out with to a certain extent,” the Ohio lawmaker said, referring to Tlaib.
A shouting match between the two then broke out, with Tlaib demanding that Miller’s remarks be stricken from the record.
The presiding chair ultimately complied with her request, but Miller doubled down on his remarks.
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“Yes, I said it. I own it, and I stand by it,” Mast said on behalf of Miller on the floor.
Tlaib’s failed war powers resolution comes as Iran has sought to tie Israel’s invasion of Lebanon to its ceasefire negotiations with the United States.
Hezbollah, which has long helped Iran project power in the region, rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s government Thursday.
WASHINGTON — Initial efforts in the Senate failed Thursday to block the $1.8-billion fund that the Trump administration has sought to establish to pay people who claim the government wronged them, though further attempts were likely to come Thursday afternoon.
Republicans narrowly voted down a Democratic amendment to ban the payout fund and then Democrats killed a Republican amendment, which would have prohibited the use of federal money for the fund but would have sent $1.7 billion to the Justice Department’s fraud division.
It was the second effort in Congress to rebuke President Trump in two days, following the House vote Wednesday to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran.
The dueling amendments were proposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). They were attached to the reconciliation bill that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, a high priority for Republicans.
The votes came as the Senate began a “vote-a-rama,” during which lawmakers were expected to propose a stream of amendments to the immigration bill on various topics.
The Trump administration’s plan for the payment fund — widely seen as a way for Trump to compensate his political allies, including those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — set off particular ire from some GOP lawmakers.
The plan has fueled growing unrest within parts of Trump’s party over his governance, compounded by the president’s endorsement of primary challengers to Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), as well as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), which angered some Republican senators.
Cassidy, who lost his primary and has since voiced strong opposition to Trump’s $1.8-billion fund, became a key player in the Thursday votes, voting down Schumer’s amendment but supporting Tillis’.
On Wednesday, Cassidy joined with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to argue in a court filing that the $1.8-billion fund circumvents Congress’ authority and violates the Constitution’s spending and appropriations clauses.
“It is an unconstitutional attempt to spend the People’s money without Congressional approval,” Cassidy and Booker wrote in an amicus brief filed in the federal court case challenging the fund.
The fund was created by the Justice Department to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Trump and his sons agreed to drop their personal lawsuit against the government in exchange for the creation of the $1.776-billion fund. Critics immediately questioned the plan, and it drew a rare backlash from Republicans.
In late May, GOP senators derailed plans to vote on the immigration bill over their displeasure with the payout fund and with Trump’s desire to use taxpayer funds for his planned White House ballroom. Senate Republicans removed the ballroom funding from the immigration package Wednesday, another setback for Trump.
The Trump administration sought to back away from its plans for the fund this week, following bipartisan outcry and a federal court ruling that temporarily blocked any payouts from the fund. Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche said Tuesday the administration would end its plans to move ahead with the concept.
But Trump on Wednesday told reporters he didn’t know whether the fund was dead, calling it “a beautiful thing.”
After Schumer proposed the first amendment to ban the fund Thursday morning, the Senate came to a standstill as three key Republican senators deliberated. Schumer framed his effort to ban the fund Thursday as a way to force a referendum on Trump’s plan.
The amendment “offers Republicans a choice: Do you support Donald Trump’s $2 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund, or do you want to protect the American people and their paychecks?” Schumer said on the Senate floor before the vote.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) urged Republicans to reject the amendment, saying Democrats were planning to “play so many games” on Thursday during the marathon session.
“We are going to fund immigration enforcement and border patrol, and I urge my Republican colleagues to stay united on that singular mission,” Moreno said.
The amendment failed after Cassidy voted against it. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska voted in favor.
Schumer’s amendment was uniformly supported by Democrats, including California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.
Tillis, who also voted against Schumer’s amendment, immediately proposed his amendment. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) urged Democrats to oppose it, saying that the proposal would create “a new slush fund” by giving the money to the Justice Department.
“We heard over the last 48 hours that the acting attorney general said that this fund’s not moving forward. All this amendment does is codify what I believe the policy of the DOJ is,” Tillis said on the floor before voting began on his amendment. “This [fund] is unpopular, this administration has said they’re not moving forward with it; this is an opportunity for us to put it to bed.”
Responded Merkley: “Taking one slush fund and eliminating it and then creating a new slush fund still under control of the attorney general is not the way to go. The way to go is to get rid of these slush funds altogether.”
Trump has faced a recent string of failures, including the House vote Wednesday, a court ruling to remove his name from the Kennedy Center and a record-low approval rating among Americans as concern rises about economic issues, gas prices and Trump’s war with Iran.
On Wednesday, Trump lashed out against the four Republicans who backed the House war powers resolution, calling it “an unpatriotic thing” to do and calling the vote “meaningless.”
“They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves. MAGA!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote.
Times staff writer Ana Ceballos, in Washington, contributed to this report.
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