The Vietnam War was not America’s finest hour. After years of harrowing warfare, the conflict finally ended in 1975 with the Fall of Saigon, where the US-allied South Vietnamese government surrendered to Communist North Vietnamese forces. This was preceded by hasty efforts where the United States attempted to evacuate all American personnel along with Vietnamese refugees from the city.
Though the government probably wishes we could paper over and forget many aspects of the Vietnam War, it’s important to learn and remember our history, even the darker or worse aspects of it. Check out these photos remembering the United States historic loss of the Vietnam War, and the event that ended the conflict once and for all.
1
Victorious North Vietnamese troops ride a tank through the streets of Saigon, April 30, 1975
2
South Vietnam President Duong Van Minh after surrendering to North Vietnam forces, May 1st, 1975
3
President Gerald Ford, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller discuss the evacuation of Saigon at the White House, April 28, 1975
4
South Vietnamese troops board a ship to be evacuated, April 1, 1975
5
An American holds a flag pole on a barge carrying American and Vietnamese refugees, April 30, 1975
6
A South Vietnamese tank in the area northwest of Saigon, 1975
7
Americans and Vietnamese running to a helicopter to be evacuated, April 29th, 1975
8
The USS Enterprise loaded with helicopters and planes evacuated from Saigon as part of Operation Frequent Wind, April 1975
9
South Vietnamese civilians scaling the wall around the US Embassy, trying to reach evacuation helicopters, April 29, 1975
10
Orphans looking out the window of a plane flying them to the United States as part of Operation Babylift, April 1975
11
A CIA officer helps personnel evacuate Saigon as part of Operation Frequent Wind, April 29th, 1975
12
South Vietnamese troops and American newscasters run for cover as a mortar round explodes on a bridge, April 28, 1975
13
A Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) enters the Presidential Palace grounds on May 1st, 1975
14
South Vietnamese family being evacuated as part of Operation Frequent Wind, April 29, 1975
15
The devastation of Saigon, 1975
16
North Vietnamese troops ride by on a tank as defeated South Vietnamese troops take off their uniforms. April 30th, 1975.
17
A US Marine provides security to the Defense Attaché Office compound as helicopters land, April 29th, 1975
18
North Vietnamese troops outside Independence Palace in Saigon on April 30, 1975, after the South Vietnamese government surrendered
19
Vietnamese refugees on a US Navy ship as part of Operation Frequent Wind, an operation where American and Vietnamese citizens were evacuated from Saigon on April 29th, 1975, the day before the fall of Saigon
