The day the Vietnam War ended

Thirty years ago on Saturday, the Communist armies of North Vietnam captured the city of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War. BBC Vietnamese reporters have spoken to some of the key figures involved in the final battle.

At 10:45am on 30 April 1975, two communist tanks crashed though the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon.

Soon after, soldiers climbed on top of the palace to plant a red and blue flag with the yellow star of the Revolutionary Forces of North Vietnam.

But then nothing happened for several hours.

The conquering soldiers were left walking up and down the palace's corridors and stairs, or resting by their tanks in the front yard.
BBC

The marking of the end of the Vietnam war a passed quitly I guess no one wants to remember a defeat. I think the biggest mistake in Vietnam was committing large numbers of US and allied troops. US and allied troops should have stayed in there orginal roles as advisors. The outcome wouldnt have changed but alot of lives would have been saved.

I often wonder how the American military leaders failed to learn anything about jungle warfare from there WW2 battles but given that jungle warfare wasnt one of Americas strenghts in WW2 I guess they couldnt gain anything from past experiances.

The Vietnam War was a tragedy for all involved.

Nevertheless, the war was lost not in Vietnam but on the streets in American cities, the politicians fearing they would be voted out of office capitulated and pulled the plug on the war.

The real losers were the South Vietnamese people who were abandoned by America and left to be slaughterer by the Communist once America turned tail and ran.

Millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians paid the price with their lives when Americans left that part of the world.

Another thing about that war that was swept under the carpet was the fact that many American casualties were carried out against Americans by Americans----When Martin Luther King was assassinated revenge was taken out on the battlefield.

The military fearing a melt down of military discipline spent more time and energy keeping Americans from killing themselves than they did fighting the Communist.

The news media (and they were all over the place) failed to report those stories because racial tensions were already to hot back in the states, and those stories would have been like pouring gasoline into the fire.

We didn't lose that war, we handed it to the Communist on a silver platter because of our racial problems, and the Communist sympathizer in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Nevertheless, the war was lost not in Vietnam but on the streets in American cities, the politicians fearing they would be voted out of office capitulated and pulled the plug on the war.

Your overlooking the fact that the South Vietnam government was corrupt and alot of American aid ended up in the hands of the VC.

The real losers were the South Vietnamese people who were abandoned by America and left to be slaughterer by the Communist once America turned tail and ran.

Not entirely true perhaps America and its allies left South Vietnam to quickly in other words South Vietnam went from massive american involement to suddenly taking responablity for defending South Vietnam.

Millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians paid the price with their lives when Americans left that part of the world.

Very true but one could argue that America and its allies shouldnt have been there in the first place I think Ike had the right idea use "advisors" to train South Vietnams sercuity forces.

We didn't lose that war, we handed it to the Communist on a silver platter because of our racial problems, and the Communist sympathizer in the US, Canada, and Europe.

I wouldnt call oppents of the war Communist sympathizers its ashame that that american GIs didnt take lessons in jungle warfare from there aussie counterparts. Vietnam proved that you cant fight a "limted" war and win the Korean war also proved this point.