Through the Lens: 50 years since the end of Vietnam War

Vietnam celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30. On that day in 1975, communist forces seized Saigon, as Ho Chi Minh City was then known, effectively ending the two-decade-long war between Hanoi and Washington. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese slept on the streets overnight in Ho Chi Minh City to watch the celebrations and greet the 13,000 soldiers and police, among others, who marched during the ceremony on April 30. (Photo by Kyodo)

Motorists ride around central Ho Chi Minh City, during a week of celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A woman stands by a captured U.S. Army helicopter at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City on April 27. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP)

A woman wears a conical hat decorated with Vietnamese flags in front of the Independence Palace in Ho Chi Minh City on April 29. (Photo by Hau Dinh/AP)

A couple poses for a photo as they tour the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28. (Photo by Thanh Hue/Getty Images)

Artist Tran Duy Truc, 82, gestures to posters he created to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Hanoi on April 29. (Photo by Phuong Nguyen/Reuters)

A Vietnamese barista pours a cup of coffee at a street market in the Cholon district of Ho Chi Minh City on April 29. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP)

A woman walks past posters commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28. (Photo by Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Jiji)

Students images are reflected in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington on April 30, the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

A young woman in traditional Vietnamese dress poses for a photo during national celebrations in Ho Chi Minh City on April 29. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP)

Participants wave flags as they march during a parade marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30. (Photo by Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Jiji)

A photo of the late Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh is seen following a parade in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP)

Vietnamese troops march during a parade in Ho Chi Minh city on April 30. (Photo by Minh Nguyen/Reuters) 

Vietnamese female police officers march during a parade in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30. (Photo byRichard Vogel/AP)

People take part in a parade in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30. The procession, which started along Le Duan Street and moved in four directions through the city, featured more than 13,000 participants, including military units, civilians, students and performers. (Photo by Thanh Hue/Getty Images)

A woman poses for photos with stickers on her face depicting the flags of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Jiji)

People watch a fireworks display in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Ho Chi Minh City is illuminated by fireworks on April 30. (Photo by Magdalena Chodownik/Getty Images)