BHG - The Vietnamese people have gone through thousands of years of history of building and defending the country. In particular, in the 20th century, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, our people rose up and waged a resistance war against American imperialism to save the country. Uncle Ho said: “The South is the blood of Vietnamese blood, the flesh of Vietnamese flesh. Rivers may dry up, mountains may erode, but that truth will never change”. Millions of the nation's outstanding children have “Cut through Truong Son to save the country/With hearts filled with hope for the future”…

After 21 years of service (1954 - 1975), wives saw off their husbands, children saw off their fathers, and younger siblings saw off their older brothers to go to the South to fight the enemy. Then on April 30, 1975, our country "Fought to drive out the Americans, fought to overthrow the puppet regime", the day the country was unified, the North and the South were one, so many expectations, so many dreams, so much happiness came true. But our nation had so many children who heroically sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, many wives lost their husbands, children lost their fathers, and younger siblings lost their older brothers.

Our beloved Fatherland has thousands, tens of thousands of families whose members sacrificed for the cause of national liberation, bringing independence, freedom, and peace to the nation.… Many heroic Vietnamese mothers lost their husbands, even their only sons, to liberate the nation. And how many, how many losses and pains caused by war that perhaps nothing can heal… To have flowers, we must shed blood. The blood of comrades, compatriots, teammates, brothers, and every family of Vietnam for the great cause of independence, freedom, and peace.

My friend was an anti-American soldier who went before me. During the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, he was in the 3rd Army Corps, one of the 5 wings of the Liberation Army that simultaneously entered Saigon. We met on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the April 30 victory. He told me that on April 29, 1975, in the midst of our army's stormy advance into Saigon, from the aircraft carriers of the 7th Fleet offshore, the US Marines used helicopters to evacuate foreigners and some Vietnamese who had worked closely with them... The evacuation took place in panic, because many people wanted to go but could not accommodate all of them.

On April 30, 1975, the fateful day of the Saigon puppet government, exactly 3 hours after the last American helicopter left the roof of the American Embassy, ​​the Southern Liberation Army rushed into the center of Saigon. At noon on April 30, the liberation army tank numbered 843 crashed into the side gate of the Independence Palace and got stuck there. Bui Quang Than, the company commander, commanding tank 843, jumped out of the vehicle, holding the liberation flag and ran in. The liberation army tank 390 under the command of Vu Dang Toan crashed into the main gate of the Independence Palace. At 11:30 on April 30, 1975, Lieutenant Bui Quang Than lowered the flag of the Republic of Vietnam on the roof of the Independence Palace; and raised the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. At the same time, Captain Pham Xuan The, Deputy Commander of Regiment 66, along with the 2nd Corps and Saigon Special Forces, entered the Independence Palace, forcing the last President of the Republic of Vietnam, Duong Van Minh, and the entire puppet government cabinet to surrender. Saigon was liberated without the "bloodbath" as the puppet government had previously claimed.

The great victory of our nation's resistance war against the US to save the country, ending with the Ho Chi Minh campaign, was the result of a series of factors: the leadership of the Party, with Ho Chi Minh's ideology as the guiding light, with correct political and military lines, creativity, independence and autonomy; and the strength of the four thousand year tradition of national history. April 30, 1975 has entered the history of the nation as the most brilliant milestone, bringing our country into a new era, the era of national independence and socialism.

Foreign press also made many comments on the victory on April 30, emphasizing: "Vietnam is resilient and heroic". The New York Times also commented that Vietnam's victory on April 30 "was a historic day for the world". The Chicago Tribune (USA) published on April 30, 1975 wrote: "Tanks and jeeps entered the Presidential Palace and were welcomed by cheering crowds. People rushed out into the streets to wave at the troops in green uniforms. Vietnamese soldiers smiled and waved back".

Our country today, after 50 years, has changed dramatically, the new life of the people is increasingly prosperous and happy. Today, Vietnam has gradually risen to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers. And we have been following Uncle Ho's teachings: "... After defeating the American invaders, we will build a country more than ten days ago".

DANG QUANG VUONG

Source: https://baohagiang.vn/50-nam-giai-phong-mien-nam-thong-nhat-dat-nuoc/202504/ngay-ba-muoi-thang-tu-trong-toi-dd01aad/