Fall of Saigon: How the Vietnam War Ended in 1975

The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, ended the Vietnam War and unified Vietnam under Communist rule. After the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, US forces withdrew under Nixon's Vietnamization policy, leaving South Vietnam vulnerable. In 1975, North Vietnam launched the Ho Chi Minh campaign, capturing Ban Me Thuot, Da Nang, and Hue. President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigned on April 21, succeeded by Trần Văn Hương. The US launched Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history, airlifting about 7,000 people from Tan Son Nhut Air Base and the US Embassy to Navy ships. On April 30, North Vietnamese tanks entered Saigon, breached the Presidential Palace, and forced Acting President Dương Văn Minh to surrender. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. The event marked a US defeat and Cold War humiliation, while in Vietnam it is commemorated as Reunification Day on April 30.