Overview

• April 30, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, symbolizing the end of the Vietnam War and the unification of the country under communist rule.
• Vietnam’s commemorative events highlight reconciliation and national unity, moving away from past narratives of military triumph.
• The Vietnam War resulted in immense human and environmental costs, including at least three million Vietnamese deaths and long-term damage from Agent Orange.
• The U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam followed the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, signed by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, which ended direct American military involvement.
• Vietnam’s evolving relationships with the U.S. and China are central to its current strategy, as it manages trade challenges and regional dynamics in the Indo-Pacific.