Thursday April 30 2009

marks the Vietnamese "Reunification Day", or "Liberation Day" (or also "The Fall of Saigon" - depending on which country you're in....as you can tell by the differences in length of wiki articles...) - it's a national holiday that marks the day when the National Liberation Front and the North Vietnamese Army captured (what was then) Saigon in 1975. It signaled the end of the Vietnam War (or "The Resistance War Against America", again depending on where you live)...and at the nearby American consulate, the last helicopters departed from the rooftop with the last US soldiers and citizens, and many people tried to get on the helicopters or send their babies onto them.

It's been 34 years.






A tank crashed through the gates of the (now called) Reunification Palace, where the barely 44 hour-old new President of South Vietnam gave up his power to the North Vietnamese Army. The story has been told that after the President said he was ready to give up power, a officer replied, "There is no question of turning over power - you cannot give up when you do not already have"...

The original tank that brought down the gates sits on the lawn of the Reunification Palace, as a reminder of the past. I can see it from the street but there is not a good camera view with all of the trees. I hope to tour the Palace in a few days and will report back, apparently much of the it is left as it was in 1975...

This was the start of the transition period toward unification of North and South Vietnam, which occurred July 2, 1976.

In HCMC, you can tell that something is definitely in the air. The streets were more frequently cleaned this week, and the road in front of the Reunification Palace was power washed with water. The national flag and the corresponding "hammer and sickle" flag (both in vibrant red and yellow colors) have also popped up on most major streets, stores, and even some cars.



There is a parade sometime this weekend, and I hope to attend. I think it will be an extraordinary display of military, power, and reflection. Although because I am in south Vietnam, many people here were originally not supportive of the communist government, maybe the celebrations will more subdued and related only to the parade and other public events...where as in the north, I'm sure the celebrations will be more intense and frequent.

In the US however, the celebrations are a bit different for the Vietnamese community, where my mom tells me they call it "Black Day"....

Okay that ends the history lesson! We have no school tomorrow because of the holiday and also Friday (International Labor Day), so it's going to be a fun extended weekend!