Vietnam celebrates 50 years since war’s end and focuses on peace

Vietnam celebrates 50 years of peace after the war with the U.S., emphasizing reconciliation and future peace.

Vietnam celebrated the end of the war with the United States and the formation of its modern nation 50 years ago Wednesday (April 30, 2025) with a military parade and a focus on a future of peace.

Thousands camped overnight on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City — once known as Saigon — to watch the parade, drinking strong black coffee and their faces painted with the Vietnamese flag. The parade included a float that carried the Lac Bird, Vietnam’s emblem, another carrying a portrait of Ho Chi Minh and finally one that represented 50 years of reunification between North and South Vietnam.

Chinese, Laotian and Cambodian troops marched behind Vietnamese army formations, including some wearing uniforms similar to what was worn by northern Vietnamese troops during the war. Helicopters carrying the national flag and jets flew over the parade near Independence Palace, where the war ended when a North Vietnamese tank smashed through its gates.

Sitting next to Vietnam’s leader were Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and Laotian Communist Party General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith.

Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary To Lam said the victory was a “glorious landmark,” ending a 30-year fight for independence and ending colonialism, and he gave credit to the former Soviet Union, China, Laos and Cambodia.

“We will have to respect the past and respect differences… we are desperate to build a future for peace, (and) do everything we can do so the future generation can have a better world,” he said.

The emphasis on reconciliation and not, like previous years, on military victory reflected how Vietnam was approaching the changing tides of the global economy and geopolitics today, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. He added that the Vietnam War remains central to how the Communist Party framed its legitimacy, not just as a military triumph but also as a symbol of national unity. But To Lam’s comments underlined that the reconciliation remains unfinished.