Huge parades in Ho Chi Minh City this spring marked the 50th anniversary of April 30, 1975, when a North Viet Namese army tank crashed through the iron gates of the U.S. Embassy in Sai Gon. The military took the lead in the parade, but it soon changed to beautiful peace floats, music, doves, flowers, and thousands of workers and children, along with colorful cultural costumes.
Our speaker, Nadya Williams, observed the celebrations and traveled throughout the country. She says, “Although Viet Nam is looking to the future, the past is always present …. During the so-called “Indochina War,” Viet Nam, along with Laos and Cambodia, received more explosive power than World War I and II combined. It remains the largest aerial bombardment in human history.” She will share what she learned from encounters with many people of Viet Nam’s transformation since the war’s end and the still long road ahead.
Freelance journalist Nadya Williams has been an active Associate Member of Veterans For Peace since 2003. She is on the board of the Viet Nam Chapter 160 of VFP and Director of Communication for the San Francisco Chapter 69.
