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    A look back at the fall of Saigon and the final days of the Vietnam War : The Picture Show : NPR

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    Vietnamese refugees evacuated by helicopter arrive on board the usMidway forward of the autumn of Saigon on April 29, 1975.

    Footage from Historical past/Common Pictures Group by way of Getty Pictures


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    Footage from Historical past/Common Pictures Group by way of Getty Pictures

    The Vietnam Battle got here to an finish on April 30, 1975, when North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The autumn of the town marked the top of the South Vietnamese authorities and a long time of battle.

    Within the days main as much as the town’s fall, tens of hundreds of South Vietnamese civilians desperately tried to flee, together with authorities officers, troopers and their households, who feared persecution underneath the incoming communist regime. Virtually all American civilian and army personnel have been evacuated from Saigon after practically 20 years of battle.

    Hundreds of individuals hoped to safe a spot on one of many final helicopters out, in what turned the most important helicopter evacuation in historical past. A few of the most unforgettable photos from these closing days embrace South Vietnamese troopers stripping off their uniforms to mix in with civilians, panicked crowds scaling the partitions of the U.S. Embassy, and Navy crews pushing helicopters off plane carriers into the ocean to make room for incoming flights carrying evacuees.

    See these highly effective scenes and others beneath:

    Victorious North Vietnamese troops on tanks take up positions outside Independence Palace in Saigon, April 30, 1975, the day the South Vietnamese government surrendered, ending the Vietnam War. Communist flags fly from the palace and the tank. (AP Photo/Yves Billy)

    Victorious North Vietnamese troops on tanks take up positions exterior Independence Palace in Saigon on April 30, 1975, the day the South Vietnamese authorities surrendered, ending the Vietnam Battle. Communist flags fly from the palace and the tank.

    Yves Billy/AP


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    Yves Billy/AP

    Defeated South Vietnam President Duong Van Minh (middle) walks out of Independence Palace after surrendering to PRG forces in Saigon on May 1, 1975. (AP Photo/Yves Billy)

    Defeated South Vietnam President Duong Van Minh (center) walks out of Independence Palace after surrendering to PRG forces in Saigon on Might 1, 1975.

    Yves Billy/AP


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    Yves Billy/AP

    As victorious North Vietnamese troops ride past on a tank, defeated South Vietnamese troops discard their uniforms in Saigon, April 30, 1975, the day the South Vietnamese capital fell to communist forces, ending the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Yves Billy)

    As victorious North Vietnamese troops experience previous on a tank, defeated South Vietnamese troops discard their uniforms in Saigon on April 30, 1975, the day the South Vietnamese capital fell to communist forces, ending the Vietnam Battle.

    Yves Billy/AP


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    Yves Billy/AP

    A South Vietnamese medic comforts a trooper wounded in the leg during a battle in Long An province southwest of Saigon on April 18, 1975. Fighting in the area, just north of the Mekong Delta, is on the increase.

    A South Vietnamese medic comforts a trooper wounded within the leg throughout a battle in Lengthy An province, southwest of Saigon, on April 18, 1975.

    Rocco/AP


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    Rocco/AP

    (Original Caption) The first rocket attack hit Saigon at 4:30, striking the town center and setting fire to 150 wooden houses. Fourteen died and over forty people were injured in the attacks. Inhabitants of Saigon wake up to the devastation of war, 21st April 1975. (Photo by © Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma/CORBIS/Sygma via Getty Images)

    The primary rocket assault hitting Saigon struck the city middle and set fireplace to 150 wood homes. Fourteen died and over 40 individuals have been injured within the assaults. Inhabitants of Saigon woke as much as the devastation of battle on April 21, 1975.

    Jacques Pavlovsky/CORBIS/Sygma by way of Getty Pictures


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    Jacques Pavlovsky/CORBIS/Sygma by way of Getty Pictures

    Desperate South Vietnamese refugees cling to vehicles along Highway 1 as they flee North Vietnamese troops advancing to capture Saigon a few days before the Fall of Saigon that signaled the end of the Vietnam War. (Photo by nik wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images)

    Determined South Vietnamese refugees cling to automobiles alongside Freeway 1 as they flee North Vietnamese troops advancing to seize Saigon just a few days earlier than the autumn of Saigon that signaled the top of the Vietnam Battle.

    Nik Wheeler/Corbis by way of Getty Pictures


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    Nik Wheeler/Corbis by way of Getty Pictures

    FILE - In this April 1975 file photo, orphans aboard the first "Operation Babylift" flight at the end of the Vietnam War look through the windows of World Airways DC-8 jet as it flies them to the United States. (AP Photo/File)

    Orphans aboard the primary “Operation Babylift” flight on the finish of the Vietnam Battle look by way of the home windows of a World Airways DC-8 jet because it flies them to america in April 1975.

    AP/AP


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    AP/AP

    FILE - In this April 29, 1975 file photo, a South Vietnamese mother and her three children are shown on the deck of an amphibious command ship being plucked out of Saigon by U.S. Marine helicopters in Vietnam. The war ended on April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, to communist troops from the north. (AP Photo/J.T. Walkerstorfer)

    A South Vietnamese mom and her three youngsters on the deck of an amphibious command ship being plucked out of Saigon by U.S. Marine helicopters on April 29, 1975.

    J.T. Walkerstorfer/AP


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    J.T. Walkerstorfer/AP

    Evacuees inside the US Embassy surround the swimming pool as helicopter rescues stranded civilians trying to escape North Vietnamese troops about to capture Saigon (Photo by nik wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images)

    Evacuees contained in the U.S. Embassy encompass the embassy’s swimming pool as a helicopter rescues stranded civilians making an attempt to flee North Vietnamese troops about to seize Saigon in April 1975.

    Nik Wheeler/Corbis by way of Getty Pictures


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    Nik Wheeler/Corbis by way of Getty Pictures

    Mobs of South Vietnamese civilians scale the 14-foot wall of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, April 29, 1975, trying to reach evacuation helicopters as the last Americans departed from Vietnam. (AP Photo)

    Mobs of South Vietnamese civilians scale the 14-foot wall across the U.S. Embassy in Saigon on April 29, 1975, making an attempt to achieve evacuation helicopters because the final Individuals departed from Vietnam.

    AP/AP


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    AP/AP

    FILE - In this April 30, 1975 file photo, South Vietnamese civilians try to scale the walls of the U.S. embassy in Saigon in an attempt to get aboard evacuation flights. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich, File)

    South Vietnamese civilians attempt to scale the partitions of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon in an try and get aboard evacuation flights on April 30, 1975.

    Neal Ulevich/AP


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    Neal Ulevich/AP

    A CIA employee (probably O.B. Harnage) helps Vietnamese evacuees onto an Air America helicopter from the top of 22 Gia Long Street, a half mile from the U.S. Embassy.

    A CIA worker helps Vietnamese evacuees onto an Air America helicopter from the highest of twenty-two Gia Lengthy St., a half mile from the U.S. Embassy.

    Bettmann/Getty Pictures


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    Bettmann/Getty Pictures

    RECORD DATE NOT STATED Vietnam / USA: The US Navy carrier USS Enterprise loaded to the gunnels with helicopters and planes evacuated from Saigon, Operation Frequent Wind, April 1975 The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise CVAN-65 underway returning to the United States from a Western Pacific cruise that included the evacuation of Saigon.br/br/ The aircraft on her deck include U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, which were hitching a ride home on board the ship.br/br/ There are pilots and or crew sunbathing on the forward part of the flight deck. Copyright: xxPicturesxFromxHistoryxNo Use Switzerland. No Use Germany. No Use Japan. No Use Austria

    The U.S. Navy service USS Enterprise loaded to the gunnels with helicopters and planes evacuated from Saigon as part of Operation Frequent Wind in April 1975.

    IMAGO/CPA Media by way of Reuters


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    IMAGO/CPA Media by way of Reuters

    The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (also known as the Viet Cong) on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a Socialist Republic governed by the Communist Party. North Vietnamese forces under the command of the General Van Tien Dung began their final attack on Saigon, with South Vietnamese forces commanded by General Nguyen Van Toan, on April 29, suffering heavy artillery bombardment. By the afternoon of the next day, North Vietnamese troops had occupied the important points of the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. The South Vietnamese government capitulated shortly afterward. The city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, after the Democratic Republic's President Ho Chi Minh. The fall of the city was preceded by the evacuation of almost all the American civilian and military personnel in Saigon, along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians associated with the southern regime. The evacuation culminated in Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history. (Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    U.S. Navy personnel battle to push a military Huey helicopter off the deck of a U.S. Navy service to make room for extra refugee flights on April 29, 1975.

    Footage from Historical past/Common Pictures Group by way of Getty Pictures


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    Footage from Historical past/Common Pictures Group by way of Getty Pictures



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