~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

Year :      [2005]      [2004]      [2003]      [2002]      [2001]      [2000]      [1999]      [1998]      [1997]

Parade marks Vietnam War commemorations

HANOI - Soldiers and elephants paraded in the Central Highlands town of Buon Ma Thuot on Thursday in the first of several commemorations marking the victory of communist forces 30 years ago in the Vietnam War. With the bust of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh behind him, Truong Quang Duoc, a Politburo member and vice chairman of the National Assembly, said the March 10, 1975, battle for the town was the start of the end for U.S.-backed South Vietnam.

"This victory created a sudden change in the strategy that opened a direct opportunity for our army and people to advance forward for the complete liberation of the south and reunification of the country," he said. The quick capture of Buon Ma Thuot was the first major victory for North Vietnamese troops as they made their final push down the country's coastline in the spring of 1975. The Communist Party's official mouthpiece, the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, quoted Sr. Lt. Gen Hoang Minh Thao, former commander of the Central Highlands campaign, as saying the attack on Buon Ma Thuot surprised the U.S. military and its Saigon allies.

"We selected Buon Ma Thuot, because the enemy did not pay much attention (to this town) and thought that we could not have the ability to move our troops there," he said. It set the stage for a series of rapid advances that claimed Hue on March 26 and Danang on March 29, leading up to the fall of the South Vietnamese capital Saigon - now known as Ho Chi Minh City - just over seven weeks later on April 30. That formally ended the Vietnam War - known here as "The American War" - and reunified the country. The bloody decade-long conflict claimed the lives of some 58,000 American troops and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians.

On Thursday, a rumbling procession of 30 elephants - to mark the 30 years - made their way through the city's center, passing elderly military veterans in uniform. Parades will also be held in Hue, Danang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh city.

The associated Press - March 10, 2005