Vietnam re-enacts fall of Saigon to mark war milestone

[theempathogen]

Vietnam has marked 35 years since the end of its war by staging a re-enactment of the fall of the Saigon.

Thousands of troops marched through the streets of what is now officially called Ho Chi Minh City to mark the day the communist North claimed victory.

The full story here.

Wow... they just love to gloat over this, yes? I feel a bit sick

Comments

[monkeyvrobot]

I think Nga Pham is a bit biased in her depiction of the celebration. "Thousands of troops marched through the streets"? It was just a parade. The "troops" were outnumbered by students and dancers. Some people that watched it with me actually complained that there weren't enough professional military people in the parade (they thought all the amateur marchers looked sloppy and unorganized when they tried to do anything synchronized). They have been shifting the focus very heavily to their economy, but the article only briefly mentions that. This wasn't a Soviet-style parade. It reminded me more of some kind of Midwestern US parade with a strong agricultural theme. They didn't have a "Corn Queen" like Iowa, but they had a lot of floats based on the accomplishments of various industries and agricultural sectors. Instead of "check out our missiles", it was "check out our rice production and rubber exports".

[theempathogen]

Ha. Thanks, always good to have the perspective of someone who was actually there. I feel better now.