A parade of pride and peace: Vietnam marks 50th 'Reunification Day' with grand display
When we walked out of our hotel at four in the morning to make our way to the main stage of Vietnam's Reunification Day parade, we found the streets full of people who had slept out overnight to make sure they would get the best view of the procession.
I have never seen that level of enthusiasm and dedication for a national day event. A majority of them were also wearing red or had the country's flag painted on their face or a traditional Vietnamese cone hat.
When it began, just after 6.30am local time, the Grand parade, as it was billed in the local press, was packed with patriotism and Vietnamese character.
A troop of traditional drummers kicked off the affair, followed by a series of male and female singing duos.
But the most popular and impressive part of the show was the military parade.
Many of the military units which fought to secure victory on April 30 1975, took centre stage, putting on a practised performance for the crowds, drawing huge applause for their goosestep march.
This was the biggest event Vietnam has staged for its Reunification Day. It was a ceremonial show of strength, when the main message from the Communist government was to uphold peace.
The Communist Party General Secretary Tô Lâm made a speech, in which he said his party, the people and the army vowed to make Vietnam a country of peace, unity, prosperity and development.
It was only in the early nineties that Vietnam opened up to the world, and it has become an emerging manufacturing powerhouse, with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
The country has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the manufacturing shift away from China, but at the same time has been one of the biggest sources of Chinese investment.
People packed the streets in Ho Chi Minh to celebrate the anniversary.
The scenes of celebration we saw in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday were a far cry from the chaotic evacuation that had defined the day North Vietnamese troops declared victory and the Fall of Saigon, as the city was formerly known.
Our journalists were among those forced to flee on helicopters from the American embassy, a humiliating retreat for the US and a failure to halt the Communist forces.
According to retired Viet Cong Lieutenant Colonel Nien, the US Army was bound to fail, trying to come between the Vietnamese people.
He was awarded several medals for his role in the war and shared his memories of Liberation Day, as he calls April 30.
He described fierce fighting taking place right up until the morning of the 30th. He said that when his troop entered Saigon, they headed straight to the government headquarters of South Vietnam.
He was a signaller at the time, so it was his job to pass on the news of victory to his comrades. It is one of his best memories, it was a wonderful day, he said.
He also shared a message of peace, saying the cost of war is too high, and is paid by the most vulnerable.
He wanted the events of April 30 to spread a message of peace at a time when the world still suffers so much conflict.
On the streets, we met veterans, families and groups of young people from all over Vietnam who wanted to be a part of their country's special day. Pride and peace were the two words I heard the most from them all.
It was an occasion not just to remember the end of the war, it was a display of the resilience and unity that followed. Vietnam is trying to look forward, not back, to a brighter and more peaceful future.
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