VTVN QSL FROM 1973

The Fall of Saigon occurred on April 30, 1975. Today marks the 50th anniversary of that day.

I remember it well. It was another example of remembering where you were when you heard a critical news report.

I was in my third year at university. Driving to the campus that morning, I listened intently, captivated by live news reports on the car radio. People frantically scrambling. Helicopters hovering. Gunshots ringing out. I shall never forget it.

On that day, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, marking the official end of the Vietnam War. The event led to the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese President Dương Văn Minh and the dissolution of the Republic of Vietnam. Following the fall, the city was later renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honour of the North Vietnamese leader.

April 30 is now commemorated in Vietnam as Reunification Day (Ngày Thống nhất), a national holiday. Conversely, many in the Vietnamese diaspora, especially in the United States and elsewhere, refer to it as Black April, remembering it as a day of loss and mourning.

Just 17 months earlier, I listened to a broadcast from VTVN, the Republic of Vietnam's national station in Saigon, on 7175 kHz. Given all that was happening in South Vietnam at that time, I consider it fortunate to have received a QSL card for that broadcast.