2025 is a year of big anniversaries in Vietnam. The 50th anniversary of America’s ignominious departure and the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, is the anniversary everyone is talking about. But there are others of importance.
The 80th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh’s Declaration of Independence in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square at the end of World War II on September 1945, is another.
Far more recent, the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United State in 1995 was another milestone.
Relations between the United States and Vietnam have been transformed since then. For some years now, The US has been the biggest recipient of Vietnamese exports. It’s a situation that may change as Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency impacts the world.
Vietnam’s success as an export nation was singled out for special punishment (since temporarily suspended) in the initial rollout of tariffs.
The relationship between the US and Vietnam has complexity beyond commerce. Vietnam’s proximity to China makes it a strategically significant player again - as it was in the Cold War. The United States soft power has proven alluring to Vietnamese people since the 1950s.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Crossing the 17th parallel - the old DMZ between North and South Vietnam
Check out part 1 in our series on the complex story behind America’s deeply consequential relationship with Vietnam through war and peace.
Our story begins in the jungles of Lang Son province in World War II - where Ho Chi Minh’s fledgling guerilla army collaborated with the OSS, the precursor to the CIA, in the fight against Japanese forces.
And if you’re interested in the places visited in our video for your travels. Here they are -
Video locations
We start at the old Pittman Apartment building on Ly Tu Trong St, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
War Remnants Museum - Vo Van Tan St, Ho Chi Minh City
Saigon Opera House, Lam San Square Ho Chi Minh City
Lang Son province enroute to Cao Bang province - northern Vietnam
Dien Bien Phu and the former Viet Minh base at Muong Thanh, northern Vietnam
Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi
DMZ, Hien Luong Bridge, Quang Tri province
Check out part II - coming soon!
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