Fall of Saigon

Capture of Saigon, capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975, ending the Vietnam War. As the People's Army of Vietnam and Viet Cong occupied the city, President Minh surrendered and the VC flag was raised over the Presidential Palace; Operation Frequent Wind evacuated American personnel and tens of thousands of South Vietnamese in the largest helicopter evacuation in history. South Vietnam ceased to exist, and the country was formally reunified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976, with Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City.