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Watch scenes of the U.S. and South Vietnamese evacuation from Saigon as North Vietnamese tanks arrive

Watch scenes of the U.S. and South Vietnamese evacuation from Saigon as North Vietnamese tanks arrive

Scenes of the last American helicopter leaving Saigon, South Vietnam, April 30, 1975.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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News •

The same 'duty' compelled Ernie Stensgar to serve in the Vietnam war and on Coeur d'Alene tribal council for 45 years • Nov. 11, 2026, 6:30 AM ET (The Spokane Spokesman-Review)
New documentary highlights Vietnam War's first Black special ops team • Nov. 6, 2026, 7:37 PM ET (CBS)
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‘I could’ve won the Vietnam War in a week’: Trump in Iowa • Nov. 2, 2026, 3:39 AM ET (CNN)

Transcript

NARRATOR: By March 1975, two years and two months after the signing of the Paris peace agreement, the South Vietnamese Army was in full retreat before a superior communist force. By April, Saigon, the capital, was surrounded. President Thieu, Premier Ky, and other high-ranking military and government officials fled the country. On April 29 and 30, the United States evacuated all remaining Americans, as well as some 120,000 South Vietnamese, to ships waiting off the coast of Vietnam. As the last American helicopter lifted off from the roof of the American Embassy, North Vietnamese tanks rolled through the city and onto the grounds of the presidential palace.
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