Vietnam celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States on Wednesday. They held a military parade and emphasized a peaceful future, marking the development of their modern country.

When Saigon fell on April 30, 1975, Vietnam was no longer split into the communist North and the South, which was helped by the U.S. The country's main leader told people that in recent years, they had become more and more united.

"All Vietnamese people come from Vietnam. They have the right to live and work freely, and to find happiness and love in Vietnam," said To Lam, the leader of the Vietnam Communist Party.

He also said that the party, the people, and the army promised to work together to make Vietnam a country that is peaceful, united, rich, and developed. He explained that this showed they wanted to leave the past behind, respect different opinions, and look towards the future.

Thousands of people slept on the streets of the city formerly called Saigon, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the war, to get the best place to see the parade. Later, many people stayed on the streets, had picnics, and waited for drone and firework shows in the evening.

The city was filled with the red and yellow of Vietnam's flag. It was flying from buildings, painted on the faces of excited teenagers, and on the shirts of people who had come from all over the country.

"Now is the time for peace," said Nguyen Thi Hue, who lives in the city and was watching. "Peace is the dream that everyone in the world wants."

One parade float had the legendary Lac bird, the symbol of Vietnam, and another had a picture of Ho Chi Minh.

Soldiers from China, Laos, and Cambodia marched with Vietnamese soldiers. Some wore uniforms similar to those of North Vietnamese soldiers during the war. Helicopters with the national flag and jets flew over the parade near Independence Palace. A North Vietnamese tank broke through the gates there on the last day of the war.

People watched the event from outside the barriers and from street corners with large screens. With their phones up and eyes open wide, they waved and cheered for the soldiers marching past. People at home watched closely on their televisions.

Next to Vietnam's leader were the former leader of Cambodia, Hun Sen, and the leader of the Laotian Communist Party, Thongloun Sisoulith.

To Lam said the fall of Saigon was more than just a win against the U.S. and South Vietnam. He called it a "great moment" that ended a 30-year fight for freedom. This fight started with the effort to remove French soldiers.

He said Vietnam's place in the world today is thanks to help from the Soviet Union, China, Laos, and Cambodia. He also said they got support from people around the world who wanted things to improve, including people in the U.S.

According to analyst Nguyen Khac Giang, Vietnam's focus on peace instead of winning the war showed how the country is changing with the global economy and politics. He said the Communist Party uses the Vietnam War to show it has the right to rule, seeing it as a military win and a sign of national unity. But To Lam's comments suggested that this peace is not yet finished.

Giang said that the war still affects how united Vietnam is, and also the disagreements that haven't been fixed.

Pham Ngoc Son, an old soldier who fought for the communists, says that today the U.S. and Vietnam should only have peace and friendship.

"The war ended a long time ago," said the 69-year-old man. During the war, he drove army trucks, taking soldiers and goods from the north to the south on the Ho Chi Minh trail, which was a secret way for North Vietnam to send supplies.

This year is also 30 years since Vietnam and the U.S. officially became friends.

In 2023, Vietnam made its relationship with the U.S. much stronger, reaching the highest level. This is the same high level of partnership Vietnam has with important countries like China and Russia.

However, there are new problems in the relationship with Washington. President Donald Trump has put high taxes on goods from other countries and stopped a lot of help to foreign countries. This has hurt efforts to fix problems caused by the war in Vietnam.

Vietnamese officials say their relationship with the U.S. is strong because America is helping with problems left from the war, like the effects of Agent Orange and bombs in the countryside that are still dangerous.

The future of those projects is now in danger because the Trump government has greatly reduced funding for USAID.

Also, the country that relies on exports is easily affected by the unstable global economy because of Trump's plans for taxes on imports.

Vietnam faced high taxes of 46% on goods sent to the U.S. This makes people wonder what the U.S. wants to achieve in Asia, according to Huong Le-Thu from the International Crisis Group.

She said that having a good relationship with Washington has helped Vietnam deal with its relationship with its bigger and more powerful neighbor, China.

Vietnam and the Philippines have had direct disagreements with China about who owns parts of the sea in the South China Sea.

If the U.S. focuses more on economic competition than on military or political competition, countries like Vietnam in Southeast Asia might become less important to them.

"It will really depend on how the new government views the situation in the Indo-Pacific and where countries like Vietnam fit in," she said.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce would not comment on reports that the Trump administration had asked diplomats not to attend anniversary events. She said, "I'm not going to discuss what has been suggested or not suggested."

The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said Susan Burns, the main U.S. official in Ho Chi Minh City, went to the event. However, the U.S. ambassador, Marc E. Knapper, did not go.

Around 13,000 people marched in the parade, including soldiers, local forces, former soldiers, and people from the city. The parade went along the main street towards the Independence Palace, then turned into other city streets and went past the U.S. Consulate.

A video of Chinese soldiers singing the famous song “As If Uncle Ho Were With Us on Victory Day” during a practice was shared a lot online. China's leader, Xi Jinping, had visited Vietnam earlier that month to show that his country is a stable power, different from Trump.