April 30th in the Memories of International Friends

April 30, 1975, the historic moment when Vietnam was completely liberated and the country was reunified, is deeply etched in the memories of many international friends.
April 16, 2025 | 10:14
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In an interview with a VNA reporter, Patricia Abarzúa, President of the Chile–Vietnam Friendship Association, recalled memories of the historic moment.

"During that period in Chile, we lived under the harsh constraints of a military dictatorship. Mainstream media coverage of the war in Vietnam was limited. Nevertheless, news of the April 30 victory spread rapidly through word of mouth. The joy was palpable—we celebrated at home and made every effort to gather more details from Radio Moscow, the only foreign broadcaster available to us, despite the difficulty"

From all directions, hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry forces simultaneously advanced toward the Presidential Palace of the Saigon puppet regime, liberating Saigon on the morning of April 30, 1975 (Photo: VNA)
From all directions, hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry forces simultaneously advanced toward the Presidential Palace of the Saigon puppet regime, liberating Saigon on the morning of April 30, 1975 (Photo: VNA)

The joyful news of victory quickly spread to places, and where it did, jubilant cheers rang out, such as "Ho – Ho – Ho Chi Minh… we will fight to the end," or "A united people will never be defeated."

She said the April 30 victory was not only a monumental milestone for the Vietnamese people but also a testament to the value of self-determination and national unity. The image of President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap became a source of inspiration and a model for liberation movements in Latin America and people around the world.

Patricia Abarzúa also recalled the anti-war movements to support Vietnam in Chile during the 1960s and 70s. Thousands of students once organized a historic march of over 200 kilometers from the port city of Valparaíso to the capital Santiago to protest the war in Vietnam. Every form of cultural and artistic expression—ranging from theater and music to poetry and painting—was harnessed to demonstrate solidarity with Vietnam. Famous singer-songwriter Víctor Jara directed a musical play titled Viet Rock and composed the song The Right to Live in Peace, dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people's struggle. To this day, the song still echoes in Spanish in Chile and in Vietnamese in Vietnam, serving as a vibrant cultural bridge that continues to strengthen the friendship between the two nations.

Also on the historic day of April 30, 1975, in Hanoi, Fredesmán Turró González, then a young 25-year-old staff member of the Cuban Embassy, immersed himself in the overwhelming joy of the North-South reunion. In a 2023 interview, he recounted: “Many people cried with joy and chanted revolutionary slogans, shouting ‘Vietnam–Ho Chi Minh.’ The Cuban Embassy staff in Hanoi also took to the streets to celebrate with their Vietnamese brothers and sisters, embracing everyone they met.”

Former Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Fredesmán Turró González. (Photo: VNA)
Former Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Fredesmán Turró González. (Photo: VNA)

“I remember the first person I hugged was probably the security guard at the entrance of the Embassy. Then, along with Cuban workers building the Thang Loi Hotel, I rode in a truck through the main streets of Hanoi, waving the flags of Vietnam and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, singing songs and honking the horn, joining the Vietnamese people in indescribable joy after more than a century of struggle against colonialism, fascism, and imperialism,” he recalled.

For González, April 30 is an extraordinary milestone: “The Vietnamese people, with the victory of April 30, wrote one of the most glorious chapters in modern history.”

After more than half a century of connection, he regards Vietnam as his second homeland—a place where he is willing to give "even his own blood."

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