"BATTLEFIELD VIETNAM" "The Fall of Saigon" "On March 30th 1972 mass North Vietnamese Army artillery opened up in a shattering barrage." "The targets for the guns and rockets were South Vietnamese positions across the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South." "As the guns blasted South Vietnamese defenses, upwards of 20,000 of Giap's troops and 200 of the 600 tanks waited in their jumping off positions." "At noon they searched forward as the South Vietnamese units fled in panic." "Facing the Northern onslaught was a weak South Vietnamese infantry division and a Marine brigade." "Their 1,200 troops were scattered across 13 combat bases and outposts." "The enemy assault caught the Infantry division just as it was moving its regiments from one position to another." "The Southern defense was thrown into complete chaos." "Intelligence reports had predicted a Northern attack but no one had expected it to come on the Demilitarized Zone." "After two days of confused fighting, on April 2nd, the South Vietnamese began to retreat to a new defensive line." "The Northern offensive across the Demilitarized Zone... had forced the South Vietnamese to fall back to route 9 and the Cua Viet River." "To the West the line was held by Camp Carroll, the Rockpile and the Mai Loc combat base." "In two days these bases fell and the NVA pushed to within 10 miles of Quang Tri City." "Further South, the city of Hue was threatened from two directions." "Facing the NVA were the South Vietnamese 1st Division, and a division of Marines." "The attack opened on April 1st 1972." "To the West the 324B division pushed Southern forces back in heavy fighting." "For a time the defenders held a line from the My Chanh River to Fire base Bastogne, and old American outpost." "But soon, even that line was being pushed back." "The North Vietnamese attack on Quang Tri City and the push towards Hue were furious assaults, ...but on April 9th, after a few days of fighting, ...the NVA were forced to halt their attacks and resupply." "Outside Quang Tri, the North's failure to keep up the pressure saved the South Vietnamese defense from complete collapse." "For the first few days of the Northern offensive, poor weather had prevented full scale intervention by American aircraft." "However, as the skies cleared, U.S. fighter bombers and helicopter gunships began pounding NVA positions." "They were joined by massive air reinforcements rushed to the region including B-52's and four more Aircraft carriers." "Three days after the first North Vietnamese attack, in the far South of Vietnam there was another major thrust." "This time, the assault was barely 50 miles from the Southern capital, Saigon." "The South Vietnamese forces defending Saigon were the 18th Division, the 5th Division and the 25th, along with three Ranger groups." "On the North Vietnamese side, three divisions, at one time Southern Vietcong but now almost completely Northern were backed by tanks and two independent infantry regiments." "The North Vietnamese first launched a diversionary attack towards Tay Ninh city, overrunning South Vietnamese garrisons." "In the main blow, the 5th Division assaulted Loc Ninh." "In spite of intense American air support, the town fell." "Meanwhile, the 7th cut route 13 and the 9th prepared to attack An Loc." "At An Loc more than 12,000 North Vietnamese were besieging less than 1,500 South Vietnamese Army troops." "The town was surrounded and ripe for an immediate assault." "NVA artillery was pounding the defenders." "The assault of An Loc had been entrusted to the 9th division, but almost a week passed and the division still hadn't launched its attack." "Supplies of ammunition, fuel and spare parts were arriving far too slowly and their tanks became bogged down." "During the hold up, American helicopters were ferrying men and supplies into the threatened city." "B-52 strikes hit the NVA assembly areas with devastating effect." "The NVA finally mounted its assault on An Loc on April 13th 1972." "At once American helicopter gunships pounced on the attackers." "In three days of mass infantry assaults spearheaded by tanks," "North Vietnamese troops managed to seize the Northern part of the city, ...but they failed to break the defense." "The 4,000 strong South Vietnamese force reinforced by elite airborne units held their positions and launched furious counterattacks accompanied by renewed B-52 strikes." "The carnage would continue until, on May 15th, the Vietcong forces withdrew." "In the Central Highlands, the targets for two NVA divisions were the provincial capitals of Kontum and Pleiku." "The defenders, the South Vietnamese 22nd division, fell back in disarray but were instantly reinforced and they succeeded in holding the town." "Meanwhile, the NVA seized control of most of Binh Dinh province, ...threatening to cut the country in two." "On April 6th, Nixon ordered the resumption of full scale air strikes over the North and Naval gun fire to support the beleaguered South Vietnamese." "On April 27th, two weeks after the first North Vietnamese attack on Quang Tri city, the NVA renewed their assault." "Reinforced by the 325th Division, they pushed to within a few miles of the city." "The defenders, the South Vietnamese 3rd Division, which had withstood heavy bombardment for over a month, panicked and fled down highway 1, along with thousands of civilians." "Meanwhile, the North Vietnamese Army took possession... of Dong Ha on April 29th, and Quang Tri on May 1st." "Abandoned by their officers, the flight of the South Vietnamese Army's 3rd Division... along with the soldier's families and the inhabitants of Quang Tri, was a rout." "In the confusion, bridges were blown too soon, stranding men and equipment." "The road had been mined, and the North Vietnamese added to the chaos by shelling the retreating columns with tank and artillery fire." "As many as 20,000 may have been killed or wounded, ...many of them civilian refugees." "The fear now was that the NVA would follow up their victory by storming down route 1 to the city of Hue." "There, the South Vietnamese Army 1st Infantry division and two brigades of Marines were dug in round the city." "In fact, massive American firepower, including the heavy guns of warships offshore made certain the Northern Divisions could advance no further." "FREEDOM TRAIN" "American air support for the South Vietnamese Army, codenamed operation Freedom Train, ...had unleashed tens of thousands of air strikes against the attacking Northern troops and their supply lines." "Two days after the invasion, the Americans had also started to bomb North Vietnam, ...the first big raids in 3 1/2 years." "American bombers, including B-52s, were attacking military facilities, supply depots, rail yards and fuel storage." "North Vietnamese leaders had expected the raids but they were sure... that pressure from their allies, the Soviet Union and China would stop the Americans from launching an all out air offensive." "The North had miscalculated badly." "Both superpowers were far more interested in good relations with the Americans than with the fate of Vietnam." "The American air strikes on both South and North Vietnam were launched by Air Force planes from Thailand," "Navy aircraft from carriers in the gulf of Tonkin, ...and B-52s from Thailand and the Pacific." "By June, 77 aircraft were brought down by NVA gunfire." "The attacks swept Northward and within two weeks were hitting targets around Hanoi and Haiphong." "In a second phase, codenamed Operation Linebacker, ...power stations and airfields were hit." "The strategic port of Haiphong and six other harbors were mined and closed all sea traffic." "Soon after, the rail and road transport links to China were the targets for heavy raids." ""United States forces have been directed to take appropriate measures... "" "With Operation Linebacker, the American president, Richard Nixon, ...meant to force North Vietnam's leaders to call off their offensive against the South and negotiate a peace." "It was a ferocious campaign." "The intensity of the bombing shocked North Vietnamese leaders." "Worst of all, their allies did no more than protest." "Even when Soviet ships in Haiphong were damaged there was no dramatic reaction from the Russians." "On May 20th 1972, to the dismay of the North Vietnamese..." "Nixon's planned visit to the Soviet Union, went ahead as scheduled." "THE DIPLOMATIC FRONT" "On July 19th the South Vietnamese Army with U.S. air support began a drive to recapture Binh Dinh province and its cities." "The battles would last until September 15th by which time Quang Tri was reduced to rubble." "The NVA, however, still held the Northern part of the province." "In five months of battles, the attackers reckoned they had killed... 100,000 NVA and NLF troops and had captured vast quantities of weaponry." "The offensive was over." "In the United States, the renewed American bombing of North Vietnam had triggered widespread anti war protests." "Yet for President Nixon, the gamble had been a huge success." "A presidential election was around the corner and his popularity had risen sharply." "Now Nixon wanted an agreement with North Vietnam that would free American prisoners of war and allow the remaining 32,000 U.S. troops in the South to leave." "On and off since 1969, Nixon's national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, had been flying to Paris for secret behind the scenes meetings with the North Vietnamese while the main talks went on." "Up to now, the talks had been in stalemate, ...but suddenly the Northern envoy, Le Duc Tho, offered a deal." "Three weeks of intense negotiations produced an outline agreement." "Meanwhile, the Americans restricted the bombing of North Vietnam." "The negotiations in Paris had been carried on without consulting South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu." "Thieu was outraged at the treaty's terms, ...especially an agreement that North Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam would be allowed to stay in position." "Thieu demanded drastic changes and soon the peace talks were again in deadlock." "On December 13th 1972 the Paris peace talks broke down completely." "Nixon was furious." "He had won a landslide victory in the presidential elections and with his popularity at its height he was determined to force a solution." "He ordered his military chiefs to prepare a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam." "Publicly, he gave Northern leaders 72 hours to agree to return to the negotiating table." "LINEBACKER II" "On December 18th 1972, President Nixon ordered the new bombing campaign to begin." "Soon known as Linebacker II, it would last for 12 days and would include a three day all out effort by up to 120 B-52 bombers." "Strategic, surgical strikes were planned on fighter airfields, transport targets and supply depots in and around Hanoi and Haiphong." "This time the majority of the attacks were carried out with deadly precision." "They were mounted by Navy A-6 Intruders and Air Force F-111s." "The B-52 stroke by night." "North Vietnamese anti aircraft defenses reacted furiously." "As the defenses learned the paths taken by the B-52s to and from their targets, SAM anti-aircraft missiles took a heavy toll." "15 B-52s were shot down." "After the Americans changed to less predictable flight paths losses fell dramatically." "By the 11th day, when North Vietnam agreed to talk peace, ...its air defense system had been racked." "The bombers had utterly destroyed the North's industries, power plants and transport system, and mistakenly hit the city's Bach Mai hospital." "In Linebacker II, U.S. aircraft had dropped more than 20,000 tons of bombs." "26 airplanes had been lost and 93 airmen had been killed, ...captured or were missing." "Hanoi admitted to between 1,300 and 1,600 North Vietnamese dead." "On January 8th 1973, Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho restarted their talks in Paris." "In six days they hammered out an agreement." "This time the Americans had told the South Vietnamese that they would get no more U.S financial aid if they opposed the deal." "On the 27th of January 1973 all the warring parties signed the cease fire." "Within a month of the peace treaty the first of 600 American prisoners of war were released by North Vietnam." "By March 1973, the last American combat soldiers had left the South though military advisors and Marines protecting U.S. installations remained." "For the United States, officially, the war was over." "The war in Vietnam had been the longest conflict in American history costing more than 150 billion dollars." "The U.S. armed forces had been left exhausted barely able to meet their commitments across the globe." "Of the more than three million Americans who had served, ...almost 58,000 were dead and over 1000 missing in action." "For every soldier killed, six had been wounded, 150,000 seriously." "BUILD-UP" "Although the Americans had left Vietnam and a peace treaty had been signed, ...few Vietnamese believed that the war was over for them." "The agreement had left 200,000 Northern troops occupying strong positions inside the South." "At the last minute, the Americans had given South Vietnam vast quantities of new weapons, and was still giving large amounts of financial aid." "In the wake of the peace agreements, South Vietnam's president Thieu had been given clear assurances by Nixon." "If the North broke the treaty, the United States would retaliate with force." "But by the summer of 1973, in the wake of the revelations about the secret bombing of Cambodia and other political considerations," "Nixon no longer had the power to fulfill his promise." "The U.S. Senate passed a bill banning combat operations over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia." "In Hanoi the North's leaders decided that the first priority now was to rebuild their battered forces." "They would avoid big battles and instead try to regain important ground with small attacks in areas where the enemy was weakest." "At the same time, they would prepare for a future offensive on a gigantic scale." "North Vietnamese commanders were determined that this campaign should not suffer the supply holdups that plagued the 1972 invasion." "In Laos, the Ho Chi Minh trail was modernized while engineers began building a proper two lane inroad just inside South Vietnam." "It would be able to take heavy trucks and tanks from the North to within 70 miles of Saigon." "Engineers also began laying 3,000 miles of fuel pipeline, ...planned to run from the Demilitarized Zone to the Mekong Delta." "CRISIS" "By the start of 1974 the North Vietnamese had rebuilt their divisions in the South." "As yet they were too weak to launch a full scale offensive but they had won some territory in key areas." "On the South Vietnamese side, government forces seemed to be holding up well but in the country a crisis was looming." "The withdrawal of American troops had already caused severe economic problems in South Vietnam." "The economy had relied on U.S. aid but had been inflated out of all proportion by the American presence." "Millions were unemployed." "Then came a world oil crisis that quadrupled the price of fuel." "The cost of living soared and political unrest shook Southern cities." "At the same time, corruption in the government and the army reached new heights ...as Thieu cut the defense budget drastically." "The effect on the armed forces was disastrous." "Soldiers could no longer support their families as prices rose and corrupt officers embezzled funds." "Fuel shortages cut helicopter operations by 70%." "A shortage of spare parts immobilized aircraft and vehicles." "Ammunition was rationed." "Steady cuts in American financial aid would add to the overriding sense of decay." "The American tap was being slowly turned off." "At the same time as the Army's morale began to crumble, ...political support for president Thieu started to evaporate." "Religious groups, ethnic, minorities, the press and even some senior military officers came out against him." "Then on August 9th 1974 Thieu also lost his most powerful backer." "The Watergate scandal forced Richard Nixon to resign as the President of the United States." "STRATEGIC RAIDS" "The North Vietnamese Army used the spring and summer of 1974 to improve its position in South Vietnam." "NVA commanders launched a series of strategic raids to regain the initiative and seize key pieces of territory." "In five months of fighting, the North Vietnamese succeeded in gaining most of the ground they wanted." "Their troops also gained valuable combat experience." "Meanwhile Northern leaders argued about the timetable for the main offensive." "At the 21st plenum held in Hanoi in October 1973 they decided to give priority to a military rather than a political offensive." "While Giap remained chairman of the military committee, the day to day running of the army went to Van Thien Dung." "It was Dung who would plan and lead the final assault." "They hoped that this offensive would bring after 10 years of struggle the final victory." "By December 1974, the North Vietnamese Army's main supply route from the Demilitarized Zone to Loc Ninh was complete." "The strategic raids had pushed the South Vietnamese Army towards the coast." "Northern artillery now threatened several major cities." "In the Saigon area, Northern forces had gained ground on three sides of the capital." "The New North Vietnamese plan was to try and seize Dong Xoai, ...a vital road junction controlling access to Saigon from the East." "On December 26th 1974, the 7th NVA division captured Dong Xoai." "Next came diversionary attacks to pin down South Vietnamese forces." "Phuoc Long, an important provincian city was now threatened... by two NVA divisions and two infantry regiments backed by tanks and artillery." "The North Vietnamese forces encircling Phuoc Long city were more than 15,000 strong." "Even after reinforcements had been flown into the city, ...the South Vietnamese defenders could muster only 5,500 men." "The Southern Air Force was short of serviceable planes and faced by heavy anti aircraft defenses, it achieved almost nothing." "By January 6th 1975 the North Vietnamese had overrun Phuoc Long city and the surrounding province." "The loss of Phuoc Long was a disaster for the South Vietnamese." "Confidence in President Thieu fell to a new low." "The skill and strength of the North Vietnamese divisions had been a shocking revelation." "Worst of all, the most blatant breach of the Paris treaty yet seen in Vietnam had produced no reaction from the United States." "OFFENSIVE" "To North Vietnamese leaders, the latest battles were proof that the Americans would not use their air power to defend South Vietnam." "There was also good news from the Soviet Union:" "The promise of huge quantities of extra weapons and supplies." "The Soviets were keen to increase their influence in the region and believed they were backing a winner." "Even though North Vietnam now had the support it needed its leaders still meant to move cautiously." "The General Tran Van Tra, the commander in charge of Southern forces pushed for decisive action." "Once more, he won agreement for a sizable attack but not for a full scale campaign." "South Vietnamese generals had long ago been given clear orders about how they were to react to any Northern offensive." "They were to hold on to every scrap of Southern territory and its forces had been deployed for a defense on all fronts." "On March 1st 1975 the attack planned by General Tran Van Tra was unleashed in the central highlands." "As ordered, government forces meant to stand and fight... but suddenly, President Thieu, the Southern leader, changed the plan completely." "The new South Vietnamese strategy was to hold all of the country below the town of Tuy Hoa." "Areas previously held by the North Vietnamese would be retaken." "Above Tuy Hoa, a series of defense lines would be created..." "North and West of Hue, Da Nang Quang Ngai and Qui Nonh." "If need be, the lines could be abandoned one after the other in an orderly withdrawal, until a solid defense could be mounted." "This latest North Vietnamese attack had begun with diversionary actions against the strategic cities of Pleiku and Kontum." "But the real target to capture was Ban Me Thout, ...and the attack began on March 10th." "The Southern 23rd division mounted a counterattack, but failed hopelessly when South Vietnamese planes scored a direct hit on their own divisional operations center, ending any organized defense." "A new plan was then put into effect." "South Vietnamese Army units in Kontum and Pleiku provinces were ordered to withdraw to the coast and hold Tuy Hoa along route 7B." "President Thieu's order to the South Vietnamese Army to abandon the Central Highlands did not include the regional military forces and the militia." "As news leaked out, they and the civilian population panicked." "What was supposed to be an orderly withdrawal soon descended into complete chaos." "Military units, their families and 400,000 fleeing civilians jammed the primitive road." "The 120 mile retreat down route 7B was a nightmare." "North Vietnamese artillery shelled the column and NVA infantry blocked the road." "Food and water ran out." "A South Vietnamese Ranger battalion of 700 men successfully cleared the NVA road blocks but was itself eventually wiped out." "By the time the column reached the coast, a third of the 60,000 troops that had set out were dead or missing." "Of 400,000 civilians, a quarter had disappeared." "Meanwhile the North Vietnamese Army launched a second major attack." "100,000 men converged on the major cities of Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang." "They were spearheaded by powerful armored forces..." "And when news of the debacle in the Central Highlands reached these cities, panic set in." "Worse still, the South Vietnamese elite airborne division based North of Hue was ordered to return to Saigon." "The North Vietnamese plan was to attack from three directions." "They meant to drag Southern forces back to Da Nang." "There the enemy would be trapped and destroyed." "Quang Tri province was quickly captured, ...followed by the town of Tam Ky to the South." "Refugees searched the long route 1 towards Da Nang, ...at the same time the NVA advance threatened to cut route 1." "South Vietnamese Army units were now ordered to abandon Hue and Chu Lai and retreat to Da Nang." "On March 25th 1975, Hue, South Vietnam's third largest city, ...fell to the North Vietnamese Army." "The mass of refugees were by now converging on Da Nang." "Over two million had already crammed into the city including tens of thousands of armed deserters." "North Vietnamese rocket and artillery fire was slamming into the built up areas and the docks." "Fleets of ships and small boats crammed the harbor and there was a frantic scramble for places." "Thousands drowned or were crushed." "Many were shot by troops or armed civilians in the desperate competition to escape." "As 30,000 North Vietnamese troops advanced South to Da Nang, the South Vietnamese command ordered all its troops to be evacuated by sea." "In the chaos few succeeded in escaping." "The scenes of panic and mayhem at the docks were repeated at Da Nang's airport." "Over the next few days the NVA just rolled into town after town without a fight." "Towns abandoned by the South Vietnamese forces." "On March 30th 1975, the North Vietnamese Army took Da Nang." "It was just over 10 years since the first U.S. Marines had stormed the shore there." "For the South it was a shattering blow, yet its leaders did little, clinging to the hope that American air power would finally intervene to save the day." "SAIGON" "By early 1975, five weeks into its campaign, ...the North Vietnamese Army had made stunning gains." "12 provinces and more than 8 million people were under their control." "The South Vietnamese Army had lost its best units, ...over a third of its men and almost half its weapons." "Northern leaders were astonished by their own success." "The question now was could they press ahead and take the capital Saigon in a war winning blow?" "Originally they had not planned to get this far until 1976, but now, it would have to be done within three weeks before the rainy season disrupted operations." "The job of commanding the offensive was that of General Van Thien Dung." "His deputy was General Tran Van Tra, the man whose aggressive strategy had opened the way to Saigon." "Le Duc Tho, Henry Kissinger's adversary in the Paris peace talks, ...now one of the most powerful men in the Northern politburo, ...would oversee the whole effort accompanied by General Giap." "The final offensive was named the Ho Chi Minh campaign." "For the assault, the NVA deployed a quarter of a million men and hundreds of tanks." "The troops were superbly equipped and supported by a massed artillery." "And as they advanced South they made use... of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment abandoned by the South Vietnamese." "Behind them was a vast and sophisticated supply system." "North Vietnamese transport aircraft and ships were now ferrying men and materials into captured airfields and ports in South Vietnam." "North Vietnamese forces around Saigon were organized into four army corps." "Each was made up into three or four divisions and was given a line of approach to the city." "Facing them were four South Vietnamese divisions along with remnants of an airborne division, ...an armored brigade, ...and units of rangers." "As the Northern attack rolled inexorably on they had to cut route 4, ...isolating Saigon from its forces in the Mekong Delta." "Xuan Loc, a key road junction covering the air bases at Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut would be seized, opening up a route to the capital from the East." "The first attacks of the Ho Chi Minh campaign opened on April 9th 1975." "The only effective resistance to the advance took place at Xuan Loc, ...where, for almost two weeks, Southern forces made a desperate and die hard stand." "The North Vietnamese threw more than 30,000 men at Xuan Loc backed by powerful tank and artillery forces." "Against all the odds, the 6,000 men of the South Vietnamese 18th Division, ...refused to crack." "In two weeks of bitter fighting, the North Vietnamese hit the defenders of Xuan Loc with 20,000 shells and rockets." "Still, Southern forces drove back mass infantry attacks." "They killed over 5,000 NVA troops and destroyed dozens of tanks." "It was to prove the last big battle of the Vietnam war." "In the end, the defenders were forced to pull back." "One in three of the South Vietnamese 18th Division were dead." "The fall of Xuan Loc meant the road to Bien Hoa and Saigon itself was wide open." "With a direct threat to the capital, on April 21st, ...president Thieu resigned and fled to Taiwan." "Members of the Provisional Revolutionary Government in Paris had earlier indicated they'd be prepared to negotiate with General Duong Van Minh, a trusted intermediary." "However, for the moment, the Southern government was paralyzed." "A mass exodus of foreigners, government officials and the remaining Americans was already underway." "Saigon docks were crammed with boats as thousands tried to escape by sea." "The Northern plan was to encircle and destroy the remaining defenders outside the capital, that way the NVA might avoid costly street fighting and the destruction of the city." "On April 25th 1975, they launched their final assault." "One by one the defending South Vietnamese divisions were cut off and overwhelmed." "On April 28th as NVA forces pressed in on the city, ...General Minh was sworn in as president." "Attacks on Tan Son Nhut airport closed its runways." "Only helicopters now offered a way out." "Starting on April 29th 1975, U.S. Marine and Air Force helicopters flying from carriers off shore began a massive airlift." "In 18 hours over 1,000 American civilians and almost 7,000 South Vietnamese refugees were flown out of Saigon." "The helicopters were leaving from Tan Son Nhut Airport now besieged by refugees desperate to escape." "The scenes of panic and chaos were repeated at the U.S. embassy." "...where helicopters were landing and taking off from inside the grounds." "U.S. Marines flown in to protect the evacuation, ...struggled to control the thousands of terrified civilians fighting for a place." "At 4:03am on April 30th two U.S. Marines were caught on a Vietcong rocket attack on the airport." "They were the last Americans to die in the Vietnam war." "A constant streaming of American helicopters shuttled between embattled Saigon and the rescue fleet off the coast." "At the same time, South Vietnamese military pilots were using their own or commandeered aircraft to escape." "The decks of some American ships became so crowded that helicopters had to be pushed overboard." "The last Marines of the U.S. force guarding the evacuation of the embassy left Saigon at dawn on April 30th 1975." "As their helicopter took off from the Embassy roof, ...looters were already ransacking the lower stories of the building." "Five hours after the last Americans had gone, North Vietnamese tanks rolled through the streets of the South Vietnamese capital." "The government had ordered the Army to lay down its weapons and there was almost no resistance." "Shortly before noon, T-54 tanks of the NVA second corps rolled through the gates of the presidential palace." "AFTER THE BATTLE" "The bitter war which ended on April 30th 1975 had claimed the lives of huge numbers of Vietnamese." "In 15 years, nearly a million NVA and NLF troops and a quarter of a million South Vietnamese Army soldiers had died." "Hundreds of thousands of civilians had been killed." "After the victory, Northern officials moved quickly to take control of every aspect of Southern life." "Even the NLF had little say as Hanoi tightened its grip." "Soon hundreds of thousands of people, officers and men from the South Vietnamese Army, and those believed tainted by the old regime, ...would be sent to reeducation camps." "Some years later, starting in 1978, half a million more would risk death fleeing in small boats across the open sea." "Although the war was over, peace in Indochina did not last long." "Within 5 days of the fall of Saigon, Khmer Rouge troops who had taken power in Cambodia, carried out the first of many border attacks ...killing more than 30,000 Vietnamese." "On December 25th 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia to liberate the population from the genocidal rule of Pol Pot." "China, Pol Pot's ally retaliated by attacking Vietnam." "This conflict would cost another 100,000 lives." "For the United States the Vietnam War left a painful legacy of bitterness and division." "As the nation tried to forget a humiliating and frustrating episode in its history, ...those who had served were ignored or greeted with outright hostility." "It was 1982 before veterans of the conflict were finally recognized with the building of the Vietnam Memorial." "For America, only then could the ghost of Vietnam finally begin to be laid to rest." "Subtitling:" "DeStrangis"