(Via Milinet)
http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20000328_1870.html
WIRE:03/28/2000 23:22:00 ET
Danang hails war anniversary with pomp, parade
DANANG, Vietnam (AP) _ Processions of military troops and
festive floats on
Wednesday marked the capture of Danang, the largest celebration
so far
commemorating the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam
War.
Hundreds of troops from the army, air force, navy and militia
paraded past
a giant soldier's memorial inscribed with the words "The nation
remembers
their contributions."
Clusters of multicolored balloons filled the air as a procession
of
decorated floats and costumed performers streamed through the
giant public
square in a two-hour event, televised live nationally.
On March 29, 1975, Danang _ the largest military base north of
Saigon _
became the third city to fall as North Vietnamese forces
advanced down the
country's coastline in an offensive that ended April 30 with
the capture of
the South Vietnamese capital.
That victory reunited the country and ended a painful conflict
that killed
58,000 Americans and 3 million Vietnamese.
The Vietnamese government, in an effort to boost patriotism as
its
leadership faces a crisis in confidence, has been holding
celebrations in
each of the cities taken during the spring of 1975 to mark
their victory.
Danang was a flurry of activity Tuesday, with red and yellow
flags and
colored banners planted along every corner. Performers
practicing for
Wednesday's formal parade filled the streets with music and
dance. Some
10,000 to 15,000 people are expected to turn out for the
celebration, to be
held in a public square beneath an obelisk-like war memorial.
Col. Nguyen Ngoc Phi, now 75, led the forces that took over the
city and
hoisted a communist flag over the government building shortly
before noon
on March 29.
"The city was in chaos. The Saigon army tried to evacuate with
their
families, and they ran leaving their weapons and uniforms
behind," he
recalled.
Danang fell with no bloodshed as Southern troops and their
families
frantically sought escape routes via boat, plane or road. A few
made it
out, evacuated by ship and plane.
During the war, Danang served as a major base of U.S. troops,
with nearby
China Beach a favorite rest and relaxation spot. These days,
boosted by its
shipping port and manufacturing industry, the city has doubled
in
population to 700,000, becoming one of Vietnam's four largest
cities.
The city is under a constant dust cloud as construction crews
widen roads,
and scaffolding covers many new homes along the roadside. As
part of
anniversary festivities, Danang will officially inaugurate its
third bridge
spanning the Han River and a cable-car system from the
mountainous Ba Na
resort area.
"You can say that Danang is a construction project these days,"
Vice Mayor
Nguyen Hoang Long said. "Anyone who lived here 25 years won't
recognize it
anymore."
The dividends of peace from years of wartime sacrifice have paid
off, said
Pham Trung Kien, who was a 23-year-old soldier when the war
ended.
"Things were tough after the war, but I think my son will have
a brighter
future than me," Kien said of 6-year-old Hien, who won a city
student
drawing contest held in conjunction with the anniversary.
"I believe he will enjoy a life of peace, not like me, who
experienced the
destruction and misery of war," he said.
___
On the Net:
http://www.vietnamtourism.com
Vietnam War Internet Project,
http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/shwv/shwvhome.html
