Giant billboards of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam's revolutionary leader, dominated the parade ground and adjoining streets that had been blocked off to the public because of security concerns.
On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese tanks barreled through the gates of the palace, the heart of the US-backed Saigon government. Saigon's fall marked the official end to the Vietnam War, and the United States' more than decade-long involvement in Southeast Asia. The war claimed some 58,000 American lives and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese.
''I was listening to the radio with my family and heard that Saigon had been liberated. I was very happy because for many years we weren't free. After 30 years we have rebuilt our country. Our land is safe and secure and I think the future will be better for my children," said To Thanh Nghia, 51, a government worker.
The atmosphere in the country three decades later has been mostly festive, focusing on Vietnam's economic rejuvenation in recent years. Memories of the war and its aftermath are little more than anecdotes in history books for the majority of the country's population who were born after it ended.
''My father and grandfather fought in the war but I was too young. I think my future will be good because they created opportunities for my generation," said Nguyen Thanh Tung, an 18-year-old student.
Down the grand boulevard where Communist tanks once rolled in, capitalism has taken solid root. Many of the parade floats were sponsored by American companies. One float included women pushing shopping carts loaded with supermarket goods.
These days, Le Duan Street is home to Diamond Plaza, an upscale department store where French perfumes and Italian shoes are sold to an emerging urban, middle class. Along the same strip, a French-owned five-star hotel stands across the street from the US consulate, built after the former US embassy was razed.
