The image of the final battle at Tan Cang bridge (now Sai Gon bridge) remains clear in the mind of veteran Dinh Giang Hieu, who is now Deputy Chairman of the Resistance Tradition Club of Thu Duc city, a subdivision of HCM city.

In 1975, his Battalion 4, stationed in Thu Duc, was ordered to attack Tan Cang bridge. The attack began at 3 a.m. on April 27 and they had to keep the bridge secured until 8 a.m. on April 28.

But at 8 a.m., the enemy launched a fierce counterattack by sea, ground, and air forces. Warships fired from Tan Cang, artillery from Thanh Tuy Ha and Cat Lai, and helicopters fired cluster rockets.

Hieu said support forces had not yet arrived by April 28, but his battalion were determined to hold the bridge at all costs.

 “We were commanded to intercept the enemy. At around 7 p.m., we took a position at Ky Quang pagoda and vowed to hold the line at all costs. We made a resolution that everyone would fight to the last breath,” Hieu recalled.

During the final days of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, on the night of April 28,  Campaign Command ordered troops to assault Saigon simultaneously from five directions the following morning.

Army Corps 3 of the Central Highlands force attacked the northwestern perimeter of Saigon with the objective of breaking through the enemy’s defensive line at the Dong Du base, now called Cu Chi.

Veteran Tran Minh Chinh told VOV that he was a first-year student at the University of Science and Technology when I enlisted in 1970 and fought in Quang Tri and then the Central Highlands, where they attacked Buon Ma Thuot and continued moving south to liberate Saigon.

“The final battle I took part in was the assault on Dong Du/Cu Chi which was liberated on April 29. After that, several units pushed further into Saigon, while the remainder stayed to hold the base," said Chinh.

During those days of fierce fighting, an all-female artillery company performed heroic feats it would be impossible to forget. A former member of Artillery Company C83 named Le Thi Tai recalled that their combat capacity was equal to that of their male comrades.

“At 11:30 a.m. on April 30, we arrived at Ca Mau town, where crowds of people had gathered to witness the moment. We weren’t afraid to die while fighting to regain national independence and freedom. We truly hope that younger generations will do their utmost to make the nation more beautiful and prosperous,” Tai said.

Veteran Hieu said he was moved when the South was liberated and the nation was completely reunified. "So many of our compatriots sacrificed their lives during the war. We are deeply grateful to the mothers who saw their sons off to battle and never saw them return. Vietnamese people were proud to achieve a victory hailed by observers around the world." 

War veterans and youth volunteers, now 50 years older, are still proud of their contributions to the nation’s glorious victory and happy to see the socio-economic changes that have resulted.