Writing Exercise 4 Abigail Kent

Fall of Saigon
Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh, was the capital of South Vietnam until April 30th, 1975. Saigon fell to communist forces. This also marked the end of the Vietnam War. US forces were constantly being reduced in South Vietnam so they could defend the US against the North. It was a shock that there were forces from the North in the South's capital. The surrender of South Vietnam was announced by the South Vietnamese president, General Duong Van Minh. His exact words were "We are here to hand over to you the power in order to avoid bloodshed." Then the North Vietnamese took over the south and that is when it became Ho Chi Minh, in honor of their leader. US commander General William Westmoreland was in charge of the US troops at this time. He was the one who decided to put troops here, in a foreign environment with no clear front as what to do. There were lots of illegal drugs being filtered through the troops quickly corrupting the no longer present morale. This was causing people back at home to resist the draft and groups against war were uprising. The US was trying hard to withdraw from the war without losing it, so there was a peace treaty signed in Paris, France with North Vietnam on January 27th, 1973. This began the process of all US troops leaving.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fall_saigon.htm
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-fall-of-saigon-during-the-vietnam-war-causes-and-timeline.html