The tank that ended a war

VIETNAM: FOR YEARS HISTORY REFLECTED THE WRONG ONE BREAKING DOWN PALACE GATES

- Hai Duong

When they crashed through the gates of Saigon's presidential palace to end Vietnam's war, the young crew of communist Tank 390 shaped the course of history – but 50 years on they are modest about their role in a pivotal chapter of the Cold War.

After years of fighting that ended on 30 April 1975, the United States and Vietnam have rebuilt ties to become strong trade partners, although relations now stand at a rocky juncture in the wake of President Donald Trump's tariffs and foreign aid cuts that could jeopardise war legacy programmes.

That day, Tank 390 entered central Saigon – then the heart of the US-backed southern regime – during a lightning-fast offensive by North Vietnam's communist forces in which the crew crossed through heavy fire and lost contact with their commanders.

“At that very moment, I considered the Independence Palace just another station of the enemy, a position that we must eliminate,” Nguyen Van Tap said amid the pomelo, kumquat and longan trees of his immaculately tended front yard in Hai Duong province, 70km from Hanoi.