July 2

On this day - July 2 1976 - The inauguration of the Unified Vietnam 

The republic of Vietnam, also known as South Vietnam was established in 1955 and for the next years was the country divided into South and North Vietnam. The South Vietnam city of Saigon fell to North Vietnam in 1975, which led to a brief period of a provisional government in South. On this day in 1976 was the South and North Vietnam merged into one country as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The country has since implemented economical reforms and has in the last few years been one of the countries in the world with highest growth rates.

April 30th

On this day - April 30th 1975 - The Vietnam War Came to an End 

The Vietnam War had started in November 1955 and was one of the hot conflicts which was a result of the cold war. In the US the war was seen as an important fight to keep communism from spreading in Asia (containment policy). The first step towards the end of the war was a gradual drawback and "Vietnamization" of the conflict in the end of the 1960's. In 1973 was a peace agreement, the Paris Peace Accord, signed, but fighting continued. Direct involvement from the US Army ended in August the same year as the Peace Contract. On April 30th fell the city Saigon to North Vietnam and the war came to an end after over 19 years of conflicts. The following year was Vietnam again reunited. Somewhere between 800.000 and 3 million Vietnamese died in the war and over 50.000 american soldiers.