Happy "We Kicked the Imperialist Americans Out of Our Country" Day

On April 30, 1975, the North Vietnamese sucessfully stormed Saigon and the southern forces surrendered. The Americans started evacuating the embassy a few days before. How surreal to be visiting Vietnam now, on this day in particular. I was born in August 1975, a mere four months after the handover of power in Saigon. Yet, we Americans have all been raised with the knowledge of this war, with stories of the war.

We visited the War Atrocities Museum in Ho Chi Minh city yesterday. While the museum itself was not as shocking as it could have been, the vast collection of photos on display of victims of this war - both Vietnamese and American - broke my heart.

War cannot be entered into lightly. May we never forget the lessons of the past.