“Vietnam: 50 Years of Transformation,” by Timothy Trainer
April 30, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon in 1975. Saigon, renamed Ho Chi Minh City, fell to North Vietnamese troops on this date. Twenty-nine years earlier, in a January 18, 1946 letter, Ho Chi Minh wrote to President Truman that stated, in part, “[t]he French have tremendously increased their fighting forces. Millions of people will suffer, thousands will be killed and invaluable properties will be destroyed, unless the United States would step out to stop that bloodshed and unlawful aggression. . .. I respectfully request you to interfere for an immediate solution of the Vietnamese issue. The people of Vietnam earnestly hopes that the great American Republic would help us to conquer full independence and support us in our reconstruction work.” historynet.com/ho-chi-minh-truman-letter-vietnam
History informs us that the U.S. did not respond to the letter as Ho Chi Minh had hoped. Instead, the U.S. pursued a course that would take us into Vietnam and engage in a war that is still subject to many debates and controversies.
Much has changed in Vietnam during the intervening half century. An agrarian country has transformed itself into a hub of activity. Today, Vietnam’s energetic population fuels a growing economy. The country attracts foreign investors who see the economic potential of an industrious population. In turn, increased opportunities provide its citizens with opportunities to continue the country’s rapid economic development.
While the country is described as a politically communist country, Vietnam’s commercial activity, both domestic and international, relies on a capitalistic approach. It is more appropriate to consider Vietnam as having a “socialist-oriented market economy.” Is Vietnam still a communist country? – Geographic FAQ Hub: Answers to Your Global Questions. Recalling a 1997 trip to Moscow and Hanoi only weeks apart, the two capitals could not have been more different to this traveler. While Moscow’s store shelves seemed bare, Hanoi’s streets buzzed with commercial activity where people busied themselves in all forms of commercial activity. The streets of Hanoi were alive while those in Moscow were gloomy.
Vietnam is following in the tradition of other Asian countries as it climbs the ladder in economic performance. Depending upon whose data one looks at, Vietnam ranks in the mid-thirties for gross domestic product in the world. GDP by Country – Worldometer, Vietnam GDP – Gross Domestic Product 2005 | countryeconomy.com, Vietnam’s Booming Consumer Class – The Globalist.
Having watched a war on the nightly news and endured the daily “what if” during my father’s two combat tours of duty in Vietnam, it is gratifying to see a country we once deemed an enemy grow and develop as Vietnam has. With multiple trips to Vietnam over the past quarter century, the takeaways include observations of enthusiastic students, hard-working people and a country that emits a palpable and infectious level of energy.
Despite the miscalculations and missed opportunities in the past, we should endeavor to grow our relationship with a country that has so much going for it. Hopefully, our current policies will not drive the country away when there is so much to gain.
