Despite improving relations, U.S. will be absent from Vietnam's war anniversary parade

Women wearing Vietnamese national flag T-shirts walk past the Saigon Centre shopping complex in Ho Chi Minh City on April 29, 2025, ahead of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

U.S. officials are not attending the main public event commemorating the end of the Vietnam war in Ho Chi Minh City this week, according to a guest list released by the organizers and seen by NPR.

(Image credit: MANAN VATSYAYANA)