04/09/2026
Vietnam Independence Day – 2 September. Vietnam celebrated its 81st Independence Day on Wednesday. In Nha Trang, the huge celebration was just down the street from our hotel. The anniversary marks the day Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence (from Japan) at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi (1945).
This is a good time to share my research for this period which is a significant part of US history. My childhood was very much affected by the Vietnam (American) War, I was 20 years old when it ended. I was not drafted into the Army, as the US was drawing down during the Vietnamization of the war (100% turnover of Military operations to South Vietnam).
Due to the power vacuum in Vietnam once the Japanese surrendered, Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Minh in the August Revolution, expelling the last of the Japanese forces and reading the Declaration. The Chinese moved into North Vietnam, preventing French influence while plundering the North, they supported Ho Chi Minh’s newly created government.
The British moved into South Vietnam and eventually reintroduced a weak French authority to the South but with the help of some of the few Japanese soldiers left in the South who were rearmed, restored law and order and eradicate any Viet Minh resistance. 😲
The Chinese then withdrew from Hanoi in the North after signing a treaty with the French that gave up control of some Chinese regions, the French reoccupied the capitol city. Tensions were high between the French and the Viet Minh resulting in the start of the IndoChina war in late 1946.
The war continued until 1950 when Chinese Communists won the war for China and US began funding the French war effort paying for 80% of the costs until the war ended at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. The Viet Minh won the war, the French left Vietnam (1954), the global Cold War was just getting started.
The Geneva Accords officially ended French rule and temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel. The communist Viet Minh took administrative control of the North (Hanoi), while a pro-Western government assumed control of the South (Saigon).
The United States and southern leader Ngo Dinh Diem refused to sign the Geneva Accords, specifically opposing the mandate for nationwide elections in 1956 to reunify the country. It was discovered later that the US knew that Ho Chi Minh would easily win the elections. 😲
With backing from the CIA, Ngo Dinh Diem consolidated power in the south, deposed Emperor Bao Dai, and declared the creation of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in 1955, permanently hardening the temporary 17th parallel (DMZ) border. The US then began organizing, arming, and training the newly formed Army of the Republic of Vietnam. US Special Forces were deployed 1963 which began the US direct military involvement.
