Former war correspondents gather in Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s national reunification. (Photo: VOV)

“Back then, in the US, we were told we were doing good for the Vietnamese people. But that was a lie. It wasn’t the truth. People were in pain. So I started learning Vietnamese, using fish sauce like everyone else... and from that moment, I fell in love with the Vietnamese people.”

Opening the event was Tom Fox, a former correspondent for The New York Times and Time Magazine, who surprised the room by speaking entirely in Vietnamese. In 1966, Tom arrived in Vietnam not as a soldier, but as a young American volunteer hoping to help. He was assigned to Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen province. But after two years, he realized the war wasn’t what he had been told back home. People were suffering, and no help was reaching them. So he chose a different path. He learned Vietnamese, ate like the locals, and he became a war correspondent.   

Sitting nearby was 94-year-old writer and revolutionary journalist Doan Minh Tuan, who had covered the war from 1961 until April 30, 1975. He fought against both French and American forces and witnessed the final push in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. And now, half a century later, he offered his gratitude to those who stood with Vietnam.

"We are thankful to our American friends who stood beside us. Whether we were on this side or the other side — as war correspondents, we were friends. Vietnam believes in reconciliation. Like the bamboo — it bends in the wind, but it never breaks," Tuan said

Tom Fox, a former correspondent for The New York Times and Time Magazine, and 94-year-old writer and revolutionary journalist Doan Minh Tuan. (Photo: VOV)

Edith Madelen Ledever, a former AP journalist, had covered the war between 1972 and 1973, and witnessed the US military withdrawal from Vietnam. She returned in 1993, exactly twenty years later. What surprised her most was that no one greeted her with anger or resentment. Instead, she was welcomed with kindness and warmth. Since then, she has returned many times — to mark the 35th, 40th, and now 50th anniversary of reunification.  

“Every time I come back, these skylines, these stores, everything is much more modern. It’s so wonderful to be back in Ho Chi Minh City with my fellow colleagues who also covered the war,” Ledever said.

Former AP reporter Edith Madelen Ledever. (Photo: VOV)

Nguyen Thi Xuan Phuong is a former war correspondent, filmmaker, and writer. Fifty years ago, on May 1, 1975, Phuong and a group of Vietnamese journalists traveled from Hanoi into Saigon. They stood on the rooftop of Caravelle Hotel — the place where foreign reporters once gathered to write their dispatches. Now, standing on that same rooftop half a century later, she couldn’t help but feel the weight of those who didn’t live to see this day.

“They aren’t here to celebrate with us. But I’ve received letters from the families of fallen war correspondents — some hope to one day visit Vietnam. One letter came from the son of a French journalist. He wrote, ‘My father told me — please, visit Vietnam someday. Walk the places I walked. And you’ll understand why I chose to help this country during those years,’” Phuong said.

Former war correspondent, filmmaker, and writer Nguyen Thi Xuan Phuong. (Photo: VOV)

The reunion once again affirmed the value of peace and Vietnam’s gratitude toward international friends who stood by, supporting the country during its most difficult times.

It was a reunion brimming with emotion and significance — a gathering at the same location, 50 years after. What stood out most was not just the faces or the stories, but the language they used to bridge their pasts. In that moment, Americans spoke Vietnamese, and the Vietnamese spoke English — a beautiful and powerful reflection of the bond they had forged over the years, and the friendship that had blossomed amidst the ruins of war.