01 Sep 1969, Saigon, Vietnam -- President Nguyen Van Thieu (third from left, front row) introduces his new 31-member cabinet on the steps of the Presidential Palace here. Thieu said the membership was selected with an eye to broadening the government's popularity with the nation's 17,500,000 people. Flanking Thieu are Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky (left) and new Premier, Gen. Tran Thien Khiem. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
02 Jan 1969, Dong Ha, South Vietnam -- Special Delivery. Men in a U.S. 3rd Marine Division contingent fire howitzers near the Laotian border as a massive offensive is launched by some 5,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops. The troops were staging a drive against the area near the abandoned allied fortress of Khe Sanh. They were searching for North Vietnamese regulars. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
08 Jun 1969, Midway Islands -- President Richard Nixon of the U.S. and President Nguyen Van Thieu of South Vietnam make joint statement to press. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
08 Nov 1969, Bien Hoa, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu attends National Day ceremonies at a military cemetery near Bien Hoa. In most photos Thieu (wearing dark grey suit) is accompanied by Vice President Cao Ky, who is wearing a Nehru jacket. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
17 Oct 1969, Saigon, Vietnam -- The 11th Armored Cavalry armored personnel carriers and tanks sweep into rubber plantation area at Loc Ninh and Quan Loi -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
14 Dec 1969, Nha Trang, South Vietnam -- In an open air classroom, a student is instructed in the firing of a machine gun at the NCO Combat School at Nha Trang, 250 miles northeast of Saigon. Up to 4,000 students undergo a nine week course to become noncommissioned officers. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
14 Dec 1969, South Vietnam -- A karate (or judo) class at South Vietnam Military Academy, a new four year school instituted by a decree from then President Ky in 1966. The school is run along the lines of West Point, and places much emphasis on moral leadership and education as military training. The school motto is "To master oneself for leadership." -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
15 Oct 1969, Hue, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu speaks at a mass funeral for 250 people killed by the Viet Cong in the 1968 Tet offensive. Their bodies were found only a few days ago. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
15 Oct 1969, Hue, South Vietnam -- Rows of coffins of victims of the 1968 Tet Viet Cong offensive. Bereaved relatives mourn their dead during mass funeral of 250 persons killed by Viet cong. Funeral was held October 1969 as bodies were only recently discovered. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
17 Oct 1969, Saigon, Vietnam -- Members of the 11th Armored Cavalry go out on foot patrols after getting their vehicles into position here in a plantation area near Loc Ninh and Quan Loi. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
20 Sep 1969, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Tran Thien Khiem, recently appointed Prime Minister of South Vietnam by President Thieu, speaks in Saigon. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
30 Jul 1969, Saigon, S. Vietnam -- President Richard Nixon and South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu give speeches during Presidential Palace welcome for the visiting U.S. Chief Executive. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
1969 (CL-R) President Richard M. Nixon, Thieu Ky along with other dignitaries including Henry Kissinger and Ellsworth Bunker standing at microphones during visit to South Vietnam
1969 (R-L) President Richard Nixon and Thieu Ky reviewing South Vietnamese naval personnel during Nixon's visit.
1969 Nixon
20 Sep 1969, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Tran Thien Khiem, recently appointed Prime Minister of South Vietnam by President Thieu, speaks in Saigon. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
14 Dec 1969, Nha Trang, South Vietnam -- Soldiers attending open air sessions, here outdoors in uniforms. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
14 Dec 1969, Nha Trang, South Vietnam -- Cadets march with colors on graduation day at South Vietnam's Military academy. Modeled along the lines of West Point, 92 cadets received their commissions. They were the first group to complete the four year course instituted by a decree from then president Nguyen Cao Ky in 1966. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
26 Sep 1969, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- Funeral For Ho. Some North Vietnamese leaders gather around the body of President Ho Chi Minh during a state funeral here. This picture was released in Cambodia. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
17 Oct 1969, Saigon, Vietnam -- The 11th Armored Cavalry armored personnel carriers and tanks sweep into rubber plantation area at Loc Ninh and Quan Loi. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
01 Jan 1970, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Vice Presidents Spiro T. Agnew of the U. S. and Nguyen Cao Ky of South Vietnam inspect the honor guard for Agnew on his arrival at the presidential Palace. Agnew went immediately to the palace where he conferred with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
11 Mar 1970, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Vietnam's first lady, Mme. Nguyen Van Thieu, fidgets with a notebook as she discusses the contrast between herself and the one time first lady of Vietnam, Mme. Ngo Dinh Nhu. Mme. Thieu says she does not advise her husband on affairs of state. "His interest in politics and mine is social welfare, I can help him most this way," she says. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
19 Jun 1970, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Review Parade. South Vietnam Vice Pres. Nguyen Cao Ky renders hand salute as he and Pres. Nguyen Van Thieu preside over a muscle-flexing Armed Forces Day Parade, nation's first in four years. In an address, Thieu declared "we are forced to keep on fighting for self-defense and to help restore peace rapidly in this beloved land of ours." -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
15 Sep 1970, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Left to right, Chairman of Lower House Nguyen Ba Luong, President Nguyen van Thieu, Prime Minister Tran Thien Khiem, and Madame Khiem. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
07 Apr 1971, Dong Ha, South Vietnam -- South Vietnam Pres. Nguyen Van Thieu addresses troops, March 31, who took part in recent operation Lam Som 719 incussion into Laos. Thieu came to this Vietnamese base, 10 miles below the DMZ, to present medals to soldiers who participated in the operation. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
October 1971, Saigon, South Vietnam -- President Nguyen Van Thieu of South Vietnam giving a campaign address.
15 Oct 1971, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Ronald Reagan of California, who is touring Asia as President Nixon's emissary, confers with South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu. Reagan told a news conference that he brought Thieu a message from the chief executive saying there would be "no change in the course of policy of our nation" toward South Vietnam. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
31 Oct 1971, Saigon, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese President raises his hand as he swears himself in for a second four year term here. The ceremony was witnessed by a handpicked crowd of 5,000 persons. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
31 Oct 1971, Saigon, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu lights a ceremonial flame at his inauguration here. Under massive security precautions, Thieu began his second four-year term as president. Representatives of thirty countries attended the ceremony. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
31 Oct 1971, Saigon, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu leaves platform after taking oath of office for another four-year term. He is followed by Prime Minister Tran ThienKhiem (L) and Vice President Tran Van Huong. Seated at right are Justices of the Supreme Court. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
29 Aug 1971, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Election Day. There are an awful lot of motorcycles in Vietnam, and a great many of them were parked in front of a polling place when the capital city's citizens turned out to vote for a new lower house. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
24 Jan 1971, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Spectacular blaze looms in background as a Vietnamese woman is comforted by a companion and a youth (background) hastily stacks wicker baskets for removal. The blaze, the cause of which was not determined, erupted in huge market area of fruit stands and vegetable stalls along the Saigon River. Fires are much feared here, as many of the houses and buildings are built close together and are constructed of straw, paper, light wood and other materials which have a propensity for burning quickly and easily.
03 May 1972, Hue, South Vietnam -- A regiment of South Vietnamese Marines pulling back from Quang tri are shown at My Chanh along Route #1 en route to Hue. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
05 Aug 1972, Highway 13, South Vietnam -- A military ambulance races north on Highway 13, passing the grave of an unknown ARVN soldier whose shirt is draped over a cross, some nine miles north of An Loc. On August 3, ARVN forces captured a key bunker that has kept the highway shut to An Loc for four months. A military spokesman said the highway to An Loc is expected to be reopened by August 9. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
05 Nov 1972, Saigon, South Vietnam -- South Viets Support Thieu. A huge crowd of about 10,000 persons jams Saigon's downtown section to show support for President Nguyen Van Thieu and demand that there be no coalition government. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
09 Apr 1972, Lai Kha, South Vietnam -- A column of ARVN paratroopers trudges along Highway 13, en route to reinforce besieged South Vietnamese forces at An Loc, district capital of Binh Long Province, some 60 miles north of Saigon. Attempting to head off a threat to Saigon, the Thieu government April 9th switched the full 21st Division from normal operations in the U Ming Forest to An Loc, where fighting seems to be centered. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
10 Apr 1972, Lai Khe, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese soldiers string barbed wire along road as armored personnel carriers, of elite South Vietnamese paratrooper division, move along Highway 13 toward embattled city of An Loc, some 60-miles north of Saigon. U.S. Major General James F. Hollingsworth, senior military advisor in eleven province area surrounding Saigon, reported the Communist thrust down Highway 13 toward Saigon had been halted. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
10 Apr 1972, Lai Khe, South Vietnam -- Holding Their Own. South Vietnamese soldiers string barbed wire along road as armored personnel carriers, of elite South Vietnamese paratrooper division, move along Highway 13 toward embattled city of An Loc some 60-miles north of Saigon here April 10. U.S. Maj. Gen.. James F. Hollingsworth, senior military advisor in 11 province area surrounding Saigon, reported the Communist thrust down Highway 13 toward Saigon had been halted.
12 Dec 1972, Saigon, South Vietnam -- In a speech to a joint session of the National Assembly, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu spells out his position toward a cease-fire. Thieu indicated he is rejecting the cease-fire as it now stands. However, he said he will accept a temporary Christmas Truce and to show his good will he will release more than 1,000 North Vietnamese prisoners of war. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
13 Jun 1972, Lai Khe, South Vietnam -- Line of Helicopters of the U.S. First Air Cavalry Division land in formation at Lai Khe to pick up troops of the South Vietnamese Second Division and bring them to An Loc. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
14 Apr 1972, Chon Thanh, South Vietnam -- With his bandaged arm in a sling, a South Vietnamese soldier walks down Highway 13 to an aid station after he was wounded in fighting with North Vietnam forces, north of Chon Thanh.
14 Apr 1972, Chon Thanh, Vietnam -- ARVN paratroopers, members of Saigon's elite Presidential Palace guard, speed down the highway on a truck toward the landing zone in the outskirts of Chon Thanh. They were part of an armored relief column spearheading drive up Highway 13 towards embattled provincial capital of An Loc, which North Vietnamese forces hope to capture and make a provisional capital for the Viet Cong, but had been stalled some 18 miles below the town by intense Communist artillery and mortar fire. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
16 Apr 1972, An Loc, South Vietnam -- Vietnam helicopters. ARVN airborne troops await helicopter at landing strip.
17 Jan 1972 -- U.S.Senator James L.Buckley (L), R-N.Y., confers briefly with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu at the Presidential Palace late 1/17. The junior Senator told newsmen after the meeting with Thieu that Asian leaders appeared uncertain of United States foreign policy design in the Western Pacific. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
17 May 1972, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Vice President Spiro T.Agnew (R) talks with Pres.Nguyen Van Thieu in Independence Palace here following his arrival for a short, secrecy-shrouded visit with top South Vietnamese and American officials in the war zone. Agnew's trip to Saigon served the purposes both of showing American determination to aid South Vietnam and of gathering information for Pres.Nixon before Nixon's trip to Moscow beginning May 20th. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
17 Aug 1972, Saigon, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu makes a point during a meeting with U.S. presidential advisor Henry Kissinger at Independence Palace. Earlier in the day Kissinger conferred with top U.S. commanders and diplomats.
19 Apr 1973, An Loc, South Vietnam -- Plaything... A Communist tank is a plaything for children at An Loc April 10th. Some of the children are really serious about playing "war." -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
5/24/ 72 Saigon, South Vietnam -- An M-41 tank is unloaded from C-5A cargo plane at Tan Son Nhut Airbase. The plane carried three tanks, which will be used in the defense of Saigon. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
26 Apr 1972, Kontum City, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese soldiers man their weapons in a sandbag bunker built in the middle of the street in Kontum city. The Central Highlands town is being threatened by a large force of N orth Vietnamese troops. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
27 Jan 1973, Along Highway One, Vietnam -- With the cease-fire taking effect within a few hours, this pensive ARVN soldier wears a helmet decorated with a miniature U.S. flag as an expression of solidarity with his soon to be "former" allies. He's helping guard refugees who fled Communist-held hamlet of Gia Loc, along Highway One and some 25 miles Northwest of Saigon. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
29 Apr 1972, Highway 13, South Vietnam -- A South Vietnamese soldier points to a skyraider making a bombing run along Highway 13, four miles south of Chon Thanh. In background, one of the bombs explodes. The ARVN troops are manning a 105-mm. artillery piece which they had been firing directly into Communist positions. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
30 Apr 1972, Hue, South Vietnam -- Refugees from Quang Tri climb into small boats on river near here to escape from the Communist invasion. They are joined by deserting members of the ARVN Division. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
30 Dec 1972, Beijing, China -- Chinese chairman Mao Tse-Tung with South Vietnamese minister of foreign affairs Nguyen Thi Binh of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam in Peking's Chungnanhai. Present on the occasion were Ambassador of the Republic of South Vietnam to China Nguyen Van Quang, Chinese premier Chou En-lai, Foreign Minister Chi Peng-fei and comrades Liang Feng, Wang Teh-yang, and Tang Wen-sheng. Chairman Mao shakes hands with Ambassador Nguyen Van Quang. Looking on is the Viet Cong foreign minister Nguyen Thi Binh. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
03 May 1972, Hue, South Vietnam -- A regiment of South Vietnamese Marines pulling back from Quang tri are shown at My Chanh along Route #1 en route to Hue.
Feb. 20 Saigon, South Vietnam -- A U.S. Army jeep with a machine gun mounted on it stop in traffic on the outskirts of Saigon. A young lady pulls up alongside without even a by-your-leave or glance at the strange street scene--or what would normally be a strange scene in most parts of the world. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
8/3/1974 Saigon, South Vietnam -- Escorted by some government troopers, an overly loaded mini-bus evacuates refugees and their belongings from Que Son district town, 25 miles southwest of Da Nang. Government troops from the 3rd Infantry division recaptured the villages surrounding the town 8/2 but villagers still move out to Da Nang for their safety.
16 Apr 1972, An Loc, Vietnam -- Victims of Battle for an Loc. Bodies of ARVN soldiers lay where they were slain April 14, during intense battle for this provincial capital some 65 miles north of Saigon. North Vietnamese troops have vowed to capture the town and make it a provisional capital for the Viet Cong.
06 Apr 1972, Quang Tri City, South Vietnam -- Dead North Vietnamese soldiers are lined up beside road as refugees from Quang Tri City flee from fighting, 4/5, five miles south of Quang Tri.
17 May 1972, Haiphong, North Vietnam -- A US jet bombs warehouses and shipping areas in Hiaphong, Vietnam.
05 May 1972, Hue, South Vietnam -- Troopers search a truck loaded with fleeing refugees, ostensibly looking for deserting military defenders of the old Imperial capital. Hue seems to have settled back into a semblance of order following the arrival of a new military commander for the region. The mood in Hue now seems to be one of quiet expectation mixed with very cautious optimism, and most of the refugees have already fled. leaving Hue to resemble a ghost town.
October 1967, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Photo shows two of the many motor scooters in use on this Saigon street.
18 May 1972, Hue, South Vietnam -- Newly installed Commanding General of the South Vietnamese forces defending Hue, Lt. Gen. Ngo Quang Truong, inspects soldier's weapons as U..S. advisor Maj. Gen. Frederick Kroesen looks on here May 17th. Some 900 government troops of 2nd Division were airlifted into artillery base Rakkasan, 15 miles West of Hue, to form what commanders called a "circle of steel" to protect the once imperial capital.
03 Apr 1972, Quang Tri, South Vietnam -- Refugees fleeing fighting pass South Vietnamese military personel carrier, heading north in an effort to stop a Communist breakthrough at the demilitarized zone (DMZ). The US command says, navy and airforce fighterbombers made a total of 13 "protective reaction strikes" into North Vietnam near the DMZ.
10 Apr 1972, Quang Tri, South Vietnam -- People move out any way they can as they leave the area of Quang Tri City April 3rd. Quang Tri residents fled in the face of a major North Vietnamese offensive in the area. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
29 Jul 1972, Quang Tri City, South Vietnam -- A U.S. Phantom Jet Fighter drops napalm on a North Vietnamese stronghold in Quang Tri City. Fighting in and around the city was reported light 7/30 with five North Vietnamese killed in the only reported skirmish. South of the city, paratroopers cleared out many Communists threatening to close Highway 1, and opened the road to normal traffic for the first time in more than a week.
Highway One, South Vietnam : Carrying their possessions, and in some cases, their children, refugees from the besieged Quang Tri province in South Vietnam walk along Highway 1 toward Hue City April 3rd. Communist troops outflanked Vietnamese defense lines and captured a key outpost 18 miles west of Hue April 4th. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
10 Apr 1972, Quang Tri, South Vietnam -- These are some of the people who flee from Quang Tri April 3rd as North Vietnamese forces launch a major attack along the demilitarized zone. Hundreds of U. S. Air Force and Navy fighter-bombers struck for the second day at North Vietnamese troop concentrations April 7th. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
12 Aug 1972, Da Nang, South Vietnam -- Medal For GI. South Vietnamese Lt. Gen. Ngo Quang Truong, commander of the First Regional Command, pins medal on a soldier of the Third Battalion, 21st Infantry, the last U.S. combat unit in Vietnam, during the unit's deactivation ceremony at Da Nang. Looking on is the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Rocco Negris (L). -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
11 Dec 1972, Da Nang, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese youngsters in an orphanage-refugee camp here seem to be enjoying themselves as they take on adult responsibilities- washing clothes-amid the atmosphere of war. They are among the hundreds of thousands of children left homeless and without parents in this war-torn, embattled country. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
1 Aug 1972, Thang Binh, South Vietnam -- A bus bound for Da Nang is ready for departure, loaded with fleeing refugees and their personal belongings.
04 Apr 1973, San Clemente, California, USA -- Nixon Bids Thieu Farewell.
07 Apr 1973, Washington, DC, USA -- South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu and his wife wave as they prepare to board plane at nearby Andrews AFB, Maryland, for Austin, Texas, where they will lunch with Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson at the LBJ Ranch. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
13-6-73 Paris Peace Accords . (L) SVN deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Luu Vien, (R) VC representatives led by Gen, Ng V Hieu, Foreground NVN, le Duc Tho, Background by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
26 Mar 1973, Can Tho, Vietnam -- South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu jubilantly throws a flag in the air during an exhibition at Can Tho, 75 miles southwest of Saigon. The exhibition was held because of National Farmers Day in Vietnam, during which Thieu called at the farmers to boost their agricultural output to $400 million dollars within 5 years.
28 Mar 1973, Saigon, South Vietnam -- South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu laid the cornerstone for a monument commemorating the role of the United States in the 12-year-old Indochina War. Looking on are the U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker (left), and General Frederick Weyand, Commander of U.S. Forces in Vietnam. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
15 Jun 1973, Near Saigon, South Vietnam -Government troops and villagers read a newspaper with headline reporting cease-fire, signed in Paris June 14, a moment before the new cease-fire agreement goes into effect. The government troops were searching, house-to-house, to prevent the Communists from infiltrating a small hamlet along Highway 1, west of Saigon.
20 Jul 1973, Saigon, South Vietnam -- New South Vietnamese Ambassador. Career diplomat Graham Martin (right) presents his credentials to President Nguyen Van Thieu, officially becoming the new U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam. Martin, 60, succeeds Ellsworth Bunker who left Saigon May 11 on his 79th birthday after six years as U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam. The ceremony took place in the Presidential Palace. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
14 Mar 1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- North Vietnamese guards talk with American POWs awaiting release at Ly Nam de Prison, better known as the Hanoi Hilton. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
23 Mar 1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- Hanoi is to the right. That's a travel direction only. cyclist move towards North Vietnam's big city on the road from the airport. UPI correspondent Tracy Wood, who visited Hanoi recently with a group of journalists, reports that bicycles, the main form of transportation for Hanoi's 1.2 million people, are seen everywhere even though they cost 300 dong, or about $75. One dong is worth about 25cents. One North Vietnamese official said an average worker makes about 50 dong ($12.50) a month. This, and other pictures in the series, were made by UPI staff photographer Gary Bartlett. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
24 Nov 1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- Hanoi Eskimo Pies. A woman vendor sells ice cream from a stand at the "Lake of the Restored Sword" in Hanoi. American antiwar activist Cora Weiss, who has recently returned from a visit to North Vietnam and Viet Cong held territories in South Vietnam, says the people there have a sense that they are building a new society out of the ruins of the war.
14 Mar 1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- North Vietnamese soldier stands guard outside Ly Nam de Prison, better known as the , as yet to be released American POWs look out from their cells here.
20 Mar 1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- In a large park in the center of this city groups of happy youngsters move quickly by, led by one of their own age. They march in lines of two boys in one group (left) and girls in the other. As they move through the park they swing their arms in unison and sing. These groups are similar to western Scout groups, but do not wear uniforms.
March 20 ,1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- The main bridge of this city, the Long Binh, which separates the airport and the city and links up with the main highway to China, about 190 miles away, was bombed repeatedly and repaired as often. Here, men and women carry goods in the traditional manner as a bicyclist goes by. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
22 Mar 1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- Younger member of family uses bicycle to transport his grandfather downtown from outskirts of city. The old man was enchanted by foreigners taking his picture. He got off the bicycle, stared a bit and then smiled and waved.
29 Mar 1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- Unidentified group of U.S. POWs turn their backs on a North Vietnamese film cameraman in their cells at the Nga Tu So prison camp in Hanoi. All of the men were released late March 29th and have arrived safely at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. In refusing to have his photograph taken in the cell, one POW said, "We object to pictures because this not the way we lived." -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
March 29 Hanoi, North Vietnam -- Children run and play in front of a huge anti-American mural in a downtown Hanoi street, the day when the last U.S. POWs were released. Banner across bottom of mural reads, "make the American aggressors pay in blood."
1973, Hanoi, North Vietnam -- Exterior view of the prisoner of war camp in Vietnam in 1973.
16 May 1973, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Children Of Vietnam. It is a time when a mother's arms should imprison a child like this. Instead the child seems a kind of prisoner of war while resting in an orphanage in the Saigon area recently. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
02 Apr 1970, Da Nang, South Vietnam -- Speaking through an interpreter, millionaire H. Ross Perot (l) talks with North Vietnamese prisoners of war at a South Vietnamese POW camp April 2. Perot is on a tour of several such camps to check on the treatment of enemy POW's and to gather mail from the prisoners, which he hopes to deliver to Hanoi. BPA 2 #4386
31 Jan 1973, Tay Ninh, South Vietnam -- The contrast between war and peace is evident as members of a South Vietnamese mechanized unit watch people pass by on Highway 1 near Tay Ninh recently (Jauary 20). Even with the cease-fire in effect for more than 48 hours January 29th, widespread fighting continued. The South Vietnamese government reported 480 Communist truce violations.
9 Mar 1973, Quang Tri, Vietnam -- Tha Chi Han river, near Quang Tri, Vietnam, North Vietnamese prisoners of war race to freedom across the Tha Chi Han River after being set free by the South Vietnamese in a one sided 500 man release 3/8. The release broke a long deadlock over POWs and when POWs would be released in the future and which jeopardized the further release of U.S. POWs from Hanoi.
08 Feb 1975, Hue, South Vietnam -- President Nguyen Van Thieu visited Government posts around the old Imperial city of Hue and Danag 2/6 and later personally inspected a foxhole at the 1st corps marine headquarters here.
4 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Resigns. South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu is on the job in Saigon, April 14. After ten years in office, Thieu resigned April 21, denouncing the US as untrustworthy. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
19 Mar 1975, Dau Tieng, South Vietnam -- Villagers flee down highway as Communists advance in Dau Tieng, 35 miles north of Saigon. Blown-up bridges blocked the escape route for a convoy of an estimated 250,000 persons from Pleiku and other towns in the central highlands, abandoned at the order 3/18 of South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu.
21 Mar 1975, Hieu Xuong District, South Vietnam -- A mother cries over the body of her son at Hieu Xuong, 9 miles west of Tuy Hoa. He was killed 3/20 in Communist shelling of the convoy which was passing the Phu Bon area. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
22 Apr 1976, Saigon, South Vietnam -- South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu speaks to his people last 4/21 on TV saying that he resigns. Thieu served as chief executive of South Vietnam 54-days short of 10-years, longer than any other Saigon Leader. The 52-year old President decided to step aside after lead of virtually every military, political and religious block told him they lacked confidence in his leadership. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
26 Mar 1975, Hue, South Vietnam -- Soldiers and civilians are jammed together on a Navy boat that evacuated them from the old imperial capital of Hue. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
26 Mar 1975, Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam -- Getting a lift. Arriving here from Pleiku, this truck is piled to the top and then some as refugees continue to flee advancing Communist forces in South Vietnam. Communist troops occupied Da Nang in triumph March 31st and warned that all ships and planes must have their permission before evacuating refugees from the city, their greatest trophy in 20 years of Indochina war. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
29 Mar 1975, Van Ninh, South Vietnam -- Carrying only a few things on his back, a weeping head of a family leads the way while walking along Highway 1, twenty seven miles north of Nha Trang as they approach this town walking from Qui Nhon. They are part of the Convoy of Tears from the abandoned Central Highlands. An estimated 1.5 million persons are feared trapped in Da Nang, which went under Communist control.
30 Mar 1975, Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam -- The ship unloads refugees from Da Nang at the dock here 3/29. The American ship evacuated some 5,000 persons including some American Consulate personnel. Military sources said 3/30 that North Vietnamese tanks were cruising the streets of Da Nang and that their flag was flying atop the American Consulate.
29 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Vietnamese civilians climbing on board a U.S. bus carrying evacuees into the U.S. Embassy, while hundreds milled around the gate, trying to get in to join the American evacuation from Saigon. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Soldiers stopping people in the crowded street from climbing over the walls of the United States Embassy.
9 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- A CIA employee (probably O.B. Harnage) helps Vietnamese evacuees onto an Air America helicopter from the top of 22 Gia Long Street, a half mile from the U.S. Embassy.
27 Mar 1973, Da Nang, South Vietnam -- This aerial view taken from one of the refugee planes as it flew toward Nha Trang airbase shows the crowds of people and boats milling around the dock here. U.S. planes and pilots are flying 727s loaded with refugees to safer ground in Nha Trang.
24 Mar 1975, Danang, South Vietnam -- A South Vietnamese Navy landing craft fully loaded with refugees from Hue, 370 miles northeast of Saigon, ferry additional numbers of people to Danang 3/23. The 300,000 refugees already in Danang city will be disseminated in the vast land in the Mekong delta with the help of foreign Navy ships.
04 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Refugees from Da Nang, Hue and other fallen South Vietnam cities, crowded with their belongings aboard buses, reach out for food and water as they head toward Saigon from Cam Ranh City.
Nguyen Van Thieu speaks behind a bank of microphones. Thieu was the president of the Republic of Vietnam from 1967 until 1975, when North Vietnam took control.
April 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Refugees pour over fences at the port in an attempt to flee Saigon.
28 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Black smoke billowing from the U.S. Agency for International Development compound at the northern edge of Saigon after it was hit by Communist rocket during fighting. Most roads in and out of Saigon were sealed by the fighting.
Saigon, South Vietnam -- Women and children run from the road as the (USAID) compound burns in the background on the northern edge of the capital. Communist gunners tightened the noose on Saigon 4/28 on three sides and within 5-miles of Saigon blocking Highway 1, in and out of here. VietCong commandos were holed up near this compound, government troops were unable to oust the dug-in guerrillas. Most of the compound was burned in the fighting.
1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- A soldier aiming his gun at South Vietnamese people climbing the gates of the United States Embassy in Saigon. -- Image by © Nik Wheeler/CORBIS
23 Mar 1975, Phu Binh, South Vietnam -- The tail end of the convoy of tears remains trapped on the provincial route 7 near Phu Tuc District, 23 miles west of Tuy Hoa, as the Communist gunners fired into the convoy, splitting the trapped into segments. South Vietnam has lost about one-third of its territory to the communists in the three-week offensive.
26 Mar 1975, Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam -- Getting a lift. Arriving here from Pleiku, this truck is piled to the top and then some as refugees continue to flee advancing Communist forces in South Vietnam. Communist troops occupied Da Nang in triumph March 31st and warned that all ships and planes must have their permission before evacuating refugees from the city, their greatest trophy in 20 years of Indochina war.. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
28-4-75 The new President of SVN, General Duong Van Minh addresses some 180 invited guests at the Palace after accepting the Presidency from Tran Van Houn who took over from Thieu one week ago.
05 May 1975, Guam -- Former South Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky holds a press conference in a Guam refugee camp.
06 May 1975, El Toro Mas, California, USA -- Former South Vietnam Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky talks with newsmen after his arrival on the U..S. mainland with a group of other refugees aboard a military transport plane from Guam and Honolulu. Asked if he wanted to become a U.S. citizen Ky replied that it was too soon to decide, "I just want 48 hours of sleep."
0 May 1975, Fairfax, Virginia, USA -- Nguyen Cao Ky, former Vice President of South Vietnam, sits on the floor of his new home in this Washington suburb and watches his sisters, Hoo (left) and Hieu, occupied with their needlework. The house is devoid of furniture except for carpeting and a few chairs. Ky's wife and six children and some other relatives are living with him.
30 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Communist soldier plays guitar on steps of Majestic Hotel on Saigon river while another shows anti-aircraft gun to onlookers.
01 May 1975, HongKong -- US Ambassador to South Vietnam shows grim face as he surrounded by press men on the USS Blue Ridge in the South China Sea, 4/30. He abandoned the US embassy in Saigon just before the Saigon government surrendered to the Viet Cong and evacuated to the ship with other embassy staffers government surrendered to the Viet Cong.
29 May 1975, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam -- Saigon students demonstrate against "Depraved and Reactionary Culture" as part of the book burning campaign in South Vietnam. Estimated tens of thousands of books and recordings have been destroyed by student's bonfires and private destruction since the campaign began 5/21. Virtually all bookstores have been closed down by the edict against sale of books and recordings made during the time of previous regime. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
15 May 1975, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam -- The victorious North Vietnamese forces parade through the streets of Saigon.
10 Jun 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam -- Girl (Tham Thuy Hang, actress) holds flag as she watches recent parade in Saigon in support of Viet Cong. -- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
20 Jan 1970, Saigon, South Vietnam -- General view of people doing their pre-Tet shopping in the central market of Saigon is shown. The Tet holiday in Vietnam is comparable to a combination of Christmas and New Year's. Hence, the big town scene is like the Christmas rush in Western cities.
