‘It Felt Like You Were Reborn’: Vietnamese Australians on Their Escape From Communism

Circa 1975: Refugees from southeast Asia, known as boat people, arriving in the USA. MPI/Getty Images

Over 46 years ago, on April 30, 1975, tanks of the Northern Vietnamese army rolled into Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City), the capital of South Vietnam.

A soldier jumped from the tank and ran into the presidential palace to raise the Viet Cong flag on the balcony of the fourth floor.