April 30, 2025 marked 50 years since the pivotal moment that ended the Vietnam War: the fall of Saigon.
In a new documentary, WCCO reporter Pauleen Le and photojournalist Art Phillips share extraordinary stories from Minnesotan and Vietnamese soldiers who fought in and survived the war, as well as rarely shared stories from the Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian and Hmong communities who fled their homes in the midst of a chaos to find peace and safety in a new land.
Watch "Vietnam 50 Years Later: Reflections on a War that Changed Minnesota" in the video player below, or on our YouTube channel.
Watch the full documentary
The journey of Pauleen's mother's family
Pauleen Le's family
While 50 years have passed since the war's end, the pain and courage from that time is still very fresh for my parents.
For my mom, her family's journey to the U.S. started 10 days before the fall of Saigon when they escaped on a massive C-130 cargo plane the Americans sent to help refugees escape.
All 10 of my mom's brothers and sisters, along with Grandma and Grandpa, flew to Wake Island, which was used as an American processing center during the end of the war.
Each person was only allowed one personal bag and their birth certificates. There were also no goodbyes to loved ones they left behind, which included my mother, who was stuck in a small village with my great-grandmother.
My mom's family
Pauleen Le
My mom would stay for another six years before she'd make it to the U.S., forced to work in the labor camps the communists set up for the country's youth, watching as her beloved country changed and wondering if the government would figure out who she was, and whether she'd be punished since my grandfather worked for the American forces during the war as a translator and chauffeur.
As for the rest of my mom's family, they would spend three months at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas waiting for a sponsor. They had offers, but none were willing to take in a dozen people all at once, and they didn't want to be separated, so they waited.
Then, First Baptist Church in Owego, New York, agreed to welcome all 12 in August 1975. It was big news for the small town. My grandpa and the family even made the local paper.
My parents
Pauleen Le
My dad fought alongside the Americans during the war in the South Vietnamese Navy. He was on his Navy ship at the time of the fall and his captain gave orders to sail out into the ocean for safety.
After they realized South Vietnam had fallen to the communists, they knew they couldn't go back, even for just a brief moment, to say goodbye to family and friends. They just had to make a run for it.
They sailed to Subic Bay, a U.S. Navy base in the Philippines, where they'd switch to an American ship and set sail for Guam. They weren't the only ones, as the front pages of the local newspapers captured the steady influx of refugees coming to the small island in the days and years following the fall.
My dad would stay in Guam for 25 days. From there, he'd fly to Pennsylvania's Fort Indiantown Gap. A couple of weeks later, news arrived of a sponsor in Connecticut.
My dad's family
Pauleen Le
My dad was alone in a new land, unfamiliar with the culture, the language, and with barely any money to his name. He had to leave both of his parents and six brothers and sisters behind in Vietnam.
For four years, his family didn't know if he was dead or alive. That's how long it took for my dad to work up the courage to contact his family by mail. He was too afraid that his letters might get intercepted by the communist government and his family would pay the price for his escape.
About two months after his first letter, my grandfather died from a stroke. My father wasn't able to make it home to say goodbye for the funeral. It would be another decade before Vietnam would reopen for international travel.
While time has passed since then, the pain and courage from that time is still very fresh. It's why we feel this documentary is so important to learn from history and hear stories from our diverse community.
Vietnamese refugees evacuated by helicopter arriving aboard the USS Midway on April 29, 1975.
Getty Images
The immense human cost of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War started in 1955, nearly 8,000 miles away from the U.S. in the dense and remote jungles of South Vietnam. While the U.S. slowly deployed into Vietnam in the 1950s, the full deployment of combat units began in 1965.
But the effort to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia failed on April 30, 1975 with the fall of Saigon, when U.S. troops evacuated the country.
According to the National Archive, more than 58,220 Americans were killed in the war.
As many as 3.5 million Vietnamese people were killed, including soldiers on both sides of the conflict and civilians.
More than 80,000 Hmong soldiers and refugees also died, as did 20,000 Laotians.
Today, Minnesota is home to more than 97,000 Vietnam-era veterans. Just outside of the State Capitol in St. Paul is a memorial to the Minnesota soldiers who died in that conflict. More than 1,070 names are eternally honored for their service and ultimate sacrifice.
The Teng Lo family arrives at MSP Airport to the emotional welcome of their relative on May 1, 1981. The Hmong family had been in the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand before flying to Minnesota.
Stormi Greener/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images
Minnesota welcomes refugees with open arms
As the war ended in 1975, new lives began in Minnesota. The Land of 10,000 Lakes was among the top 10 states across the U.S. to welcome refugees.
It was at that time the state laid out a long-term plan to help immigrants transition and find success, including partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to sponsor refugee families, and creating a task force to help acclimate these new citizens and address barriers they faced.
Today, there are nearly a half million foreign-born Minnesotans. While immigrant groups believe the numbers are under-reported, best estimates show there are now nearly 16,000 Laotian immigrants and 33,000 Vietnamese immigrants.
With nearly 95,000 Hmong immigrants, Minnesota is home to the largest concentration of Hmong in the U.S.
Wong served for 10 years, until the bitter end was inevitable. He knew it was no longer safe for him to stay.
Leng Wong in the early 80s, and in 2025.
Leng Wong/WCCO
He and his family escaped on one of the C-130 cargo planes the Americans had sent to help evacuate refugees. They flew to Thailand, where they would stay for the next nine months. Then, news came of a sponsor.
He arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, in the bitter cold, on Feb. 7, 1976.
"I was having trouble catching my breath because it was so cold, and we're not used to that type of cold in our home country," he said.
Wong then made it his aim to improve the lives of other Hmong people who would be following in his footsteps.
Leng Wong's family
Leng Wong
Wong would spend years working for refugee programs with Lutheran Social Services and the state, helping people find jobs and working with employers to create those jobs.
He'd also advocate for policy changes in support of refugees, all while traveling across Minnesota, and eventually across the country, to break down barriers and to educate others on the Hmong people.
"Minnesota's been good to me. It's always cold, but the people in Minnesota are warm hearts," he said. "We know this is where we belong now, but we still have a part of our heart on the other side of the world that we know we belong there, too."
Vietnamese American veterans reflect on "Black April"
For the Vietnamese community, April 30 is known as Black April, or Tháng Tư Đen. It's a day to lament and reflect on the fall of Saigon and of South Vietnam.
In the two decades of conflict, experts estimate as many as 2 million civilians on both sides were killed, along with some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters.
The U.S. Military estimates upwards of 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers also lost their lives in the war.
From left to right: Dr. Tuong Ho Ha, Tam Nguyen, Dieu Tran and Trang Thanh Son.
WCCO
For those who survived, many had to escape as it was no longer safe to stay under communist rule. Pauleen Le sat down with four Vietnamese veterans who now call Minnesota home, and say the pain they feel today is just as real as it was 50 years ago.
"All of the memories still live in our hearts," said Trang Thanh Son, who served as an infantryman with the Vietnamese Ranger Corp. "They are never forgotten. I still remember the day I joined the war, holding my weapon until the day we had to put our weapons down and surrender. The pain has just gotten stronger and stronger. That pain will live with us forever until the day we die."
In 1969, WCCO reporter Al Austin and photojournalist Gordon Bartouche traveled to the front lines and followed nearly a dozen soldiers from across Minnesota as they battled overseas thousands of miles away from home. Their work, called "Grunt's Little War," won national awards, including a Peabody.
One of the "grunts," or soldiers, who was interviewed was Pfc. John Steele of St. Cloud. WCCO reconnected with him to reflect on his service.
Throughout the documentary, Steele was very candid with sharing his experience, painting a grim picture.
"You just want to throw everything down and say the hell with it," Steele says in the documentary.
Those memories are still clear for Steele today.
John Steele in 1969, and in 2025
WCCO
"Just thinking back at how I went through all of that was just kind of surprising," Steele said in 2025. "I was drafted, so I was a soldier that really wasn't wanting to go over to Vietnam, nobody did I think back in the day. So yeah, we were just trying to get through it and survive."
At one point in the documentary, Steele says, "It's a bad experience, but I figure in a way everybody probably learns something from it."
"I guess I just learned a lot about the world and other people, and I guess frankly how lucky we are," Steele said in 2025.
A big wave of Vietnamese people immigrated to Minnesota following the end of the war in 1975. Nowadays, community members are diligently striving to ensure that their language and culture remain vibrant and enduring for generations to come.
And for more than a decade, Roseville's Minnesota Vietnamese Language School is how they've been cultivating community in the Twin Cities metro.
Now retired, Loc Van founded the school in 2013 with just 90 students or so. Twelve years later, the number has grown to more than 270, with students traveling from across the state and beyond to learn each weekend.
WCCO
A group of volunteers have stepped up to help keep the school going, and growing.
"We mostly look like the family," said the school's Canh Truong. "Everybody share the work."
Sharing in the work, and sharing in the cost. Beyond a few grants to help with funding for events, and the $150 yearly tuition students pay -- which goes to leasing the building and buying the books -- the school is primarily funded by private donations.
Everyone at the school is a volunteer, including the principal and teachers. No one takes a paycheck.
"So we can carry the culture from generation to generation," Van said.
Cambodian Minnesotans and the majestic Watt Munisotaram
Cambodia's involvement in the Vietnam War would have lasting impacts on the country and its people.
The U.S. dropped 500,000 tons of bombs on Cambodia over several years. It's estimated that upwards of 150,000 people died by those bombs.
What's worse is the bombing campaign paved the way for one of the worst genocides of the 20th Century. It's estimated that nearly 2 million people -- or about a quarter of the country's population -- died at the hands of leader Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge communists from 1975 to 1979.
Watt Munisotaram
WCCO
Cambodian refugees came to Minnesota in the early 1980s. Today, the town of Hampton, about 35 miles southeast of Minneapolis, is home to Watt Munisotaram, one of the largest Buddhist temples in North America.
"There's no big donation or anything like that," said Chanda Sour, with Watt Munisotaram. "There's no millionaire guy who donated money. It's all $10 from this guy, $10 from that guy, $40 from this guy or $50 from that guy."
Every detail on the temple was hand-crafted in a small workshop on the 40 acres the temple now calls home.
"The temple is a symbol of what our community can accomplish," Sour said.
Not only is the Twin Cities metro home to the largest concentration of Hmong in the U.S., it's also home to the largest Hmong-serving organization in the nation: The Hmong American Partnership (HAP), which is marking 35 years of service in 2025.
Pauleen Le sat down with several of the organization's current and former leaders for some food for thought at the cultural and culinary gem known as the Hmong Village in St. Paul.
"(Hmong Village) is what the Hmong city would look like if we had a country. I mean, it's everything," said Kou Vang, HAP's director of finance and administration from 1993 to 1996.
From left the right: Dr. Christopher Thao, Lee Pao Xiong, May Yer Thao and Kou Vang.
WCCO
"I think having something like this proves to the community that we not only survive, but we are a thriving community," said Lee Pao Xiong, HAP's executive director from 1992-1995.
The HAP leaders say another principle to making the program grow was to pay all employees a good working and living wage.
Not all immigrants have experienced the same successes moving to Minnesota. For the modest Laotian community, a big challenge has been access to funding and resources.
Recent census data found there are around 16,000 Laotian-born Minnesotans, but community organizers say that number could be almost twice as high.
While the Hmong community has largely thrived in America, particularly in Minnesota, the same cannot be said for the Laotian people, the majority ethnic group in Laos.
WCCO
A big challenge is access to funding and resources, but local leaders in that community still have hope for future generations to grow and prosper.
The Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota has been helping the community for decades. Executive Director Sunny Chanthanouvong estimates the center helps upwards of 15,000 people every year with services, including translation, filling out important documents, job searches and much more.
"We cannot say no to them, we cannot reject them," Chanthanouvong said.
The Vietnam War holds a unique place in American history. It stands as the last conflict to involve a military draft, and in every meaningful way, the U.S. "lost" the war.
This loss wasn't just a big military and political blow; it also left deep emotional wounds, changed the country's foreign policy and had a huge impact on the lives of many veterans and civilians. For a growing number of veterans, some of the wounds could only begin to heal with a trip back to Vietnam years, if not decades, after they served.
That was a case for two local veterans from St. Louis Park: Jeff Roy and Bruce Berry.
Roy and Berry each discovered their duty to their country collided at a moral crossroads in Vietnam. Both men went into service during the height of the war. Both were just around 20 years old, and both were met with reality not long after they arrived.
Left to right: Jeff Roy and Bruce Berry
WCCO
"The picture in my mind that I had of leaving and all the destruction we left and the death," Berry said.
Berry retraced his steps across Vietnam and visited some of the places he served during the war, while Roy went on a tour with the organization Veterans for Peace, where they traveled to some of the hardest hit places, like My Lai, where a 1968 massacre left more than 300 unarmed civilians dead.
"It told me that I was right to have been against the war," Roy said. "It told me that these people, north or south, were just very normal human beings who had their desires to live a safe and healthy life and to raise families."
Veterans for Peace is taking another full flight of veterans back to Vietnam to mark the 50th anniversary.
There will soon be a new place to visit honoring the stories of Minnesota's history in world conflicts, including the Vietnam War.
The new Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum is under construction just outside of Camp Ripley in Little Falls, and is expected to open in late 2026. When it opens, it will honor not only Minnesota's service members and their sacrifices, but the refugee experience as well.
For the past 50 years, the former regimental headquarters building-turned-museum has served Camp Ripley well, but Doug Thompson, the museum's curator of collections, says these quarters are now just too cramped to do the museum justice.
"In totality, in all of our our collections, I would say that that number is between 70,000 to 80,000 individual artifacts, ranging from ribbon bars to submarines," Thompson said.
A rendering of the new Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum
MMVM
Inside, you'll find items from the Revolutionary War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and beyond. All of it is meaningful to Minnesota.
"Everything that you see in the museum today was donated by a Minnesota family and veteran, so it gives a real good connection for Minnesotans to their history," he said.
The new museum will also feature a state-of-the-art archive room, a classroom for students and a dedicated space to continue recording and preserving stories of Minnesota's veterans and refugee communities.
"It's who we are as a state. We've been shaped by that. The leadership that those communities have demonstrated at various levels, first responders, state legislature active in their communities, we want to have those stories be part of those facilities," Thompson said.
