Vietnam’s To Lam Hails ‘Profound’ Lessons 50 Years After War (1)

Vietnam’s top leader said his nation is ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s great powers, as tens of thousands gathered to watch a military parade marking 50 years since the end of the war and the defeat of the US-backed southern regime.

The war left us “lessons with profound values,” Communist Party General Secretary To Lam said Wednesday at the ceremonial event in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Those include “leaving the past behind, looking toward the future,” he said.

To Lam delivers a speech in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30.

Photographer: Tran Thi Minh Ha/AFP/Getty Images

The anniversary is a watershed moment for a country that for decades battled and eventually ...