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nOnnthis date in 1945, Vietnam declared independence from both Japan andnFrance.
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Howndo you end up needing to declare independence from two very differentnnations? Well, France had colonized Vietnam in the 1800s andnmaintained control of the Indochina area until World War II. Duringnthat war, Japan invaded Vietnam. Vietnam went through a lot ofnespecially tough times, and a leader named Ho Chi Minh helped wrestncontrol of the city of Hanoi from the Japanese. More fighting duringnWWII and afterwords resulted in a divided Vietnam, with Hanoi and thenrest of North Vietnam being Communist under Ho Chi Minh, and thensouth being ruled by some not-very-democratic leaders. And thisndivision, of course, led to the long, grisly Vietnam War.
Howndo you end up needing to declare independence from two very differentnnations? Well, France had colonized Vietnam in the 1800s andnmaintained control of the Indochina area until World War II. Duringnthat war, Japan invaded Vietnam. Vietnam went through a lot ofnespecially tough times, and a leader named Ho Chi Minh helped wrestncontrol of the city of Hanoi from the Japanese. More fighting duringnWWII and afterwords resulted in a divided Vietnam, with Hanoi and thenrest of North Vietnam being Communist under Ho Chi Minh, and thensouth being ruled by some not-very-democratic leaders. And thisndivision, of course, led to the long, grisly Vietnam War.n
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nThenwar finally ended in 1975 and was unified under a Communistngovernment. The nation has undergone a series of reforms and a periodnof great economic growth, although it still faces some pretty hugenproblems. n
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Vietnam’snstory is incredibly sad, and yet there are wonderful things to knownabout the land and the people. The Belgian singer Pham Quynh Ahnnsings about her Vietnamese ancestry, saying that she knows hernparents’ homeland only through movies—only “the sights of war.”nBut, she sings, “One day I’ll touch your soil / One day I’llnfinally know my soul.” Check out this lovely singer and hernwonderful song—and enjoy some beautiful sights of Vietnam.
Vietnam’snstory is incredibly sad, and yet there are wonderful things to knownabout the land and the people. The Belgian singer Pham Quynh Ahnnsings about her Vietnamese ancestry, saying that she knows hernparents’ homeland only through movies—only “the sights of war.”nBut, she sings, “One day I’ll touch your soil / One day I’llnfinally know my soul.” Check out this lovely singer and hernwonderful song—and enjoy some beautiful sights of Vietnam. n
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nTonlearn more about Vietnam, checknout this and this other earlier post.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversary of the installation of the first ATM
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nAnniversarynof the cancelation of Star Trek
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nAnniversary of the last day of the Julian calendar
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