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Reminder of Things Past
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: Terez Anon (terez93)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 57 W: 72 N: 209]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (530) |
| Genre: Places |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2001-12 |
| Categories: Transportation |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2007-09-12 17:31 |
| Viewed: 636 |
| Points: 4 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
| Taken on the roof of the Reunificaiton Palace in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. I've no idea how long the helicopter's been there... it's now part of the museum. This structure was formerly known as Independence or Norodom Palace, and was designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu. It served as the residence and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the war and it was the site of the oficial handover during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. A famous photo shows an NVA tank crashing through the gates. This building has been witness to some of the country's most tumultuous times. In 1962, two pilots bombed the hall in what is known as the South Vietnamese Presidential Palace Bombing. Almost all the left wing was destroyed. Then-president Ngo Dinh Diem ordered the entire structure town down and rebuilt on the site of the old one. The new palace was completed in 1966 but President Diem never saw the completed building; he and his brother were assassinated in 1963. New chairman Nguyen Van Thieu lived and worked there from October 1967 until April, 1975. The hall was again bombed in April, 1975, but not damaged significantly. This photo shows two painted circles (!) which mark the place where bombs fell a second time. Immediately after the bombing the pilot defected to the north. In November 1975, the Provisional Government of the Republic of South Vietnam renamed the building Reunification Hall. It now serves as a museum, preserved exactly as it was the day of the Fall. It's interesting because all of the old technology, state-of-the-art for the day, such as telephones and radio transmitters are still in place! It's a three-dimensional snapshot of the center of one of the twentheth century's most significant events. |
grandklaus, Jeppo has marked this note useful
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Well done Watts, a good piece of history, good POV, is the helicopter part of a museum?, thanks for showing, regards, Salas
- Jeppo
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 593 W: 2 N: 502]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(4515) - [2007-09-13 3:18]
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a curious shot...2 points for the interesting and detailed note.
ciao
Silvio
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 317 W: 33 N: 388]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(1570)