50 years later, Vietnam's battlefields draw retrospective veterans and other tourists

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — Hamburger Hill, Hue, the Ia Drang Valley, Khe Sanh: Some remember the Vietnam War battles from the headlines of the 1960s and 1970s, others from movies and history books. And thousands of Americans and Vietnamese know them as the graveyards of loved ones who died fighting more than a half-century ago.

Today the battlefields of Vietnam are sites of pilgrimage for veterans from both sides who fought there, and tourists wanting to see firsthand where the war was waged.

“It was a war zone when I was here before,” reflected U.S. Army veteran Paul Hazelton as he walked with his wife through the grounds of the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, which was known as Saigon when he served there.

Hazelton’s tour just shy of his 80th birthday took him back for the first time to places he served as a young draftee, including Hue, the former Phu Bai Combat Base on the city's outskirts, and Da Nang, which was a major base for both American and South Vietnamese forces.

“Everywhere you went, you know, it was occupied territory with our military, now you just see the hustle and bustle and the industry, and it's remarkable," he said.

“I’m just glad that we’re now trading and friendly with Vietnam. And I think both sides are benefiting from it.”

Vietnam's war with the United States lasted for nearly 20 years from 1955 to 1975, with more than 58,000 Americans killed and many times that number of Vietnamese.

For Vietnam, it started almost immediately after the nearly decadelong fight to expel the colonial French, who were supported by Washington, which culminated with the decisive defeat of French forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

The end of French Indochina meant major changes in the region, including the partitioning of Vietnam into Communist North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, and U.S.-aligned South Vietnam.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla troops, and the 30th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.

Tourism has rebounded rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic and is now a critical driver of Vietnam's growth, the fastest in the region, accounting for roughly one in nine jobs in the country. Vietnam had more than 17.5 million foreign visitors in 2024, close to the record 18 million set in 2019 before the pandemic.

The War Remnants Museum attracts some 500,000 visitors a year, about two-thirds of whom are foreigners. Its exhibits focus on American war crimes and atrocities like the My Lai massacre and the devastating effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used during the war.

The U.S. was to open the first exhibit of its own at the museum this year, detailing Washington's extensive efforts to remediate wartime damage, but it is indefinitely on hold after the Trump administration slashed foreign aid.

Other wartime sites in Saigon, which was the capital of South Vietnam, include the South Vietnamese president's Independence Palace where North Vietnamese tanks famously crashed through the gates as they took the city and the Rex Hotel where the U.S. held press briefings derisively dubbed the Five O'clock Follies for their paucity of credible information.

On the northern outskirts of the city are the Cu Chi tunnels, an underground warren used by Viet Cong guerrillas to avoid detection from American planes and patrols, which attracts some 1.5 million people annually.

Today visitors can climb and crawl through some of the narrow passages and take a turn at a firing range shooting targets with war-era weapons like the AK-47, M-16 and the M-60 machine gun known as "the pig" by American troops for its bulky size and high rate of fire.

“I can understand a bit better now how the war took place, how the Vietnamese people managed to fight and protect themselves,” said Italian tourist Theo Buono after visiting the site while waiting for others in his tour group to finish at the firing range.

Former North Vietnamese Army artilleryman Luu Van Duc remembers the fighting firsthand, but his visit to the Cu Chi tunnels with a group of other veterans provided an opportunity to see how their allies with the Viet Cong lived and fought.

“I'm so moved visiting the old battlefields — it was my last dying wish to be able to relive those hard but glorious days together with my comrades,” the 78-year-old said.

“Relics like this must be preserved so the next generations will know about their history, about the victories over much stronger enemies.”

The former Demilitarized Zone where the country was split between North and South in Quang Tri province saw the heaviest fighting during the war, and drew more than 3 million visitors in 2024.

On the north side of the DMZ, visitors can walk through the labyrinthine Vinh Moc tunnel complex, where civilians took shelter from bombs that the U.S. dropped in an effort to disrupt supplies to the North Vietnamese.

The tunnels, along with a memorial and small museum at the border, can be reached on a day trip from Hue, which typically also includes a stop at the former Khe Sanh combat base, the site of a fierce battle in 1968 in which both sides claimed victory.

Today, Khe Sanh boasts a small museum and some of the original fortifications, along with tanks, helicopters and other equipment left by U.S. forces after their withdrawal.

Hue itself was the scene of a major battle during the Tet Offensive in 1968, one of the longest and most intense of the war. Today the city's ancient Citadel and Imperial City, a UNESCO site on the north bank of the Perfume River, still bears signs of the fierce fighting but has largely been rebuilt. West of Hue, a little off the beaten path near the border with Laos, is Hamburger Hill, the scene of a major battle in 1969.

About 500 kilometers (300 miles) to the southwest near the Cambodian border is the Ia Drang valley, where the first major engagement between American and North Vietnamese forces was fought in 1965.

Fighting in North Vietnam was primarily an air war, and today the Hoa Lo Prison museum tells that story from the Vietnamese perspective.

Sardonically dubbed the “Hanoi Hilton” by inmates, the former French prison in Hanoi was used to hold American prisoners of war, primarily pilots shot down during bombing raids. Its most famous resident was the late Sen. John McCain after he was shot down in 1967.

“It was kind of eerie but fascinating at the same time,” said Olivia Wilson, a 28-year-old from New York, after a recent visit.

“It's an alternative perspective on the war.”

Rising reported from Bangkok.

A tourist takes photos of a mural at the Hoa Lo prison museum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A tourist looks over old French fortifications in Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, April 22, 2019. (AP Photo/David Rising)

A gardener waters flowers outside the newly rebuilt Kien Trung Palace in the Imperial City within the Citadel of Hue, Vietnam, Feb. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/David Rising)

The wreckage of an American tank on display at the Khe Sanh Combat Base in Vietnam, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/David Rising)

Tourists stand in front of armor combat vehicles on display at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Tourists visit Hoa Lo prison museum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A tourist walks through the Dien Bien Phu Military Cemetery in Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, April 22, 2019. (AP Photo/David Rising)

Tourists pose for photos in front of Independence Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A tourist looks at a U.S Air Force fighter jet used during the Vietnam war on display at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A tourist moves in a narrow tunnel passage in the relic site of Cu Chi tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Tourists look at a mural at the Hoa Lo prison museum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A tourist shoots targets with a war-era weapon at a firing range near Cu Chi tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

An American transport aircraft stands at the edge of the runway at the Khe Sanh Combat Base in Vietnam. Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/David Rising)

Vietnamese flags fly on the Hien Luong Bridge, with a memorial in the distance, at the former border between North and South Vietnam, Quang Tri province, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/David Rising)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)