The Vietnamese flag; a simple yellow star placed in the middle of a red background. The star essentially represents socialism, and the red...blood. It was adopted as the country's flag by the North Vietnamese after the "Fall of Saigon" (or unification of Vietnam depending on how you see it) on April 30, 1975, but was also used by Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh after they defeated the French in the 1940's.
I saw images recently from the April 30th anniversary (from overseas Vietnamese gatherings in places like Toronto) -- not one person in any of those images sported the current Vietnam flag. They all waved the former South Vietnam flag (yellow with three horizontal red stripes). But what is in a flag, really? Why do we place such importance in symbols like this? Why does this represent so many ill feelings for so many overseas Vietnamese? Do they not still love their country? Do they not care for the family they left behind and who likely hang this flag in their home? Discuss.
What's in a Flag?
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