40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon

South Vietnamese civilians desperate to get aboard evacuation flights try to scale the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon on the day the city fell, April 30, 1975.

On April 28, 1975, South Vietnamese troops and Western television reporters run for cover as a North Vietnamese mortar round explodes on Newport Bridge on the outskirts of Saigon.   (Hoanh / Associated Press)

On April 4, 1975, young demonstrators toss sticks and rocks at South Vietnamese riot police in Saigon in a brief confrontation after a rally sponsored by the mainly Catholic anti-corruption movement.   (Lo Vinh / Associated Press)

Refugees are lifted by cargo net from a barge onto the U.S. ship Pioneer Contender for evacuation from the fallen city of Da Nang, Vietnam. It took eight hours to load some 6,000 refugees aboard the ship.   (Peter O’Loughlin / Associated Press)