50th Anniversary of Vietnam War: Honoring Veterans and Remembering the Fall of South Vietnam.

Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of combat troops departing South Vietnam, the beginning of the end of the United States' direct military involvement in the unpopular war. Two months prior, representatives of the U.S North and South Vietnam, and the Vietcong signed a peace agreement, which included key provisions such as the withdrawal of U.S. troops, a cease-fire throughout Vietnam, the release of prisoners of war, and the peaceful reunification of North and South Vietnam, once new elections were held. Despite the peace agreement, North Vietnam military officials violated the cease-fire and resumed a full-scale war by 1974.