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| By Emeritus | April 30, 2026 |
“South Vietnam was lost to the Communists… This should be a warning to other countries that more Vietnams are in store for the future. Conquered one by one, non-Communist countries are being gradually reduced in number… It is a somber prospect that we will probably face in the coming decades if we fail to realize the deficiencies and mistakes of the past and come up with a new line of conduct for the future.”
– General Cao Van Vien, 1983
General Cao Van Vien, one of South Vietnam’s most respected and decorated military leaders, gave this dire warning several years after the 1975 fall of Saigon. Even though he made this statement during the late stages of the Cold War, these words still ring true today.
When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, many believed that democracy had conclusively triumphed across the world. As American liberal thinker Francis Fukuyama believed, the end of the Cold War meant the “end of history,” meaning that from that point onward, the world would simply adopt freedom and democracy as the only acceptable form of governance.
Looking back, it is clear that Fukuyama was wrong. While we commend his optimism, we cannot say that his prediction of a world dominated by democracy is something that has come to pass.
Not only has Communism persisted, but it has taken on new forms, disguising itself as “Social Democracy,” “Democratic Socialism,” the even more misleading “Progressivism,” or, worst of all, what they today falsely call “Liberalism.”
No matter the pretty label, all of these “educated” and “refined” ideologies have many troubling things in common.
On the milder side, all of these ideologies favor high taxes, extensive welfare programs, big government, globalization, and lax citizenship standards.
On the darker side, all of these ideologies tolerate—and often encourage and systematize—troubling practices such as systematic disinformation, erosion of personal freedoms, hatred of Christianity, unchecked censorship and surveillance, newspeak, doublethink, silencing of political dissent, demonization of political opponents, and, as we’ve seen lately, the justification and orchestration of violence against those with differing points of view, just to name a few.
Communists of today believe they are clever and sly by taking on different labels, but their behaviors are the same today as those of Communists in previous decades.
They all claim to support a higher purpose. In the past, the “higher purpose” may have been “equality,” or, in the case of Vietnam, “nationalism.” Today, it is “equity,” “reproductive rights,” “racial justice,” “social justice,” and many other things that sound great, but always seem to be practiced by demonizing and directing one’s envies, insecurities, and anger at an innocent, scapegoated group.
Oddly enough, nearly all followers of these self-proclaimed “educated” and “refined” ideologies seem to have great admiration for historical figures such as Che Guevera, Fidel Castro, Mao Zedong, Vladimir Lenin, and Ho Chi Minh.
This is not a coincidence.
Communism has always been a mindset based on envy, greed, and deception.
During the Cold War, Communism declared itself openly to the world, offering itself as a social and governing system that challenged the Western democratic way of life.
Even though Communism seemed defeated at the end of the Cold War, personified by the fall of the Soviet Union, many of its supporters—especially in the West—continued to carry on its message. Only this time, its propagators took a different approach.
Instead of directly and openly challenging Western democracy, supporters of Communism embedded themselves within Western democracies. They infiltrated democratic institutions and claimed to hold a more “tolerant,” “compassionate,” and “progressive” approach to freedom. Broadly, they claimed to be for humanity and that their supposed objective was to “make the world a better place.”
For any unsuspecting and well-meaning observer, who wouldn’t support humanity? Who wouldn’t want to make the world a better place?
Similarly, for the impoverished, subjugated, and colonized peoples across the 20th-century world, who wouldn’t support equality, independence, and nationalism?
Sadly, for the peoples of the 20th-century world who supported Communism, they took their homelands from one hellish reality to the next. By supporting Communism, many naïve peoples steered their impoverished or colonized homelands into totalitarian one-party states. What followed would be famine, death, and destruction for decades, until the advent of the 21st century.
Today, in the Western world, those who follow the new strands of Communism are actively pursuing one-party states. Instead of openly stating this, however, they pursue these objectives by tampering with elections, weakening election integrity, importing voters through open borders, and engaging in unlawful redistricting schemes that give small percentages of voters majority representation in general elections.
These new followers of Communism also systematically use lies, fake news, and propaganda to silence debate and opposing views, and go as far as committing violent assaults and murder against those with whom they disagree.
Whether on social media, in the workplace, or especially in the classroom, “tolerant,” “progressive,” “democratic socialists” are encouraged to report their friends, neighbors, and even family members as “fascists,” “racists,” “sexists,” “homophobes,” “anti-vaxxers,” and other false accusations if compliance and deference are not given to the followers of Communism.
And if you are branded as one or more of these false labels, then suddenly, more lies against you are acceptable. Sabotage of your grades, reputation, and career is suddenly acceptable. Physical assaults against you are suddenly acceptable. And even murder is acceptable if committed against you.
Despicably enough, as can be seen in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, if you are branded and marked by the Communists, even the celebration and trivialization of your violent murder is suddenly acceptable.
This is no different from China during the Cultural Revolution, when Mao’s followers justified violence and bloody murder against their own friends and family if they deemed them “counter-revolutionaries.”
This is no different from Vietnam during the Hue Massacre, when Vietcong and North Vietnamese cadres went house to house, killing, raping, and mutilating innocent civilians whom they deemed “counter-revolutionaries” and “government sympathizers.”
Similar atrocities happened in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Cuba, Cambodia, and many other Communist nations across the world.
Today, in countries such as England, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, and right here in the U.S.A., we have been seeing the beginning of this troubling turn.
While we can’t speak for other nations, there is an optimistic trend in America, with a concerted pushback and rejection of the creeping Communism that has been quietly infecting our nation for decades.
Americans of all walks of life, of all different backgrounds and ethnicities—from the working class to the upper class—are coming together to say NO to the Communism being forced upon our country by college professors, Hollywood, woke tech giants, astroturfing wealthy activist groups, and radical left politicians.
Amid this revival in the love of freedom and American exceptionalism, at the forefront of this movement is the Vietnamese American community.
Vietnamese Americans are among the most ardent and vocal defenders of America against the creeping Communism propagated by the contemporary left. This is evidenced by our strong Republican base of support, despite being gaslighted, love-bombed, and rage-baited by “social justice” leftists who claim that, because of our skin tone, the only vote we’re allowed to make is for Democrats.
From our heritage as South Vietnamese, and then as Boat People, we know the horrors that Communism is capable of. Furthermore, we know what Communism looks like, even in its early stages.
This is one of the reasons that, while creeping Communism has made so much headway in other Western democracies like the UK, Canada, and other parts of Europe, it seems to have hit a wall in the United States.
America is composed of people who love freedom, coming here in the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Even though the contemporary Communists infecting our institutions have attempted to erode the American Dream, it is still true today that America is filled with freedom-loving patriots. Much of this is composed of the Vietnamese American community.
As proud American patriots, with freedom in our blood carried over from the eternal memory of South Vietnam, we have been fighting Communism in America, and we continue doing so to this day, just as we did in Vietnam.
As proud Americans with a noble and enduring South Vietnamese heritage, our knowledge of and resistance to Communism is our gift to America. Effectively, it is our gift to the world.
Today, as we gather for another somber anniversary of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, we remember where we came from. We also remember the enduring lessons that we brought with us, so that we may share this message with the world, with the purpose of ensuring that General Cao Van Vien’s warning will never become reality.
By sharing this message of Black April, personified by the sacrifice of South Vietnam, we further the cause of ensuring that the world shall not be engulfed by Communism.
After decades of honorable military service in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, including nearly 10 years as Chairman of the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff, General Vien settled in the United States with his family.
He passed away in Annandale, Virginia, in 2008, leaving behind a legacy that inspires and teaches to this day. Effectively, the statement he made in 1983 has proven prophetic, putting America on notice and thus in a better position to prevail against the forces that hate us.
Like General Vien, we are proud descendants of South Vietnam.
And like General Vien, we continue to take a stand to protect the free world from the insidious hold of Communism, however long it takes.
Today, we come together to remember the fallen heroes.
We remember their sacrifice, and we remember what they fought for.
Not only that, but we will make sure their sacrifice continues to resonate in defense of the free world.
We will do so, always and forever.
Freedom For Vietnam 