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About 150 members of the Vietnamese-American community gathered Sunday in San Jose’s History Park to remember the fall of Saigon, and to honor the thousands of people who gave their lives trying to resist a communist takeover by North Vietnamese forces 43 years ago.

Attendees said the ceremony — held each year during what many Vietnamese expatriates still refer to as Black April — serves to keep alive the lessons of the past, and to pass a warning on to younger generations to resist tyranny and communism.

In the courtyard outside the Viet Museum in a western corner of the park, many watched solemnly as small yellow and red flags of the former Republic of South Vietnam were placed along a stone memorial honoring military leaders who took their own lives April 30, 1975, rather than submit to communist rule.

Many veterans of the war came dressed in their South Vietnamese Army fatigues, including Lt. Col. Nhon Huu Do, who spent 10 years in a North Vietnamese prison camp after the fall of Saigon.

He said he was put into forced labor and was “treated like an animal” during his time there, and he comes to these annual events to “honor the heroes” who fought with him against communism for decades.

“We hope that one beautiful day, we will come back to Vietnam” when it is under democratic control, he said.

For Tu Gustafson, a Vietnamese immigrant living in Los Gatos, the event is special because it brings together people of all ages to share in the pain and memory of “the worst day of the whole country.”

“It is very important, not only to the Vietnamese, but to the whole world, that communism is not accepted. Communism is bad, period,” she said. “Some people think communism is good, because they only hear the words, but the truth is never the same. People can be naive and get sucked in. And once they find out, it’s too late. They will lose their lives if they get in too deep.”

Dave Cortese, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, said in an interview at the event that it’s important to remind people “they did not sacrifice in vain,” even though he acknowledged that some have questioned the value of the war.

“We recognize the fact that they stood their ground. They went along with the notion that a line needed to be drawn in the sand” against communism, he said. “This wasn’t a ruse, this was something very important.”

Cortese told the crowd he feels the Republic of Vietnam is still alive and well in Santa Clara County, because of the effort the large Vietnamese community has made to establish its culture and value systems here.

“Long live the Republic of South Vietnam,” he said.

Gustafson hopes these ceremonies — which she said help illustrate the immense love young men and women in the military had for the people of South Vietnam — will continue each year.

“My generation will be gone, but it’s very important that our children and our grandchildren continue to know about this,” she said.