The Fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a socialist republic. On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The capture was preceded by 'Operation Frequent Wind,' the largest helicopter evacuation in history, which carried the last American personnel and thousands of South Vietnamese civilians to safety on U.S. ships in the South China Sea. The event signified a major defeat for the United States and its allies in the Cold War struggle against communism in Southeast Asia. Saigon was subsequently renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the late North Vietnamese leader, and the country was officially reunified the following year.