Nguyen Van Tap, Vu Dang Toan and Ngo Sy Nguyen immortalised themselves as a vital part of history as the crew of the Communist Tank 390 that stormed Saigon's presidential palace, symbollising the end of the Vietnam war. Central Saigon was the soul of the southern, US backed regime. The Communist Tank 390 made its way through Saigon as hellfire rained down. The crew lost communication with the commanders and made the extremely bold decision to storm the palace. "At that very moment, I considered the Independence Palace just another station of the enemy, a position that we must eliminate," said Nguyen Van Tap, the driver of the tank. These men who made a crucial cog turn in the wheel of history have remained humble about this massive feat. Vu Dang Toan, the commander of the tank, had kept extremely quiet about his role that even members of his family had no idea. "We are proud to be tankmen," said the tank's first gunner, Ngo Sy Nguyen. History will forever honour these veterans.
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00:00A tank crashed through the gates of Saigon's presidential palace ending
00:06Vietnam's war. 50 years ago the young crew of Communist Tank 390 shaped the
00:12course of history. Now they are modest about their role in a pivotal chapter of
00:17the Cold War.
00:30The Communist Tank 390, fighting for North Vietnam, stormed Saigon's presidential palace and crashed its gates.
00:55Nguyen Van Tap drove this tank while Wu Dang-tuon commanded it and Ingo Sieh Nguyen was the first gunner.
01:02When I went and I was knocked out and I was the one who hit my own head.
01:09I thought that at that time I could have thought.
01:12I was on the road and I was at the road.
01:15I didn't know where to go. I didn't think I had to go first.
01:19I didn't think that way.
01:21When I was there, people were shut up.
01:23And people were exposed to that.
01:25I knew that Toàn was a keystone.
01:28I was not punished.
01:30I didn't want to go second.
01:33The force of the skeleton was the first I took,
01:36who killed the man for the first time I was in.
01:38I had to study how many members were my mission.
01:40I have been sacrificed in the window of Saigon,
01:42the best goal for my son was my mission.
01:45My mission was to be Carrie Corp,
01:47and my son was a bit of MAN.
01:49Van Tap says he saw the palace as yet another station of the enemy.
01:55The gate crash became an iconic moment that signaled the end of the Vietnam War.
02:18Subtitles on by Kris Nuggets