The conflict profoundly affected the American troops who served there, as well as the nation’s culture and politics. But 50 years later, veterans say they see its mistakes being repeated.

Vietnam’s top leader said his nation is ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s great powers, as tens of thousands gathered to watch a military parade marking 50 years since the end of the war and the defeat of the US-backed southern regime.

The Vietnam War greatly impacted U.S. society from the passage of the War Powers Resolution that restricts the president’s ability to send troops into extended combat without congressional approval to the cementing of college campuses as centers of student activism.