Fifty years after a North Vietnamese tank came crashing through the front gate of Saigon's presidential palace and brought an end to the nearly two-decade Vietnam War, the metropolis that has since been called Ho Chi Minh City is gearing up for a celebration.

U.S. officials are not attending the main public event commemorating the end of the Vietnam war in Ho Chi Minh City this week, according to a guest list released by the organizers and seen by NPR.