Thousands of Vietnamese celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on Wednesday, in what the country's leader said was a "victory of faith."

The images changed how the world saw Vietnam, but especially how Americans saw their country, soldiers and the war itself, which ended 50 years ago this month.

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.