The rapid PAVN advances of March and early April led to increased concern in Saigon that the city , which had been fairly peaceful throughout the war and whose people had endured relatively little suffering , was soon to come under direct attack . Many feared that once the communists took control of the city , a bloodbath of reprisals would take place . In 1968 , PAVN and VC forces had occupied Huế for close to a month . After the communists were repelled , American and ARVN forces had found mass graves . A study indicated that the VC had targeted ARVN officers , Roman Catholics , intellectuals and businessmen , and other suspected counterrevolutionaries . More recently , eight Americans captured in Buôn Ma Thuột had vanished and reports of beheadings and other executions were filtering through from Huế and Đà Nẵng , mostly spurred on by government propaganda . Most Americans and citizens of other countries allied to the United States wanted to evacuate the city before it fell , and many South Vietnamese , especially those associated with the United States or South Vietnamese government , wanted to leave as well
mass graves
Massacre at Huế
Fall of Saigon