Photographer Nguyen Dinh Dat, 69, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City's District 3, had taken 33 pictures of the streets in the city on April 30, 1975. He used a black-and-white Nikon FTN at the time.
In certain photos he took at around 9:30 a.m., several soldiers could be seen carrying guns near his house at the time.
About a kilometer away from the site, at the Phu Nhuan intersection, several adults could be seen carrying their children on bicycles, with a tank in the background.
A truck running on Truong Minh Giang Street carried over a dozen soldiers. Dat said when the situation in Saigon calmed down at noon, soldiers were relaxed enough to wave at people along the streets.
On the other side of the frontline, a group of South Vietnam soldiers were walking on Vo Di Nguy Street (now known as Phan Dinh Phung Street) towards downtown Saigon. Along the streets, people were gathering news about changes in the city.
From another direction, groups of liberators from Hoc Mon and Cu Chi were also moving towards the city center. Four soldiers were carrying bags and weapons, their photos taken from behind the windshield of a Nissan Datsun 1000.
Along the streets, several people could be seen bringing documents and belongings related to the South Vietnam regime out on the streets. Since mid-April, as news from the battlefields signaled major incoming changes, many of Dat's neighbors left the city for fear of bombings.
Two children were walking hand-in-hand on the sidewalks of Truong Minh Giang Street. Dat said at the time the photo was taken, people in Saigon were surprised to see soldiers entering the city while carrying weapons.
"At first, people were scared and locked themselves in their homes. Some decided to go out on the street, but were still hesitant to make contact with the soldiers," he said.
A group of young people sat on a military vehicle parked in an alley near Tan Dinh Market, Ho Chi Minh City's District 1. Previously, the vehicle was carrying a general, who came to the site to look for his loved ones.
Three foreign journalists were using cameras for work on the last day of the war in Saigon. They asked soldiers and civilians to give them rides, before returning to the embassy on Hai Ba Trung Street.
In the last photo of Dat's album, people could be seen gathering before the Independence Palace looking for news. The gates of the building had been destroyed by tanks of the liberators at the time, and a flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam was flying on the roof.
Following reunification day, Dat's album of 33 photos have been archived by the Institute of History and several news agencies.
