Bùi Tín facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bùi Tín
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| Born | 29 December 1927 Hanoi, French Indochina |
| Died | 11 August 2018 (aged 90) Montreuil, Paris, France |
| Allegiance |  North Vietnam |
| Service/ |
 People's Army of Vietnam |
| Years of service | 1945–1990 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Bùi Tín (born December 29, 1927 – died August 11, 2018) was a Vietnamese soldier and journalist. He was a colonel in the People's Army of Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, he became unhappy with his country's government. He moved to Paris, France, to speak out about his concerns.
Contents
Life and Military Service
Early Life and Education
Bùi Tín was born near Hanoi on December 29, 1927. He grew up and went to school in Huế, a city in Vietnam.
Joining the Fight for Independence
In 1945, when he was 18, Bùi Tín joined the fight for Vietnam's independence from France. He became a supporter of the August Revolution. He joined the Viet Minh, a group led by Ho Chi Minh and General Võ Nguyên Giáp.
Bùi Tín was both a soldier and a journalist. He fought in battles and also wrote for the army's newspaper. He was hurt during the important Battle of Ðiện Biên Phủ in 1954.
Role in the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, Bùi Tín served in the North Vietnamese army's main command. He had special permission to visit camps where American Prisoners of War (POWs) were held. He could talk to the camp officers and the prisoners themselves. At one point, he was involved in questioning an American pilot named John McCain.
In 1975, Bùi Tín was in South Vietnam as a reporter. This was during the Fall of Saigon, when the war ended. Some people in Western countries believed he accepted the surrender of the South Vietnamese leader. However, the Vietnamese government and Bùi Tín himself said this was not true. They said another colonel, Bùi Văn Tùng, accepted the surrender.
Life After the War and Speaking Out
After the war, Bùi Tín became a high-ranking editor for Nhân Dân. This was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam. But by the mid-1980s, he grew disappointed. He saw a lot of corruption and felt Vietnam was too isolated from other countries.
In 1990, Bùi Tín decided to leave Vietnam. He moved to Paris, France. He chose to stay there after being invited by a French newspaper. He wanted to express his concerns about Vietnam's political system.
In 1991, Bùi Tín spoke to a committee in the United States Senate. This committee was looking into what happened to American POWs and soldiers missing in action (MIA) from the Vietnam War. Bùi Tín stated that he believed no American prisoners were still alive in Vietnam. After his testimony, he met and hugged John McCain, who had been a POW. This moment made headlines around the world.
Bùi Tín later wrote two books about his experiences. They were called Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel and From Enemy To Friend: A North Vietnamese Perspective on the War.
In 2000, he said that American soldiers captured by North Vietnam were not tortured during the war. However, he did say that some captured U.S. Air Force pilots might have been treated badly. He called this a "violation of the International Agreement on Prisoner of War."
Bùi Tín passed away on August 11, 2018, in Montreuil, France. He was 90 years old.
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