Van Tien Dung

▪ 2003

      North Vietnamese general (b. May 1, 1917, Co Nhue, French Indochina—d. March 17, 2002, Hanoi, Vietnam), was one of North Vietnam's greatest war heroes—a peasant soldier who rose to become commander in chief of the North Vietnamese army and lead the final Ho Chi Minh Campaign that captured and occupied Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1975. As a young man, Dung was arrested by French colonial authorities for his Communist Party activities, but he escaped from prison and in 1947 joined Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap's High Command staff. Despite his lack of military training and limited battlefield experience, Dung proved to be an able logistic planner. He was named chief of staff of the People's Army of Vietnam in 1953 and succeeded Giap as commander in chief in 1975. After the reunification of Vietnam, he served (1980–87) as defense minister. Our Great Spring Victory, Dung's memoir about the last days of the Vietnam War, was published in 1976.

* * *