:''Note'': The "François Sully" credited in '' The Foreman Went to France'' (1942) was British character actor Francis L. Sullivan. François Sully (1927–1971) was a French

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

best known for his work during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Sully was one of the earliest journalists to cover the Vietnam War and spent 24 years in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

. At the time of his death in a command helicopter crash near the Cambodian border, he was viewed as the dean of the

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

press corps.

Life

Sully was born on 27 August 1927 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and fought against the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

as a teenager and was wounded on his seventeenth birthday in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. After the liberation of Paris he enlisted in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, fought the Nazis in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and then volunteered for the French Expeditionary Forces, arriving in Saigon when the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese surrendered in 1945. Discharged in Saigon, Sully tried his hand as a tea planter and rancher before turning to

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

. In 1947 he joined ''Sud-Est Asiatique'', a now defunct French magazine, working for them until 1953. He was assigned to cover the battle of

Dien Bien Phu Diethylenetriamine (abbreviated and also known as 2,2’-Iminodi(ethylamine)) is an organic compound with the formula HN(CH2CH2NH2)2. This colourless hygroscopic liquid is soluble in water and polar organic solvents, but not simple hydrocarbons. ...

Time-Life Time Life, Inc. (also habitually represented with a hyphen as Time-Life, Inc., even by the company itself) was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and Direct marketing, direct ...

. He escaped from behind the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

lines. In 1959 he joined

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

(UPI). He wrote articles for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine and his photographs were carried by Black Star until he joined ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' in early 1961. In March 1962, Sully was to be expelled from

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

by President

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of V ...

, egged on by

Madame Nhu Trần Lệ Xuân (; 22 August 1924 – 24 April 2011), more popularly known in English as Madame Nhu, was the ''de facto'' First Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. She was the wife of Ngô Đình Nhu, who was the brother and chief adviso ...

, as his reporting was deemed "helpful to the enemy". Unofficially, Diem intended the expulsion to serve as a warning to all journalists reporting the failings of his U.S.-assisted war against the

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

. The other journalist on the expulsion list was Homer Bigart of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Diem backed down after the U.S. Mission explained that expulsion would only worsen an already bad relationship with the press. Five months later, however, in August 1962, Sully was sent packing after some seventeen years in Indochina. The ''Newsweek'' issue of August 20, 1962 carried a long article by Sully "Viet Nam: The Unpleasant Truth". His expulsion became a major political affair between Saigon and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Sully departed Saigon on September 9, with most of the press corps at the airfield in a show of solidarity. After his expulsion Sully proceeded to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

where he put in a year at the

Nieman Foundation The Nieman Foundation for Journalism is the primary journalism institution at Harvard University. History It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ' ...

and worked in bordering countries to Vietnam. He returned to the ''Newsweek'' bureau in Saigon after the November 1963 Coup and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem. During his work as ''Newsweeks Saigon Bureau Chief, Sully also wrote for a number of other newsmagazines including ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' and ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

''. In 1967 and 1968, Sully wrote articles for

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

's business-reporting service World News which distributed them to ''

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'', '' Medical World News'', '' Engineering News Record'', and other publications. In addition to writing news stories and taking photographs, Sully wrote ''Age of the Guerrilla: The New Warfare'' (New York: Parent's Magazine Press, 1968; reprinted by Avon, 1970) and compiled and edited ''We the Vietnamese: Voices from Vietnam'' (New York: Praeger, 1971). Sully was the insider's insider amongst the press corps in Vietnam. His sources were numerous inside the

and

, inside the

Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

in Saigon and at grassroots levels in every province in the North and South. He spoke several languages and was fluent in French, English,

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

and Lao. Sully died in late February 1971. On 23 February 1971 he was aboard the command helicopter of General Do Cao Tri (the 'Patton of the Parrots Beak') as it turned west towards

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

. The helicopter had lifted off from Tay Ninh airstrip and was heading towards a firebase just across the Vietnam-Cambodia border. As the helicopter was nearing its destination it burst in flames. Sully alone leaped from the burning craft and plunged to the ground, all others died in the crash. Sully died from injuries suffered in the fall at Long Binh hospital. Sully was buried in Mac Dinh Chi Cemetery in Saigon."Tet and remembrance of the dead"
''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

'', February 28, 2005 He left his insurance policy of 18 million

piaster The piastre or piaster () is any of a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for "thin metal plate". The name was applied to Spanish and Hispanic American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venetian traders in the Lev ...

s (equivalent to $45,000 at February, 1971 exchange rates) to Vietnamese orphans.

References

References and further reading

* Grant, Zalin. ''Facing the Phoenix: The CIA and the Political Defeat of the United States in Vietnam''. W. W. Norton & Co., 1991. * "François Sully". ''Newsweek'', September 17, 1962, p. 68 * "François Sully". ''Newsweek'', March 8, 1971, p. 75 *

External links

Francois Sully papers and photographs, 1958-1983
University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library,

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...

Francois Sully Collection
, William Joiner Center, UMass Boston.
Francois Sully
The Newseum.
"Sully, François, 1927-1971 : Papers and photographs, 1958-198 (Bulk, 1963-1971)"
Sully Collection at WGBH Open Vault. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sully, Francois 1927 births 1971 deaths Nieman Fellows French planters Historians of the Vietnam War Burials at Mac Dinh Chi Cemetery Journalists killed while covering the Vietnam War War photographers killed while covering the Vietnam War 20th-century French historians French male writers French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members 20th-century French journalists Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1971 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Vietnam

Life

See also

References

References and further reading

External links