what year did the first us soldier die in vietnam
He was killed by accident by the Viet Minh when he was mistaken as being French and shot on his way back from Tan Son Nhat Airport after missing his flight back to the U.S. This happened on September 26, 1945. The first two Americans to die in combat in Vietnam was James McGovern and Wallace Buford. They were flying a cargo plane to Dien Bien Phu to drop supplies to the French when they were shot down over Laos. This happened on May 6, 1954. The last American to die in the Vietnam War continues to be controversial.
First Americans killed in South Vietnam. Maj. Dale R. Ruis and Master Sgt. Chester M. Ovnand become the first Americans killed in the American phase of the Vietnam War when guerrillas strike a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) compound in Bien Hoa, 20 miles northeast of Saigon. The group had arrived in South Vietnam on November 1, 1955, to provide military assistance.