Remembering Our Forgotten Dead from Vietnam

The Vietnam War claimed over 58,000 American men and women in uniform (the officially-recognized total today is 58,220).  It claimed a far greater number of Vietnamese.  This much we all know.

Those US military personnel who died as a result of the “official” Vietnam War are permanently memorialized in Washington, DC, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  That’s fitting, and the site is indeed an appropriate memorial for the Vietnam War.

Visiting The Wall is indeed a moving experience.  This too is relatively well-known.

Two other things are less well known.  The first “official” US death of the Vietnam war has changed over time.  Further, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial does not list all Americans who died while serving the nation in Vietnam.

. . .

The first “official” American death of the Vietnam War has changed over time. Four different individuals have been considered the first official US war dead from Vietnam.

The database of war dead from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial initially was to use a start date of 1 January 1961.  However, that decision was changed prior to the opening of the memorial.   MAJ Dale R. Buis and MSG Chester M. Ovnand, US Army – who died in a Vietcong attack at Bien Hoa, Vietnam, on 8 July 1959 – were originally considered the first US dead from the Vietnam War.

This changed in 1983, when CPT Harry G. Cramer, Jr., US Army, was deemed to be the “first” US military death of the Vietnam War.  CPT Cramer was killed at Nha Trang during a Vietcong attack on 21 October 1957 (accounts differ as to whether his death was a direct result of the attack or an accident which occurred concurrent with the attack).  His name was approved for addition to the Vietnam War Memorial.  CPT Cramer’s name was reportedly added out-of-sequence to the center section (stone 1E) at his son’s request.

In 1999 the “official” start date for casualties from the Vietnam War was again changed.  The start date was now set to coincide with the creation of the Military Assistance Advisory Group – Vietnam as a separate headquarters on 1 November 1955  (MAAG-V had previously been a part of the Military Assistance Advisory Group – Indochina).  This change in turn made TSgt Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr., USAF – who was murdered in Vietnam on 8 June 1956 – the fist officially-recognized US military death of the Vietnam War.  He is so recognized today.

. . .

There are also other Americans who died in Vietnam while serving our nation.  But because they were not in uniform – or because they died at enemy hands before the war “officially” began – they are not formally recognized by the US government as being Vietnam War casualties.  They are thus not included among the 58,220 “official” Vietnam War casualties.

The list of such “unofficial” war dead is not a particularly short one.  The US Merchant Marine lost 56 sailors while supporting operations in Vietnam.  The CIA lost 17 personnel in due to the conflict in Southeast Asia – not counting more than 30 Air America personnel who died in Southeast Asia or the two CAT employees lost prior to the official start date of the Vietnam War (more on these two below).  USAID lost 37 personnel during the Vietnam War – including one who later posthumously was awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom the Distinguished Service Cross.  And at least 22 American journalists died in the Vietnam War as well, along with a number of other civilians unaffiliated with the US government.

The list of unofficial Vietnam War dead is not all male, either.  Besides the eight US military women who died in Vietnam (and whose names are included on the Vietnam Soldiers Memorial), if one includes the 5 April 1975 crash of a US C-5A aircraft at Da Nang during Operation Babylift at least 59 US civilian women also died due to the Vietnam War.  Many were US civilian government employees; a number of them died as the direct result of hostile action.

Time and space does not permit a comprehensive listing of all of these individuals, nor a full discussion.  I’m not sure a comprehensive list of such unofficial US Vietnam War dead even exists.

Still, I’d like to relate five cases.  Collectively, IMO they’re representative of those others who died while serving this country in Vietnam – but for one reason or another, aren’t remembered as “official” Vietnam War dead.

IMO, they are our forgotten Vietnam dead.

. . .

Shortly after the end of World War II – on 26 September 1945 – an American soldier was killed in Vietnam.  He was the first US citizen to die at the hands of communist Vietnamese forces.

His name was LTC A. Peter Dewey, US Army.  He was the son of US Congressman Charles S. Dewey.  He was also a distant relative of Thomas A. Dewey, who would be a candidate for POTUS in 1948.

LTC Dewey was a member of the OSS.  He was serving a post-World War II assignment to Vietnam at the time as his demise.

LTC Dewey was killed while returning to Saigon from what is today Tan Son Nhut International Airport (then Tan Son Nhut Airfield) in a Viet Minh ambush.  The Viet Minh afterwards claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, and that they mistook LTC Dewey for a French soldier.  (Dewey spoke French, and had indeed yelled in French at three individuals near the ambush site immediately before the ambush occurred.)  The other US officer accompanying him was not injured.

At the time he died, LTC Dewey was awaiting transportation to leave Vietnam.  The aircraft on which he was originally to depart Vietnam that day had been delayed.  He was returning from Tan Son Nhut to the OSS villa in Saigon for lunch when he was ambushed and killed.

LTC Dewey’s body was never recovered. Vietnamese historical accounts indicate it was dumped by the Viet Minh in a nearby river.

At the time, the French were US allies.  The Viet Minh were then communist-led rebels opposing the French.

LTC Dewey was killed in the line of duty, by forces hostile to a US ally, in Vietnam.  We later fought those same hostile forces ourselves.  But because his death occurred prior to the “official” start date of the US Vietnam War Era, he is not listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, nor is he officially recognized as a US war casualty in Vietnam.

Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms.  Rest in peace.

. . .

Two American civilians were killed in action while serving our country during Vietnam.  They died prior to the start of the “official” Vietnam War era.  Because of this – plus the fact that they were civilians – they are not officially recognized as US casualties of the Vietnam War.

During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the CIA (through its front operation Civil Air Transport, or CAT) provided aerial resupply for French forces.  CAT pilots, who were working for the CIA but technically were not CIA employees in a legal sense, flew these missions.

Two such US pilots working for the CIA were killed on 6 May 1954, during the final resupply mission at Dien Bien Phu. Their names were James B. McGovern, Jr., and Wallace Buford.

McGovern and Buford’s final mission was to air-deliver essential supplies and equipment (some accounts say a howitzer, while other accounts say ammunition) to besieged French forces at Dien Bien Phu.  Their aircraft crashed after being hit by Viet Minh antiaircraft fire.

Their aircraft was hit twice by 37mm antiaircraft fire over Dien Bien Phu and was badly damaged.  Nonetheless, they nursed their damaged aircraft back towards a friendly airstrip in what is today Laos.  That airstrip was a bit over 75 miles away.

They made it roughly 75 miles.  Unfortunately, less than a mile away from that airfield , one of their aircraft’s wingtips clipped a tree.

They did not make the airstrip.

McGovern and Buford died in the crash.  Reputedly McGovern’s final radio transmission, shortly before impact, was:  “Looks like this is it, son.”

McGovern was 32 years old.  Buford was 28.

Two passengers in the aircraft – a Malaysian paratrooper and a French officer, 2LT Jean Arlaux – were injured, but survived the crash.  The Malaysian paratrooper later died of his injuries.

Arlaux recovered from his injures, and later retired from the French Army as a Colonel.  His account of the mission can be found here.

McGovern’s body was recovered in 2002; his remains were positively identified in 2006.  He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on 24 May 2007.

Sadly, Buford’s remains have not been recovered to date.

Like LTC Dewey, these two men also died at the hands of communist forces in Vietnam.  At the time, they too were performing official duties on behalf of the US government.  And like LTC Dewey, these individuals’ deaths also predated the “official” start date of the Vietnam War Era.  They are also not memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, nor are they officially recognized as being US casualties of war in Vietnam.

The government of France posthumously awarded McGovern, Buford, and all other surviving CAT pilots the Legion of Honor on 24 February 2005.  This award was made in recognition of their efforts in support of French forces at Dien Bien Phu.

As I’ve stated elsewhere:  the French indeed have their faults.  But ingratitude and lack of a sense of honor don’t seem to be among those faults.

. . .

Barbara Ann Robbins was a civilian employee of the CIA.  She died in the line of duty on 30 March 1965 in Saigon.

Robbins had been raised in North Dakota and Colorado.  She is regarded as the first US woman killed in the line of duty during the Vietnam War.

Robbins was working under diplomatic cover for the CIA at the US embassy in Saigon.  On 30 March 1965, a car bomb exploded outside the US embassy.  Robbins – along with a US Navy storekeeper from the Philippines and 19 Vietnamese citizens – were killed.

Robbins was one of the original 31 CIA employees lost in the line of duty who were honored with stars on the Agency’s Wall of Honor at its creation in 1974.  However, because of her assignment’s use of diplomatic cover it was not until May 2011 that Robbins’ name was formally added to the CIA’s Book of Honor and her role as an Agency employee formally and publicly acknowledged.

Robbins volunteered for assignment to Vietnam; it was her first time overseas.  At the time of her death, she was not yet 22 years old.  She was the first female CIA employee to be killed in action.  To date, she is also believed to be the youngest CIA employee to have died in action.

. . .

A number of US civilian personnel received US military decorations in Vietnam.  Other than the Medal of Honor, policy at the time did not forbid award of the BSM or other US military decorations for valor to civilians serving with the military (the legal prohibition on receipt of the BSM by civilians dates only to 2000).

While rare, the award of military decorations to civilians is not unknown.  US war correspondent Joe Galloway was awarded a BSM w/V Device for his actions at the Battle of Ia Drang.  The entertainer Joe Brown likewise was awarded a BSM during World War II for his extensive efforts supporting troop morale.

However, only one US civilian was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for service in Vietnam.  That individual was John Paul Vann.

Vann served in the Army for 20 years, joining at age 18 in 1943 and receiving training as a pilot (World War II ended before he saw combat).  When the US Air Force became an independent service, Vann stayed with the Army, transferring to the Infantry.

Vann saw combat in Korea, first at the Pusan perimeter and later as commander of the 8th Army Ranger Company for about 3 months.  He saw peacetime duty between Korea and Vietnam, then was assigned to Vietnam as an Advisor to the South Vietnamese Army

Vann oversaw the disastrous ARVN effort at Ap Bac.  He became disillusioned with the US approach to the Vietnam War, becoming a rather vocal critic of US Vietnam operations.  He retired from active duty in 1963 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Roughly two years later, Vann returned to Vietnam as a civilian with USAID.  He first served as a provincial advisor; he soon became deputy director for the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) program in one of Vietnam’s designated military regions.  Over a period of several years, he served in a number of high-level civilian positions in multiple regions of Vietnam.  His last assignment was as Senior US Advisor for Region II – his civilian grade was equivalent to a Major General – and while so serving became the first civilian to command US troops in combat.

Vann was killed in a helicopter crash shortly after the Battle of Kontum.  He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during that battle (as a civilian, he was not eligible to be considered for the Medal of Honor).  He was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

At the time of his death, Vann had been serving his nation in Vietnam virtually continuously for over seven years (March 1965 – May 1972).

. . .

Should you chance to visit the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC – or any other state or local Vietnam Memorial – please take a moment to remember our fallen from that war.  If you’re so inclined, say a prayer for their collective souls.

But while you’re at it, please also take a second moment, and remember those other Americans who died in Vietnam – those whose names don’t appear on The Wall.  Maybe say a second prayer for these forgotten men and women as well if you can spare the time.  They also were killed by our enemies in Vietnam while serving our nation.

They’re not listed among the “official” US war casualties in Vietnam.  But it only seems right that they should be remembered too.

 

Author’s Notes: 

1.  Three other US females – one an infant, two adults – died in Vietnam prior to Ms. Robbins death.  Two of them may have better claim to being the first US female killed due to enemy action in Vietnam. 

Elanor Ardell Vietti was a US missionary serving at a leprosarium in Ban Me Thuot, Vietham.  She and two male missionaries – Dan Gerber and Archie Mitchell – were captured in a Viet Cong raid on 30 May 1962.  They were never seen again. 

Janie A. Mackil was a 5-month-old infant when she died.  She appears to have been the infant daughter of US missionaries.  She was killed in an ambush in Dalat, Vietnam, on 4 March 1963.

The third US woman to die in Vietnam prior to Robbins death – US Navy employee Regina Williams – died of a heart attack in Saigon during 1964.

Ms. Robbins does, however, appear to be the first female US government employee – civilian or military – killed in the line of duty in Vietnam by enemy forces.

2.  At least one other member of the US military died in Vietnam after 1 November 1955 who is currently not officially recognized as a Vietnam War casualty:  SSgt. Edward C. Clarke, USAF.  SSgt. Clarke died on the night of 8-9 July 1956 not long after he had murdered TSgt. Richard B. Fitzgibbon; whether his death occurred before or after midnight is not clear.  He died after falling off a balcony while attempting to escape Vietnamese police trying to take him into custody.  While technically eligible for inclusion on Vietnam War casualty rolls and on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to date TSgt. Clarke apparently has not been so honored – rightfully so IMO.

Category: Historical, We Remember