<P> Technical Sergeant Richard Bernard Fitzgibbon Jr . ( June 21 , 1920 -- June 8 , 1956 ) , USAF , was the first American to lose his life in the conflict that would later be known as the Vietnam War . He was murdered by another airman and died of his wounds later on June 8 , 1956 . Through the efforts of his sister and former selectwoman Stoneham , Massachusetts , Alice Fitzgibbon Rose DelRossi , Fitzgibbon 's name was added to the Vietnam War Memorial on Memorial Day in May 1999 . </P>
<P> Technical Sergeant Richard Bernard Fitzgibbon Jr . ( June 21 , 1920 -- June 8 , 1956 ) , USAF , was the first American to lose his life in the conflict that would later be known as the Vietnam War . He was murdered by another airman and died of his wounds later on June 8 , 1956 . Through the efforts of his sister and former selectwoman Stoneham , Massachusetts , Alice Fitzgibbon Rose DelRossi , Fitzgibbon 's name was added to the Vietnam War Memorial on Memorial Day in May 1999 . </P>
who was the first soldier killed in vietnam
who was the first soldier killed in vietnam
Technical Sergeant Richard Bernard Fitzgibbon Jr .
Technical Sergeant Richard Bernard Fitzgibbon Jr .