1959 Biên Hòa compound raid

On 8 July 1959, six Viet Cong guerrillas attacked a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) compound in Biên Hòa, a town about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Saigon. Major Dale R. Buis (visiting from MAAG 5) and Master Sergeant Chester M. Ovnand (MAAG 7) would be among the first Americans killed in the Vietnam War. Two South Vietnamese guards were killed by the guerrillas.^[1] After the incident, MAAG personnel began carrying weapons.^[2]

Raid

The Viet Cong attacked the mess hall, where he and five other officers were watching the film The Tattered Dress. Ovnand was about to switch to the next reel when VC guerrillas poked their weapons through the windows and sprayed the room with automatic weapons fire. Several 9mm rounds were fired at Ovnand. He quickly turned off the lights and went to the top of the stairs, where he was able to turn on the exterior flood lights. On the stairs, he died from his wounds. Buis was crawling towards the kitchen doors at the time. Buis saw the attacker coming through the kitchen doors when the exterior flood lights were switched on. He stood up and charged at the attacker, but was only able to cover 15 feet (4.6 m) before being fatally struck from behind. The attacker, who was about to throw his satchel charge through the door, was startled by his actions and this hesitation resulted in him blowing himself up. The Viet Cong also killed two South Vietnamese guards who were on duty that night. Captain Howard Boston (MAAG 7) and the Vietnamese cook's eight-year-old son were among those injured.^[3]

References

^ Bows, Ray A. (2012). First on the wall the last word on the first American advisors to die in Vietnam. New Smyrna Beach, Florida. ISBN 978-0-929973-08-1. OCLC 841229561.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Doyle, Edward (1981). Passing the Torch. Samuel Lipsman, Stephen Weiss. Boston, MA. ISBN 0-939526-01-8. OCLC 8085591.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Spector, Ronald (1985). United States Army in Vietnam Advice and Support: The Early Years 1941-1960 (PDF). United States Army Center of Military History. p. 329. ISBN 9780029303702. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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↓Battle of Saigon ↓ARVN formed ↓Hòa Hảo defeated ↓HCM trail established ↓Laos Invasion ↓NLF formed ↓1960 Coup Attempt ↓US role expanded ↓Palace Bombing ↓Buddhis Crisis ↓1963 Coup ↓Gulf of Tonkin Incident ↓Laos bombings begin ↓US Forces deployed ↓Buddhist Uprising ↓Sihanouk Trail created ↓Tet Offensive ↓US begins withdrawal ↓PRG formed ↓Cambodian Campaign ↓Lam Son 719 ↓Easter Offensive ↓Paris Accords ↓Spring Offensive ↓Fall of Saigon ↓Cambodian War widens ↓Christmas Bombings U.S President: Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon G. Ford RVN Presidents: Ngô Đình Diệm Instability Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Trần Văn Hương DRV General Secretary: Lê Duẩn / President: Ho Chi Minh General Secretary: Lê Duẩn / President: Tôn Đức Thắng NLF Chairman: Nguyễn Hữu Thọ PRG President: Nguyễn Hữu Thọ │ 1955 │ 1956 │ 1957 │ 1958 │ 1959 │ 1960 │ 1961 │ 1962 │ 1963 │ 1964 │ 1965 │ 1966 │ 1967 │ 1968 │ 1969 │ 1970 │ 1971 │ 1972 │ 1973 │ 1974 │ 1975

Vietnam War timeline

↓Battle of Saigon

↓ARVN formed

↓Hòa Hảo
defeated

↓HCM trail established

↓Laos
Invasion

↓NLF
formed

↓1960
Coup
Attempt

↓US
role
expanded

↓Palace Bombing

↓Buddhis
Crisis

↓1963
Coup