A. Peter Dewey

A. Peter Dewey (1916-September 26, 1945), shot in accident by Viet Minh troops on September 26, 1945, was the first American casualty in the Vietnam War.

Dewey had been working with the Viet Minh for the repatriation of American troops captured by the Japanese in Vietnam during World War II. His mission was accomplished but the plane taking him out did not arrive as planned at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. He was shot returning from the airport by Viet Minh. The Viet Minh afterward claimed that their troops mistook him for a Frenchman after he spoke to them in French. Why exactly the Viet Minh would shoot Frenchmen on sight at a time before conflict with France over the future of Vietnam broke out has not been explained.

Dewey is not listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC because the Defense Department has ruled that the war officially started, from a U.S. perspective, on November 1, 1955 after the U.S. took over following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu.His name is listed on the American Battlefield Monuments Commission website on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila National Cemetery as Major Albert D. Dewey.

Awards

His awards are listed as:
*Silver Star
*Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster
*French Croix de Guerre
*French Legion of Honor Chevalier
*Tunsian Order of Nicham-el-OftikharSon of Congressman http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/csdewey.htm Charles S. Dewey

External link

*Arlington.net Story