The exact beginning of the Vietnam War is still a topic of debate. Some trace it back as far as 1887, when France took control of Vietnam and renamed the region French Indochina. Others argue it truly began in 1946, when Ho Chi Minh launched guerrilla attacks against the French colonial forces. Another view holds that the war started in 1950, when the United States began providing military and financial support to France.
For many years, the U.S. officially recognized 1961 as the start date for recording Vietnam War casualties. Because of this, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Richard Fitzgibbon Jr., who was killed in 1956, was not initially listed as a Vietnam War casualty. After years of advocacy by his family, the U.S. government eventually revised the official start date to November 1, 1955—allowing earlier casualties like Fitzgibbon to be properly honored and remembered.
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s untimely death
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr. was born on June 21, 1920, in Stoneham, Massachusetts. A veteran of World War II, he first served in the U.S. Navy before later joining the Air Force, where he rose to the rank of technical sergeant. He was eventually deployed to Vietnam as part of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), a team responsible for training South Vietnamese airmen.
On June 8, 1956, Fitzgibbon Jr. was working as the crew chief on an aircraft that came under fire. During the incident, he instructed the radio operator to stay focused on the mission, which led to a tense confrontation with Staff Sgt. Edward C. Clarke.
Later that evening, still upset about the earlier exchange, Clarke went into Saigon and began drinking heavily. Instead of calming down, the alcohol only fueled his anger. When he returned, Fitzgibbon Jr. was handing out candy to local children. Clarke, still in a drunken rage, approached him and fatally shot him with his sidearm.
Following the shooting, Clarke got into a firefight with Vietnamese police. During his attempt to escape, he either fell or jumped from a second-story balcony, resulting in his death.
Not classified as a casualty of the Vietnam War
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr. was killed during the Vietnam War, but his death was not officially recognized as part of the conflict. His family was devastated by the loss, and his son, Richard Fitzgibbon III, later joined the U.S. Marine Corps to serve in Vietnam. Sadly, in 1965, he was killed after stepping on a landmine.
Their deaths are one of only three cases where both a father and son lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
In 1988, Richard DelRossi, a relative of the Fitzgibbons, visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. While he was able to find Richard Fitzgibbon III’s name on the memorial, he couldn’t find Fitzgibbon Jr.’s. This was because the memorial only includes those who died after 1961, which the Department of Defense considered the official start of the war.
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s family advocates for a change
After returning home and telling his family, Richard DelRossi and his relatives started a petition to have Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s name added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They spent almost a decade trying, but without success.
Then, in 1997, while visiting a traveling replica of the memorial, the family met U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA). Markey, who was now a U.S. Senator, listened to their story and felt they had been treated unfairly. He looked into the issue himself and ran into government red tape, but he didn’t give up. In the end, he accomplished what Fitzgibbon Jr.’s family had worked so hard for: the Department of Defense officially changed the start date of the Vietnam War to November 1, 1955, marking the creation of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG).
More From Us: This Silent Plane Flew Over Vietnam’s Treetops Undetected
On Memorial Day in 1999, Tech. Sgt. Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s name was finally unveiled on the wall, with his family there to see it.