Historians continue to debate the precise beginning of the Vietnam War. Some point to 1887, when Vietnam became part of French Indochina, while others mark 1946, when Ho Chi Minh launched a guerrilla campaign against French colonial forces. Another viewpoint identifies 1950, when the United States started providing substantial military and financial support to France.
For decades, the U.S. government officially recognized 1961 as the start date for recording Vietnam War casualties. This designation excluded individuals such as Air Force Tech. Sgt. Richard Fitzgibbon Jr., who was killed in 1956, from the official list of war fatalities. After persistent efforts by his family, the Department of Defense revised the start date to November 1, 1955, ensuring that the earlier sacrifices, including Fitzgibbon’s, were formally recognized.
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s untimely death
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr., born on June 21, 1920, in Stoneham, Massachusetts, built a lengthy military career that began in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later continued in the Air Force. Achieving the rank of technical sergeant, he was assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Vietnam, where he trained South Vietnamese pilots in combat operations.
On June 8, 1956, while acting as a crew chief, Fitzgibbon’s aircraft came under attack. During the chaos, he became involved in a tense confrontation with Staff Sgt. Edward C. Clarke but kept his composure, directing the radio operator to carry on with their duties.
Later that evening, Clarke, still harboring anger from the earlier incident, went out drinking in Saigon. In a state of intoxication and agitation, he encountered Fitzgibbon, who was distributing candy to local children, and shot him with his sidearm. In the ensuing struggle with Vietnamese authorities while trying to escape, Clarke fell—or possibly jumped—from a second-story balcony, a fall that proved fatal.
Not classified as a casualty of the Vietnam War
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr. died during the Vietnam War era, but at the time, his death wasn’t officially linked to the conflict. His family was heartbroken by the loss, and his son, Richard Fitzgibbon III, later enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps to serve in Vietnam. Tragically, he was killed in 1965 after stepping on a landmine.
Their deaths represent one of only three known instances where both a father and son were killed in the Vietnam War.
In 1988, a relative named Richard DelRossi visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. He was able to find the name of Richard Fitzgibbon III on the wall, but not that of Fitzgibbon Jr. This was because, at the time, the memorial only included names of those who died after 1961—the year the Department of Defense had designated as the war’s official start.
Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s family advocates for a change
After returning home, Richard DelRossi shared his father’s story with the rest of the family, and together they launched a petition to have Tech. Sgt. Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s name added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Their efforts stretched almost a decade, but despite their persistence, they made little progress.
In 1997, their luck changed when they visited a traveling replica of the memorial and met U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA). Deeply moved by the family’s account, Markey—who would later become a U.S. Senator—took up their cause. Although he encountered bureaucratic resistance, he remained committed. His determination paid off: the Department of Defense revised the official start date of the Vietnam War to November 1, 1955, coinciding with the establishment of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Vietnam.
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Finally, on Memorial Day in 1999, the Fitzgibbon family stood before the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as Richard Fitzgibbon Jr.’s name was officially added—honoring the sacrifice they had long fought to have recognized.