First ground combat KIA U.S. Army soldier?

yosimitesam · Aug 23, 2025

I'm reading Robert Forczyk's book "Desert Armor (vol 1)" and discovered an interesting incident. On November 25, 1941 a U.S. Army SSgt Delmer Eugene Park age 22 was killed by (German) fire during the "Crusader" battle. (He is in the book's dedication list.) I don't know the particulars but he was part of a technical support group sent to North Africa to help a British 8th Hussars battalion convert to the M3 Stuart light tank. (Which the British also called the "Honey".) He was a member of the U.S. 2nd armored division. This was 12 days before Pearl Harbor. I know there were numerous U.S. Navy casualties in the Atlantic even before this, but could this be the first U.S. Army casualty due to hostile action in WWII? Does anyone know of any earlier deaths of U.S. Army soldiers from German (or Japanese) action?

yosimitesam · Sep 24, 2025

Found the actual first U.S. casualty from Warfare History Network. It was an Army captain attache in Norway.

"The first American serviceman killed in World War II was Captain Robert M. Losey from Andrew, Iowa. He was serving as a military attaché and was killed in Norway on April 21, 1940, when German aircraft bombed the Dombås railway station where he and others were awaiting transportation."

SaparotRob · Sep 25, 2025

yosimitesam said:
I'm reading Robert Forczyk's book "Desert Armor (vol 1)" and discovered an interesting incident. On November 25, 1941 a U.S. Army SSgt Delmer Eugene Park age 22 was killed by (German) fire during the "Crusader" battle. (He is in the book's dedication list.) I don't know the particulars but he was part of a technical support group sent to North Africa to help a British 8th Hussars battalion convert to the M3 Stuart light tank. (Which the British also called the "Honey".) He was a member of the U.S. 2nd armored division. This was 12 days before Pearl Harbor. I know there were numerous U.S. Navy casualties in the Atlantic even before this, but could this be the first U.S. Army casualty due to hostile action in WWII? Does anyone know of any earlier deaths of U.S. Army soldiers from German (or Japanese) action?

Weren't some crew members of U.S.S. Panay killed? I realize the OP specifically mentions ground combat.

First ground combat KIA U.S. Army soldier?

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