South Vietnamese: American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post-Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations 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.

[2] The Viet Cong attacked the mess hall, where six MAAG advisers were watching the film The Tattered Dress.

Buis saw the attacker coming through the kitchen doors when the exterior flood lights were switched on.

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.

Captain Howard Boston (MAAG 7) and the Vietnamese cook's eight-year-old son were among those injured.