Master Sergeant Chester Melvin Ovnand (also known with surname Ovnard) (September 8, 1914 – July 8, 1959) was the first American casualty of the Vietnam War killed at the hands of the Viet Cong.

On March 1, 1940 he and his wife Catherine Irene Reynard (June, 1917 - November, 1994) welcomed a daughter, Margret Ann Ovnand.

Five years after her birth, Chester Ovnand left for Copperas Cove, Texas, where he met his second wife Mildred, who forbade him from making contact with his daughter.

On July 8, 1959, Ovnand and Major Dale R. Buis (visiting from MAAG 5) were killed at Biên Hòa, 20 miles northeast of Saigon.

The Viet Cong attacked the mess hall where he and five officers were watching the movie The Tattered Dress.