Captain Robert Moffat Losey (/ˈloʊsi/; May 27, 1908 – April 21, 1940), an aeronautical meteorologist, is considered to be the first American military casualty in World War II.

[1] While serving as a military attaché prior to America's entry into the war, Losey was killed on April 21, 1940, during a German bombardment in Norway.

[5] After graduating among the first 100 members of the West Point Class of 1929,[3] he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in field artillery, but transferred one year later to the Air Corps.

"[5][9] In February 1940 Losey began serving as the air assistant to the military attaché with the United States Embassy in Finland.

[10] News accounts indicated his mission was to report on air developments in the Russo-Finnish War (where the harsh winter conditions provided a special opportunity to observe the interplay between meteorology and military aeronautics).

"[11] As Harriman later recounted in her book, Mission to the North, Losey told her that "I certainly don't want to be killed, but your death would be the more serious as it might involve our country in all kinds of trouble, whereas with a military attaché ...

Seeking out the Americans, Losey and the chauffeur passed through Dombås, a strategic railway intersection, just as a German Luftwaffe bombing began.

[12] Several days later, Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring sent to Major General Arnold a message of regret regarding Losey's death.

[13] After the United States entered the war, Hollywood filmmaker Frank Capra included a brief account of Losey's death in Divide and Conquer, the third episode of his propaganda film series, Why We Fight, which he produced on behalf of the U.S. Army Signal Corps.