Engine failure kept the ship from moving as bombs exploded around Saigon. It finally left port early on April 30, 1975, the day the North Vietnamese captured the capital of South Vietnam, ending the Vietnam War. The collapse of the South Vietnamese government led to the unification of Vietnam under communist control.

Millions of U.S. troops fought in Vietnam. For some Americans, the war that effectively ended with the fall of Saigon 50 years ago Wednesday on April 30, 1975, continues to shape their lives.

Of the 58,220 U.S. military service members who died in Vietnam, more than 1,300 were from Massachusetts. These are the stories of the men who were among the first and last to die on Vietnam soil.