Following the war, Bernard de Lattre studied at the French military school (the EMIA) from August 1945, training in the armoured cavalry section. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 26 November 1948. Bernard de Lattre served in the French army during the First Indochina War, embarking at Marseille on 1 July 1949. He became a platoon and then squadron leader, and took part in the Battle of Dien Mai. He received his second Croix de guerre during this campaign, being awarded the medal by his father on 11 May 1951. He was killed in action 19 days later, near Ninh Binh, during the Battle of the Day River. He had died obeying his father's orders to hold the town at all costs; this stubbornly fought battle is credited with halting Vietminh General Giap's advance on the Red River Delta at that time. The citation for his actions concluded:  Following his son's death, his father arranged for a Catholic mass to be held in the cathedral in Hanoi. Two days after the battle, Bernard de Lattre's body was flown home to France, accompanied by his father, and the young soldier was buried with military honours. The graves of all three de Lattre are now located side-by-side in the cemetery in Mouilleron-en-Pareds, the birthplace of Jean de Lattre. Bernard de Lattre's death received widespread press coverage at the time, including articles in "Le Figaro", "Le Monde", "The New York Times" and "Time" magazine. His funeral was featured in "Life" magazine as 'Picture of the Week'. Bernard de Lattre's death greatly impacted his father and mother. His father in particular was said to have been deeply affected, and he died of cancer less than eight months later. His mother, now entitled to call herself Madame la Maréchale following the posthumous promotion of her husband, is described in an obituary published in 2003, as having "devoted herself to the memory of her son and to the history of her husband and the armies that he had commanded". In 1952, a 308-page book titled "Un destin héroïque: Bernard de Lattre" (A heroic destiny: Bernard de Lattre), was published. The book is a collection of stories of Bernard's life, along with letters that he wrote. The book was written and edited by the French professor of philosophy Robert Garric.