Which Secretary of Defense died two years after being confirmed by the senate? 
National Security Act of 1947:  The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. James Forrestal: James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.
James Forrestal