Michael John SheaFirst LieutenantHMM-164, USS HANCOCK, TF 77, 7TH FLEET United States Marine Corps 07 April 1950 - 29 April 1975 El Paso, Texas Panel 01W Line 124 |
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The database page for Michael John Shea
First in,
You were a true Marine and the last to die in Vietnam.
AE3 Joseph Palmer, USN
29 April 2005 30 years ago today Still in everyone's hearts and minds Semper Fidelis, LT
From AE3 Joseph Palmer, USN joseph.a.palmer@navy.mil |
George T. Curtis |
I was there when you went down. I remember looking at the water the next morning from atop the flight deck of the Hancock. All of our hearts were so heavy, we had lost two brothers. As long as the Marine Corps lives so shall you. Semper Fi, my brothers.
CPL John D. Matthews, USMC |
Michael Shea graduated from Parkland High School in El Paso, Texas in 1968. He died in a helicopter crash in Viet Nam.
From a friend. |
Notes from The Virtual WallAt the end of April 1975 the victorious North Vietnamese Army was entering Saigon while US military forces, predominantly Navy and Marine air, were desperately trying to evacuate US military, diplomatic, and civilian personnel from Saigon and the surrounding areas. The last four US military members to die in Vietnam were Marines, two ashore and two afloat:
Captain Nystul and 1stLt Shea were piloting a CH-46D helicopter, BuNo 154042, providing SAR support for the malstrom of aircraft coming and going from the US naval forces offshore. Just before midnight on 29/30 April, while flying a downwind approach to landing on the USS HANCOCK, the CH-46 impacted the water and sank. While two enlisted crewmen (Cpl Richard Scott and Cpl Stephen R. Wills) were rescued, the two pilots went down with their aircraft. Their bodies were not recovered. Additional details are available on the
Pop-A-Smoke site. |
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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 18 Aug 2004
Last updated 08/10/2009