18 Aug 2004 First in, Last out. You were a true Marine and the last to die in Vietnam. Semper Fi. AE3 Joseph Palmer, USN 29 April 2005 30 years ago today Still in everyone's hearts and minds Semper Fidelis, LT From J. Palmer AE3 Joseph Palmer, USN joseph.a.palmer@navy.mil

 

04 Sep 2004 Burial at Sea for Capt Nystul and 1stLt Shea. George T. Curtis Master Gunnery Sergeant USMC Retired 66-91 Now deceased

 

02 Aug 2005 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 HMH-463 Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii jdmbigdog@aol.com

 

27 Jun 2006 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. bobrobert46@yahoo.com

 

Notes from The Virtual Wall At 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: HMM-164, USS HANCOCK, TF 77 Capt William C. Nystul, Coronodo, CA 1stLt Michael J. Shea, El Paso, TX E Co, USMC Security Guard Bn, AmEmbassy Saigon Cpl Charles McMahon, Woburn, MA LCpl Darwin L. Judge, Marshalltown, IA Cpl McMahon and LCpl Judge were killed by a rocket attack while defending the Defense Attachï¿ 1/2 Building on Tan Son Nhut Airbase; their bodies were not recovered in 1975, but their remains were repatriated on 22 Feb 1976. 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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