Dean, Michael Frank
Air Force Staff sergeant

Michael Frank Dean, age 23, from La Puente, California, Los Angeles county.

Parents: James E. Dean

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, June 30, 1970
Death details: On March 7, 1995, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Michael Frank Dean, missing from the Vietnam War. Staff Sergeant Dean joined the U.S. Air Force from California and was a member of the 38th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron. On June 30, 1970, he was a pararescueman aboard an HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant (serial number 68-8283) on a search and rescue mission over Laos. The Super Jolly Green Giant was downed by enemy ground fire during the mission, and SSgt Dean was killed in the crash. Search and rescue teams were unable to recover his remains at the time due to a hostile presence in the area. In March 1994, a joint U.S. and Laotian search team recovered remains from the HH-53C’s crash site. In 1995, forensic analysis identified some of the recovered remains as those of SSgt Dean.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Chicago Tribune (1970)