New Hampshire

Burnett, Sheldon John
Army Colonel

Sheldon John Burnett, age 19, from Pelham, New Hampshire, Hillsborough county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: March 7, 1971
Death details: On December 9, 2004, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Sheldon John Burnett, missing from the Vietnam War.

Colonel Burnett entered the U.S. Army from New Hampshire and was the commanding officer of the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 23rd Infantry Division. On March 7, 1971, he was a passenger aboard an OH-58A Kiowa (tail number 6816814) that took off on a personnel transport mission to an area along the Laos/Vietnam border. While approaching the landing zone in the target area, the aircraft was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The wreckage fell in Savannakhet Province, Laos; COL Burnett did not survive the crash and his remains were not recovered at the time of his loss. Between 1989 and 2004, joint search teams investigated the loss area and found human remains that U.S. analysts eventually identified as those of COL Burnett.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

Stickney, Phillip Joseph
Air Force sms

Phillip Joseph Stickney from Manchester, New Hampshire, Hillsborough county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: May 31, 1966
Death details: On January 8, 2004, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Joseph Stickney, missing from the Vietnam War.

Senior Master Sergeant Stickney, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New Hampshire, served with the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron. On May 31, 1966, SMSgt Stickney served as a loadmaster aboard a C-130 Hercules (tail number 64-0511) that departed Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, on a classified bombing mission using special weapons against the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. During the bombing run, the Hercules was shot down and SMSgt Stickney was killed. Hostile presence in the area prevented immediate recovery efforts. In 1998, the Vietnamese government repatriated remains which were later identified as those of SMSgt Stickney.
Cemetery: Memorialized in Nashville National

Source: National Archives, grave marker, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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