State of Arkansas

John Daniel Sr. Shewmake, age 27, from Adona, Arkansas, Perry county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, November 3, 1970
Death details: On November 2, 1970, the landing craft utility (LCU) 63 departed Da Nang carrying a crew of eleven on a cargo mission to Tan My, South Vietnam. On November 3, helicopter pilots saw the craft capsized, south of Tan My port. An initial search of the craft found no sign of any if its crew. On November 6, the remains of one of LCU 63’s crew members were found in a life jacket near Cu Lao Island. Further attempts to salvage LCU 63 and locate its crew failed to locate any survivors or remains. Eventually, the remains of another member of the LCU 63’s crew were located and identified; however, the other nine men are still unaccounted for. Sergeant First Class John Daniel Shewmake Sr., who joined the U.S. Army from Arkansas, was a member of 329th Transportation Company (Heavy Boat), 5th Transportation Command. He was a crew member aboard LCU 63 when it capsized, and was lost with during the incident. His remains were not recovered. Today, Sergeant First Class Shewmake is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounty Agency