FIRST IN - July 27th 1966 Lieutenant Eakin was assigned to D Company, 1st Recon Bn, 1st Marine Division. His choice of the lead helicopter on July 27th 1966 cost him his life, but saved others in his platoon. Those of us in 1st Recon Bn (the old ones) remember your time and supreme sacrifice. From another Delta 1st Recon Marine of 1966, Randy Kendall tkendall1@aol.com 07 May 2001

 

2 Apr 2004 Shelton Eakin was my Jumpmaster and friend, a kinder man I've never known. From a fellow Marine. E-mail address is not available.

 

16 Apr 2005 Shelton was an adventurous boy and obviously grew into a heroic young man. He and his brother Lynn were raised on College Hill in Texarkana, Arkansas, and even though younger than Lynn and me Shelton "kept up." As reported by the Texarkana Gazette, while a jumpmaster Shelton had another paratrooper pass him in the air. The second trooper's chute had malfunctioned. Shelton, according to the report, grabbed the lines from the second chute, saving the second trooper. Those who knew Shelton will say that sounds exactly like something Shelton would do. Thank God for young heros like Shelton who are willing to place themselves in harm's way for the good of this country. May we always have the freedoms guaranteed by their sacrifice. From a friend, Lynn A. Davis, Major (Retired Reserves) 38 Scenic Blvd, Little Rock, Ar, 72207 arthur444@comcast.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall From the MAG-36 Command Chronology for July 1966: "On the morning of 27 July, four UH-34D's from HMM-364, two UHlE's froia VMO-6 and two A-4's from MAG-12 attempted to insert a 20 man team fron the 1st Recon Bn at BT 164201. The landing was made near a frequently used LZ. A land nine was detonated by the team as they departed the aircraft. The blast produced 8 casualties: 5 members of the recon team and 3 members of the arcraft [crew]. The mission was aborted and the flight returned to KY HA. All the casualties were taken to 1st Med Bn. Examination of the aircraft after it returned to KY HA revealed approximately 500 schrapnel [sic] holes in the fuselage." 2ndLt Eakin appears to have the only fatality among the eight men injured by the mine.

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