On February 11, 1962, eight U.S. servicemen and two South Vietnamese air force personnel died when their C47 transport plane was shot down between Saigon and Danang. The mission was to drop propaganda leaflets with lunar new year wishes to Vietnamese people. Among the dead were six members of the U.S. Air Force — the first USAF casualties of the Vietnam conflict. The remains of USAF Technical Sergeant Floyd M. Frazier (b. 1927) and Army Specialist 4th Class Glen F. Merrihew (b.1940) were comingled because of the crash, and Beaufort National Cemetery was selected by the military for their burial between the decedents' next of kin. Frazier, the youngest of twelve, was survived by his wife Doris and three children. Merrihew, just 21 years old, was due for discharge in September; sister Leona was his legal guardian. Funeral services were held March 12, 1962.

Merrihew is listed as a Notable burial at https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/beaufort.asp.


Glen Merrihew was born on March 3, 1940, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 31, 1959, and completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in November 1959. Pvt Merrihew next attended U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, from November 1959 to January 1960, followed by service as an admin specialist with the U.S. Army Ordnance Guided Missile School at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, from January 1960 to January 1961. SP4 Merrihew's final assignment was as an admin specialist with the U.S. Army Element at the Military Assistance Advisory Group in South Vietnam from March 1961 until he was killed in action while flying aboard an SC-47 Dakota on a leaflet-dropping mission on February 11, 1962. Glen Merrihew was buried at the Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina.

*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events.

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