John Garrett Gardner

Vietnam War
UnitMarine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165
RankMajor U.S. Marine Corps
Entered Service FromHot Springs North Carolina
Date of DeathJune 3 1967
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Major Gardner was a member of the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165, Marine Air Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. On June 3, 1967, he was co-pilot of a Boeing Sea Knight Cargo Helicopter (CH-46A) the was picking up a U.S. Army Special Forces team in Laos, when the aircraft received intense small arms fire and crashed west of the A Shau Valley. His remains were recovered on February 16, 1999 and identified on August 14, 2000. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.