Last American Listed as POW Is Eulogized at Rite
ARLINGTON, Va. — Declared dead after 29 years, Col. Charles Shelton, the last American listed as a prisoner of war, was eulogized Tuesday as “one of the most excellent military officers our nation ever produced.”
Although his five children asked and the Air Force last month changed his status to killed in action, the children said after attending a graveside service they still do not believe he is dead.
“This is our way of creating some closure and getting on with our lives,” said John Shelton, 38.
Shelton’s name will be inscribed at the grave of his wife, Marian, who was buried at Arlington National Cemetery after committing suicide in 1990.
Shelton said his father, shot down over Laos on April 29, 1965, on a secret reconnaissance mission on his 33rd birthday, was a proud family man who enjoyed his friends, cherished his children and “fought his foes ferociously.”
Shelton received a 21-gun salute; a bugler played “Taps” and four F-15s flew overhead in the missing man formation.
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