Merlyn Leroy Paulson

Vietnam War
Unit16th Special Operations Squadron
RankMaster Sergeant U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromFargo North Dakota
Date of DeathMarch 29 1972
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Master Sergeant Paulson was a member of the 16th Special Operations Squadron, Ubon Airfield, Thailand. On March 29, 1972, he was a member of the crew of a Spectre Attack Aircraft Gunship II (AC-130A) on a night reconnaissance mission 56 miles east of Savannakhet in southern Laos. The aircraft was shot down by a Russian surface to air missile. His remains were recovered on March 1, 1986 and identified on June 12, 1987. 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.