Chief Warrant Officer Sheldon D. Schultz is honored on The Wall That Heals at Van Zandt VA Medical Center. Schultz’s plane was shot down in 1968 during the Vietnam War. His remains have been recovered, and funeral services will be held Aug. 14. (Mirror photo by J.D. Cavrich)

Funeral services with full military honors will be held Aug. 14 for an Altoona serviceman who was shot down 39 years ago in Laos during the Vietnam War, his family said Wednesday.

Chief Warrant Officer Sheldon D. Schultz (See obituary, Page A9) of Altoona piloted a Huey helicopter when he and his four-member crew were hit by artillery fire Jan. 5, 1968.

The services will be held at Old Post Chapel, Fort Myer, Va., with interment and graveside services to follow at Arlington National Cemetery.

Until now, Schultz; Sgt. 1st Class Ernest Frank Briggs Jr.; Sgt. 1st Class James D. Williamson; and Chief Warrant Officer Dennis Clark Hamilton were unaccounted for.

Schultz was unaccounted for, despite the Department of Defense declaring him dead in 1979.

The remains of Sgt. 1st Class John Theodore Gallagher were identified in November.

With DNA technology and cooperation with the Vietnamese and Lao People’s Democratic Republic governments since the 1973 ceasefire, the U.S. military has been able to recover human remains, military equipment, dogtags and other items to identify missing servicemen in Southeast Asia.

More than 1,750 servicemen have remained unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

“It provides a sense of relief, tremendous relief,” said Ann Marie Griffiths, executive director of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.

Schultz’s late father, George, was a past treasurer and member of the league’s board of directors.

“They [George and his wife, Laura] wanted answers. At least he knew where [Sheldon] went down. I wished George would be here to see this day,” Griffiths said.

When contacted Wednesday, family members said they wanted to wait until after the funeral to talk about Sheldon.

To veterans, especially to those of the Vietnam War, this is a time of celebration. It goes back to the ingrained military concept that “you never leave a soldier behind” and doing all that can be done to bring them back, said Tim Susengill, former president and current board member of the Hainley-English chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

“Someone else is home. Another soldier is found,” he said.

The crash site was found in 2002, according to declassified Defense Department documents. Possible dental remains, personal effects and other items were recovered since that time until excavation of the site was stopped last year.

The evidence was transferred to the Central Identification Laboratory of the Joint POW/

MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

Schultz’s flight was part of a two-helicopter team sent to drop off a special forces reconnaissance team in Laos. The lead troop carrier banked sharply to avoid the fire but it struck Schultz’s helicopter, sending it into a nosedive into the ground.

Schultz graduated from Altoona Area High School in 1966. He joined the U.S. Army and graduated 12th out of a class of 250 from helicopter pilot school in 1967. He arrived in Vietnam Dec. 5, 1967.

Schultz received a Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnamese Campaign Medal, Vietnamese Service Medal, Army Aviator Wings and Expert Marksmanship Badge with Automatic Rifle and Pistol bars.

Schultz’s name is engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and its replica, The Wall That Heals, on the grounds of the Van Zandt VA Medical Center.

A visitation is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at Murphy Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.

Schultz is survived by his mother, a brother and a sister.

Mirror Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger is at 946-7462.