John Brooks Sherman (Class of 1962) collection relating to the Vietnam War , 1966-2016


John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2024

Collection Overview

Title: John Brooks Sherman (Class of 1962) collection relating to the Vietnam War
Date range: 1966-2016
Creator: Vietnam Television (VTV)
Extent: 0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract: John Brooks Sherman (1940-1966), (Brown, Class of 1962) was a pilot during the Vietnam War with the Marine All Weather Fighter Squadron 235 attached to Marine Aircraft Group 11 at Da Nang, Vietnam. He was shot down during a bombing flight on March 25, 1966. This collection contains Sherman's utility knife and wrist watch which were recovered from his body by Vietnamese soldier Nguyen Ý Chí. These personal items were returned to the United States in 2016 after many years of investigation to locate Sherman's body. This collection also contains documentation about the investigation to locate Sherman's crash site, repatriate his remains, and locate any surviving relatives.
Language of materials: English
Repository: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number: AMS.1U.2016.031

Scope & content

This collection contains the Eagle brand utility knife and Seawolf wrist watch that were recovered from John Sherman's body by Vietnamese soldier Nguyen Ý Chí in March 1966. The collection also contains a letter written by Nguyen Ý Chí in Vietnamese about his experience finding the body and his desire to return the items to Sherman's family. The wooden box with inlaid mother-of-pearl decoration in which Nguyen Ý Chí kept the knife and wristwatch is also included.

Supporting documentation about the military service, death, and the investigation to locate his body has also been gathered here. It includes a link to the 2014 documentary produced by Mr. Minh Le, titled Ky vat chien tranh -- Hành trình tro ve (War Memorabilia -- Coming Home) and articles relating to the death of Sherman and subsequent investigations to locate any relatives.

Access Points

Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Topics Geographical Names Occupations Document Types

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one series containing eleven items.

Biographical / Historical

Captain John Brooks Sherman (Brown, Class of 1962) was born on January 30, 1940 and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He was commissioned in the Marine Corps upon graduation from Brown University in 1962, having won the Reserve Officers Award as a member of the NROTC. A member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, Sherman was Captain of the soccer team his Senior year. As a freshman, he represented Brown in sailing as well as soccer. He was also a member of the Brunavian Board and Athletic Co-Chairman for his fraternity and Rushing Chairman.

Capt. Sherman was stationed with Marine Aircraft Group 31 in Beaufort, South Carolina prior to Vietnam. In February 1966 he arrived in Da Nang and joined the Marine All Weather Fighter Squadron 235 attached to Marine Aircraft Group 11 at Da Nang. Prior to his death, 1st Lt. Sherman had been awarded the Air Medal with two gold stars. He flew 44 missions prior to his last flight. On the afternoon of March 25, 1966, he was scheduled for a two-aircraft close-support mission. During his second run, Captain Sherman scored two direct hits on the enemy. As he was recovering from his dive, his aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire, which caused his immediate crash. Survival under these circumstances was not possible, and death was instantaneous. He was believed to be the first Brunonian to lose his life in Vietnam. His death was noted in the Brown Alumni Monthly in April 1966 with details related in a letter written by Lt. Kenneth B. Able, (Brown, Class of 1954) CHC USNA, who served with Sherman in Vietnam. For years, Sherman was considered Killed in Action / Missing in Action because his body was not recovered.

In April and May 1993, a joint team of United States/Socialist Republic of Vietnam investigators interviewed several local informants in Quang Nam‐Da Nang Province who provided information about the crash of a US aircraft. The US team, led by the Joint Task Force Full Accounting, reported that two of the informants recalled an incident in March or April 1966 in which they buried the body of an American pilot near a crash site. Two other witnesses reported they disinterred the remains in 1990, which they turned over to the joint team. In 1998, the identity of John Sherman's remains was confirmed and efforts began to return them to his family for burial in the United States.

Capt. Sherman's parents were Mary and Allen W. Sherman formerly of Darien, Connecticut. Allen Sherman died in 1963 and Mary Sherman moved to Winter Park, Florida, where both parents were buried. Stephen, Capt. Sherman's brother, received Captain Sherman's remains and buried him in their parents' plot. There is little documentation about this process.

In 2014, Mr. Minh Le, a producer for Vietnam Television (VTV) contacted the Vietnam Veteran's Initiative and the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) to aid in his research accounting for Vietnamese war dead. In the course of his own investigation, he obtained additional information about Captain John Sherman's plane crash. During Mr. Minh Le's 2014 documentary investigation he met Nguyen Ý Chí, the Vietnamese soldier who buried Sherman's body. Nguyen Ý Chí revealed that prior to burying the pilot, he had kept two personal items: a survival pocket knife and an aviator's watch as personal mementos, or what is commonly called "war souvenirs." During the course of Mr. Minh Le's interview, Nguyen Ý Chí asked the producer to help return the items to the family of the dead American pilot. The VVA assisted in identifying Sherman, and finding his grave marker, and determined there were no living relatives. The items were ultimately donated to Brown University Archives to be added to the University's Vietnam Veteran's Archive in 2016 during a forum for Brown Alumni who served during the Vietnam War.

John Brooks Sherman is honored on Panel 6E, Row 50 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and on Brown University's War Memorial, installed on the Ruth J. Simmons Quadrangle, near Soldier's Arch. The marker at his gravesite in Winter Park, Florida lists John Sherman with the rank of Captain. He was awarded this promotion posthumously, a practice widely used during the Vietnam War for service members who were killed in action.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials: Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Brown University Library. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation: John Brooks Sherman (Class of 1962) collection relating to the Vietnam War, AMS.1U.2016.031, Brown University Library.
Contact information: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: These items were retrieved from the body of John Brooks Sherman (Class of 1962) when his fighter jet crashed in Vietnam in March 1966 by North Vietnamese soldier Nguyen Ý Chí. He buried Sherman's body and kept the objects until 2015 when he gave them to Mr. Minh Le, a Vietnamese television producer who interviewed him about his experiences during the Vietnam War. Minh Le gave the objects to the Vietnam Veterans of America in hopes that they would be given to members of Sherman's family. Sherman had no surviving relatives. John Rowan, National President of the Vietnam Veterans of America donated the objects to the Brown University Archives on May 28, 2016 during a forum for Brown Alumni who served during the Vietnam War.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Barbara Ambos.
Encoding: This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-01-17.
Descriptive rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Additional Information

Related material:

Related Materials

Part of the Vietnam Veterans Archive (Brown University).

Inventory

Box 1 Nguyen Ý Chí letter accompanying Sherman's artifacts as they are returned to the United States
1 page

 9 May 2015
Box 1 Script of U.S. Joint POW-MIA Committee presenting John B. Sherman's artifacts to John Rowan, VVA National President
2 pages

 July 2015
Box 1 Ky vat chien tranh -- Hành trình tro ve = War Memorabilia -- Coming Home. Description of the documentary produced by VTV television about Vietnam War artifacts, with links to youtube.com posting
2 pages

Contents Note: As of November 2106, the address for the youtube.com video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO0Ss7WoHKs

 2015-2016
Box 1 Eagle brand (single blade) lock blade folding utility knife with stainless steel blade and decorated handle; owned and carried by John B. Sherman
1 item(s)

 circa 1966
Box 1 John B. Sherman's analog Zodiac automatic men's wrist watch "Seawolf" with hacking system
1 item

 circa 1966
Box 1 Decorative hinged wooden box with mother of pearl inlays
1 item

 1966 or later
Box 1 Orange cloth used as protection and padding inside the wooden box
1 item

 circa 2015
Box 1 Article in the Brown Alumni Monthly titled "Our First Loss in Viet Nam" (with portrait)
3 pages

 April 1966
Worldwide search for Marine's resting place ends in Winter Park [with links to Orlando Sentinel and its video]
4 pages

 1 August 2015
Box 1 Grave marker of Captain John B. Sherman, Glen Haven Memorial Park, Winter Park, Florida
1 photograph

 22 July 2015
Box 1 POW Network file on John B. Sherman -- history
3 pages

 1990-2015