![\"Air](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CCT-L-DAYHOFFCOLUMN-0727.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
He was flying an F-100 \u201cSuper Sabre\u201d jet fighter when he died. A note on the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Memorial \u201cVirtual Wall\u201d website reports, \u201cA Super Sabre and its pilot was lost during a mission to destroy an anti-aircraft gun position on the South Vietnamese-Laos border, in the hill country 25 miles southwest of Hue.”<\/p>\n
\u201cLtCol Flanagan was making his first strafing pass from 3000 feet when his aircraft was hit by ground fire and dived into the ground near the target. The pilot may have been wounded by the anti-aircraft fire as he did not eject. LtCol Flanagan was a member of the District of Columbia ANG [Air National Guard] [and] had volunteered for service [in Vietnam] …\u201d<\/p>\n
An undated Carroll Sun newspaper file clipping reported he joined the Air Force in 1951 and flew combat missions in the Korean War. Flanagan \u201cbelonged to the 113th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the District of Columbia Air National Guard that was called to active duty Jan. 27, 1968 during the Pueblo crisis,\u201d said the Carroll Sun.<\/p>\n
Flanagan was born on April 8, 1930, and raised in Westminster. He attended Westminster High School \u201cbefore going to Charlotte Hall Military Academy, graduating in 1947,\u201d reported the Carroll Sun.<\/p>\n
According to an article in the Carroll County Times in May 1989, \u201cPrevious to his service in Vietnam \u2026 Before his reserve unit was reactivated, Flanagan was a lawyer with the legal firm of Cable and McDaniel in Westminster. He had practiced law since 1960 when he graduated from the University of Maryland law school.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Carroll Sun article reported, \u201cHe was the past secretary of the Maryland Bar Association and a member of the Westminster Rotary Club.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local historian Jay Graybeal authored an article in the Carroll County Times on June 20, 1999, that Flanagan had \u201cTrained as a fighter pilot, he flew combat missions during the Korean War and also flew during the Berlin Airlift in 1961\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
According to oral tradition, right before Flanagan reported to Vietnam, his family had decided to purchase a home on Willis Street.<\/p>\n
Flanagan\u2019s remains were never recovered. He is forever remembered on the black granite memorial that is the centerpiece of the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial Park. His name can also be found etched on Panel 51W Line 025, on the granite Vietnam Memorial, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
You can also pay your respects to Flanagan, and everyone who lost their lives in Vietnam, this October at The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. According to the Babylon Vault Co. website, the Traveling Wall will be at the New Windsor Fire Department Carnival Grounds, 101 High St., New Windsor, from Oct. 9-13. The wall and exhibits will remain open around the clock from 6 p.m., Oct. 9 to 11 a.m., Oct. 13, providing the opportunity to visit during early morning and overnight hours when there are fewer visitors.<\/p>\n
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is a 3\/5th scale replica of the original in D.C. standing over 6 feet tall, spanning 300 feet end to end, according to Babylon Vault. The wall honors the more than 58,000 names of the men and women of the armed forces who served and lost their lives in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Inscribed on the wall includes the names of 18 Carroll Countians who were killed in action serving in the Vietnam War, according to the Babylon Vault media release.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the 18 KIA, Sherman E. Flanagan Jr. from Westminster is still missing in action. We also had one POW from the war. Peter \u201cEddie\u201d Drabic, Army, was taken as Prisoner of War while on patrol in the jungles in South Vietnam on Sept. 24, 1968, and was held until his release on March 16, 1973, spending 1,635 days in captivity. We will have the panel numbers available for those wishing to do a rubbing from the wall of our hometown heroes,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n
Flanagan was a family friend. It has been said that service members die twice, once when they are killed in action and once when their name is spoken for the last time. A portion of this discussion has been published before \u2014 and hopefully will be republished again in the future. May we never forget his service and sacrifice for our country, and forever hold him in our hearts.<\/p>\n
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column appears every Sunday. Email him at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dayhoff: Remembering Sherman Flanagan of Westminster, who died in Vietnam<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-26T16:00:57Z","apple_news_api_id":"15b7c39b-19d6-41b7-b80e-1c09e903ebd8","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-26T16:00:57Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AFbfDmxnWQbe4DhwJ6QPr2A","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[75,80,76],"tags":[],"feature":[],"location":[301,223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[13305],"class_list":["post-11574712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-carroll-county-times","category-cct-latest-headlines","category-cct-news","location-carroll-county","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"75","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Dayhoff: Remembering Sherman Flanagan of Westminster, who died in Vietnam","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"CCT-L-dayhoff-0727","print_content":"
On July 25, 1968, the newspaper The Democratic Advocate, reported that \u201cLt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan, 38, of Westminster, was reported as killed in action in Vietnam by the Defense Department.\"<\/p>\n
\u201cThe family stated that Mr. Flanagan was killed Sunday, July 21, [1968] while flying a mission over the DMZ when his aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire. Mr. Flanagan had been in Vietnam since May after his reserve unit in the Air Force was called up for active duty in January. He is believed to be the first guardsman called to duty during the period to have died in action in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
\u201cA spokesman for the D.C. Air National Guard based at Andrews Air Force Base said Col. Flanagan had been assigned to train replacement pilots at Myrtle Beach, S.C. His duties, the spokesman said, required him to make brief trips to Vietnam, and two months ago, he volunteered to stay there to do combat missions.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was flying an F-100 \u201cSuper Sabre\u201d jet fighter when he died. A note on the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Memorial \u201cVirtual Wall\u201d website reports, \u201cA Super Sabre and its pilot was lost during a mission to destroy an anti-aircraft gun position on the South Vietnamese-Laos border, in the hill country 25 miles southwest of Hue.\"<\/p>\n
\u201cLtCol Flanagan was making his first strafing pass from 3000 feet when his aircraft was hit by ground fire and dived into the ground near the target. The pilot may have been wounded by the anti-aircraft fire as he did not eject. LtCol Flanagan was a member of the District of Columbia ANG [Air National Guard] [and] had volunteered for service [in Vietnam] ...\u201d<\/p>\n
An undated Carroll Sun newspaper file clipping reported he joined the Air Force in 1951 and flew combat missions in the Korean War. Flanagan \u201cbelonged to the 113th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the District of Columbia Air National Guard that was called to active duty Jan. 27, 1968 during the Pueblo crisis,\u201d said the Carroll Sun.<\/p>\n
Flanagan was born on April 8, 1930, and raised in Westminster. He attended Westminster High School \u201cbefore going to Charlotte Hall Military Academy, graduating in 1947,\u201d reported the Carroll Sun.<\/p>\n
According to an article in the Carroll County Times in May 1989, \u201cPrevious to his service in Vietnam \u2026 Before his reserve unit was reactivated, Flanagan was a lawyer with the legal firm of Cable and McDaniel in Westminster. He had practiced law since 1960 when he graduated from the University of Maryland law school.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Carroll Sun article reported, \u201cHe was the past secretary of the Maryland Bar Association and a member of the Westminster Rotary Club.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local historian Jay Graybeal authored an article in the Carroll County Times on June 20, 1999, that Flanagan had \u201cTrained as a fighter pilot, he flew combat missions during the Korean War and also flew during the Berlin Airlift in 1961\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
According to oral tradition, right before Flanagan reported to Vietnam, his family had decided to purchase a home on Willis Street.<\/p>\n
Flanagan\u2019s remains were never recovered. He is forever remembered on the black granite memorial that is the centerpiece of the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial Park. His name can also be found etched on Panel 51W Line 025, on the granite Vietnam Memorial, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
You can also pay your respects to Flanagan, and everyone who lost their lives in Vietnam, this October at The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. According to the Babylon Vault Co. website, the Traveling Wall will be at the New Windsor Fire Department Carnival Grounds, 101 High St., New Windsor, from Oct. 9-13. The wall and exhibits will remain open around the clock from 6 p.m., Oct. 9 to 11 a.m., Oct. 13, providing the opportunity to visit during early morning and overnight hours when there are fewer visitors.<\/p>\n
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is a 3\/5th scale replica of the original in D.C. standing over 6 feet tall, spanning 300 feet end to end, according to Babylon Vault. The wall honors the more than 58,000 names of the men and women of the armed forces who served and lost their lives in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Inscribed on the wall includes the names of 18 Carroll Countians who were killed in action serving in the Vietnam War, according to the Babylon Vault media release.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the 18 KIA, Sherman E. Flanagan Jr. from Westminster is still missing in action. We also had one POW from the war. Peter \u201cEddie\u201d Drabic, Army, was taken as Prisoner of War while on patrol in the jungles in South Vietnam on Sept. 24, 1968, and was held until his release on March 16, 1973, spending 1,635 days in captivity. We will have the panel numbers available for those wishing to do a rubbing from the wall of our hometown heroes,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n
Flanagan was a family friend. It has been said that service members die twice, once when they are killed in action and once when their name is spoken for the last time. A portion of this discussion has been published before \u2014 and hopefully will be republished again in the future. May we never forget his service and sacrifice for our country, and forever hold him in our hearts.<\/p>\n
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column appears every Sunday. Email him at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. 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Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr., 38, a Westminster attorney, was shot down and killed flying a mission over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Vietnam on July 21, 1968. He is believed to be the first Guardsman to die in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of \u201cTours of Duty\u201d by Gary D. Jestes and Jay A. 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Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr., 38, a Westminster attorney, was shot down and killed flying a mission over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Vietnam on July 21, 1968. He is believed to be the first Guardsman to die in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of \u201cTours of Duty\u201d by Gary D. Jestes and Jay A. Graybeal)[\/caption]<\/p>\n