More detail on this person: Sherril (Shawn) Anson Hannah, 74, passed away Sunday after a week of
hospitalization combating influenza and the late stages of Alzheimer's and cancer. He was born 22
December 1939 in Red Deer Canada and was raised by the late Estill and Alberta Hannah in Grayson,
KY. Shawn graduated from Pritchard High School in 1958, but started his career in the U.S. armed
forces at the age of 15. While serving the US Navy, he was stationed on the island of Guam and had a
variety of duties including lending his gifted voice to radio broadcasts. While on Guam, he had a
second job at a movie theater. Working there as a projectionist, he fell in love with the popcorn
girl, Elizabeth Flores. They married, had two children, and then Shawn began another military career
in the U.S. Army. During those years he was a highly-decorated helicopter pilot ("Firebird 00"),
serving three tours in Vietnam. Following his active duty service, he transitioned to civilian life
as an air traffic controller at Fort Bliss' Biggs Airfield near El Paso, TX. On the edges of El
Paso, he built his own home, which also served as a wildlife sanctuary and as his wife's Garden of
Eden. He and his family enjoyed life there for over 30 years. After his wife passed away in 2009, he
split the final years of his life between an 8 acre slice of heaven in the mountains southwest of
Colorado Springs and at the Emeritus assisted living facility, where his caregivers loved him like
he was family. Shawn is survived by two brothers: Jon Hannah and Lowrie St. James; two children:
Cammy (Frank) Gallagher and Shawn Hannah; and three grandchildren: Elizabeth Meyers, Nicholas
(Samantha) Hannah, and Nathaniel Hannah. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations
be made out to Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Services will be held at 2 pm, Friday, February 21,
2014, at the Cappadona Funeral Home, 1020 East Fillmore Street, Colorado Springs CO.
Published in El Paso Times from Feb. 15 to Feb. 22, 2014
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site: 09/05/2022
Copyright © 1998 - 2022 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association