More detail on this person: Dan only spent a
few months with the Troop but lots of close
friendships were made. For reason unknown, he
was quartered in one of the RLO hootches which
made him the brunt of many jokes. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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On January 23, 1971, he was shot down and I was
flying the recovery helicopter. The recovery crew
and one of the crew had to work together to
extricate him from the aircraft. I always
wondered what had happened to him after that
crash. Well, a few decades later at the VHPA
reunion in New Orleans, we rented the paddle boat
for the afternoon and I was standing on the top
deck when I looked down one deck and saw Dan
standing there with Ernie Arzabal. The grin on my
face seemed to touch my ears as I ran down the
stairs to give him a hug. He looked at me and
said, "Do you remember who I am?"
I said, "Sure, I'm the one who picked up your
sorry ass on January 21, 1971."
He grinned and the small talk commenced to bring
us up to date. I asked him what he was doing and
he said he was a defense attorney. I paused and
dead-panned, "Shit, had I known that was going to
happen, I would have left you on the ground." We
broke out in a roaring laughter and sealed forever
our friendship.
I'll miss and continue to think of him often.
From: Richard Crawley
Daniel E. Shifflet age 64 died 28 April 2007 in
Prospect, OH from cancer.
Daniel E. (Shifty) Shifflet was a member of Flight
Class 70-9, and a well known Blueghost. He came
to F/8th after a stint at being a scout for the
196 LIB, and by some accounts, exceeding their
requirements for scouting. At F/8 he quickly
established himself as an excellent pilot and was
respected by all. Shifty was known for his
"weather checks" after which he mysteriously
always needed to rearm with ammunition and
grenades. On one of his missions north of Chu Lai,
he was shot down and seriously injured with
numerous injuries and broken bones which required
an extensive stay at a military hospital. Shifty
then left the Army and went to college and finally
to Law School. Shifty went on to have a very
successful law practice. Shifty was well known at
the VHPA and Blueghost reunions and will be
sorely missed by all.
Survived by his wife Patty Shifflet. I do not
have information re his surviving children. I was
apprised of this information after calling his
wife on 7 June 2007 for a status check.
From: Daniel R. Nichols