SEXTON, DAVID MASON

Name: David Mason Sexton
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: Company B, 5th Battalion, 4th Artillery, 1st Brigade
Date of Birth: 18 November 1948 (Mt. Sterling KY)
Home City of Record: Huron OH
Date of Loss: 15 March 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 163635N 1064125 (XD803370)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: M109
Refno: 1725

Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2020.

Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On March 15, 1971, Sgt. David M. Sexton was the gun chief of an
M109 self-propelled, 155 millimeter Howitzer. During an early morning fire
mission, during which Sgt. Sexton was the only man at the gun, the gun
breach block was blown off, causing a 155 millimeter round and/or powder to
explode, and the gun to be consumed by flames.

A muster of the battery was held immediately, with only Sgt. Sexton
determined to be missing. Human remains (ashes) were recovered from the
burned out gun, and were sent by helicopter to a forward area Graves
Registration point of the 1st Cavalry Division at Khe Sanh. Regrettably,
however, the control of those remains was lost between Khe Sanh and Quang
Tri, near Graves Registration point. A thorough but futile investigation of
the loss of remains was conducted.

The ashes lost between Khe Sanh and Quang Tri doubtless belonged to Sgt.
David Sexton. That may never be established, although it seems quite likely
that he is dead. Sexton is listed with honor among the missing because his
remains cannot be buried with honor at home.

The U.S. Government believes that the enemy knows the final resting place of
many of the dead we left behind in Vietnam, but the Vietnamese are slow in
revealing information, even on those who died in their prisons.

The Vietnamese also refuse to reveal information concerning the hundreds of
Americans that many authorities believe are still alive, held prisoner in
Southeast Asia. David Sexton's death will only have the honor due him when
we are willing to exert the effort necessary to rescue those Americans who
are still alive.

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SGT DAVID MASON SEXTON

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Sergeant David Mason Sexton, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served with B Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade. On March 15, 1971, he was serving as the gun chief of an M-109 155mm self-propelled howitzer during an early morning fire mission. He was the only man at the gun when the breech block blew off, causing a 155mm round and/or powder to explode and the gun to be consumed by flames. During an immediate muster of B Battery, Sergeant Sexton was the only man determined to be missing. His remains have not been recovered. Today, Sergeant Sexton is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

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