Marvin Earl Bell

Vietnam War
Unit40th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron
RankStaff Sergeant U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromBlytheville Arkansas
Date of DeathJune 30 1970
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Staff Sergeant Bell was a member of the 40th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Udorn, Thailand. On June 30, 1970, he was a crew member of a Sikorsky Sea Stallion Search and Rescue Helicopter (HH-53C) on a rescue mission of a downed pilot in Savannakhet Province, Laos. On its second attempt, the aircraft was hit by hostile fire, burned and crashed. His remains were recovered on March 24, 1993 and identified on March 7, 1995. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.