SOG: 3 November 1969, SP4 Shue, SSG Wald and SSG Brown, members of a RT Maryland operating in Laos were KIA. Found, buried together 2012

On 3 November 1969 SP4 Shue, SSG Wald and SSG Brown were members of a RT Maryland operating in Laos. The team also included six Montagnards, two of which went missing. During the patrol the team was attacked by a numerically superior enemy force. During the fight, other team members observed SSG Brown receive a gunshot wound to side; SP4 Shu and SSG Wald were also seen to receive numerous shrapnel wounds from a fragmentation grenade. The other team members were forces to withdraw, leaving the three Americans behind.

Due to bad weather, a recovery team could not re-enter the area of contact until November 11. They searched the entire area but could only find some web gear that was identified as belonging to three of the indigenous team members and SP4 Shue. There was no trace of any graves nor of the three American bodies.

On August 30, 2012, the members of RT Maryland were buried together in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Visitation and service for families and friends was held on August 29, 2012 at the Robert Murphy Funeral Home, Arlington, VA. A formal service was held at the Old Post Chapel on Fort Myer. 

Bill Brown was born in Chicago, Illinois February 20, 1945, the youngest of three boys. When Bill was two, his family moved to California, where they remained, and where he attended Cerritos College. Bill was an excellent swimmer and golfer. In September 1965, Bill joined the Army and earned his Beret and paratrooper badge. He was sent to Vietnam on December 14, 1967. He is a demolitions expert and fluent in the Vietnamese language. In Vietnam, he helped train Montagnard tribesmen, and was so drawn to them that he reenlisted after his tour and returned to Vietnam in May 1969. On his second tour, Bill was attached to MACV-SOG, Command and Control North. MACV-SOG 

SFC Donald Monroe Shue, was born in Concord NC, and his home of record was Kannapolis, NC. He entered service in Charlotte, NC. He was 29 years old and was married. SFC Shue is on panel 16W, line 024 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. 

Gunther Wald was born in Frankfurt, Germany on January 7, 1944. When he entered the Army in June 1967, he had four years’ service in the U.S. Marine Corps. SOG