The Wall › Panel 1W › Maryland › Stephen Edward Shields
STEPHEN EDWARD SHIELDS
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
November 19, 1948 – June 20, 1972
Service recordStephen Edward Shields, of Clinton, Maryland, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on June 20, 1972, in Binh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 47
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- November 19, 1948
- Home of record
- Clinton, Maryland (Prince George's County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 20, 1972
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Binh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Five names on the Wall carry the date June 20, 1972; four of them were lost in Binh Long Province. In June 1972, 88 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 8 of its members that month.
He died in Binh Long Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 47
- RONALD ALBERT WENZLPrivate First Class · June 19, 1972
- LOUIS KARL BREUER IVFirst Lieutenant · June 20, 1972
- EARL WARREN FREDERICKSONPetty Officer Second Class · June 20, 1972
- EDWIN GILBERT NORTHUPCaptain · June 20, 1972
Same unit, same day
- BURDETTE D TOWNSEND JRChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 1W, Line 46
- LOUIS KARL BREUER IVFirst Lieutenant · Panel 1W, Line 47
- EDWIN GILBERT NORTHUPCaptain · Panel 1W, Line 47
From Clinton
- JAMES JOSEPH WAGNERPrivate · April 24, 1969
- JEFFREY LYNDOL HARRISCaptain · May 10, 1972
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.