Gary Don Shields ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Illinois
On January 11, 1967 First Lieutenant Shields was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Marine Corps. ★ He is remembered by the people of Illinois. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
We all benefit when we work together to honor fallen American service members. The Honor States archive is a grassroots initiative. Of the people, by the people, for the people.
Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Gary Don Shields is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2020-10-29 23:33:48.
Missing : Core Data
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Educational background· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 297896 |
| Service ID | 092620 |
| Name | Gary Don Shields |
| From | Mattoon, Coles County, Illinois |
| Birth Date | February 11, 1942 |
| Casualty Date | January 11, 1967 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Marine Corps |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Specialty | Helicopter Pilot |
| Unit/Group | III Marine Amphibious Force, 1st MAW, Marine Aircraft Group 36, HMM 363 |
| Casualty Type | Died through non-hostile action .. air crash at sea |
| Location | South Vietnam, South China Sea |
| Burial | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Notable Awards |
★ Air Medal |
| Remembered | 
Gary Don Shields is buried or memorialized at Arlington National Cemetery. This is a National American Cemetery administered through the Department of the Army.  Gary is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 14e, Line 12. |
Additional Details
Gary Don Shields was born in Paxton, Ford County, Illinois.On January 11, 1967 he was on the crew as Co-Pilot of the UH-34D Seahorse helicopter #BU-148785 YZ-76 from HMM-363 when they crashed south of Ky Ha into the South China Sea. They were on a mission to Quang Ngai to participate in Operation Sierra in support of the 7th Marines. It was reported the crash was caused by apparent engine failure. Six Marines from Company C, as well as the crew of four men were on the aircraft, and there were no survivors. We identified 10 casualties in our archive related to the #BU-148785 incident on January 11, 1967.
◼Gary D Shields :: Helicopter Pilot
|
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Air Medal
★ Combat Action Ribbon
★ United States Aviator Badge
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
★ Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Illinois Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Illinois who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Illinois was home to over 28,686 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 4,578 World War I
• 19,320 World War II
• 1,845 Korean War
• 2,943 Vietnam War
• 395 Prisoners of war
• 4,735 Missing in action
• 124 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 216 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 29 Medal of Honor recipients
• 19,320 World War II
• 1,845 Korean War
• 2,943 Vietnam War
• 395 Prisoners of war
• 4,735 Missing in action
• 124 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 216 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 29 Medal of Honor recipients
Guardians of Honor Credits
▼ Organizational Supporters - HonorStates.org and the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans is stringently curated. This attention to quality extends to our supporters program. We carefully research and screen prospective organizations we perceive as being suitably aligned with our mission
▼ Walgreens Supported National Memorial Day Parade
▼ U-Haul Supported National Memorial Day Parade
▼ National D-Day Memorial
▼ National Memorial Day Parade with Spirit of 45
▼ Research Contributors - Groups and individuals who have been directly responsible for curating content. Some are experienced historians and archivists, others are enthusiastic members of the public who have suggested content additions or corrections.
Honor States Admin
Roy "Joker"
Sarah Jo "Lady Chaos"
▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
Honoring our fallen. Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together. It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a Citizen Historian and Guardian of Honor. - learn more
Here is Some Important Information!
USS Midway Museum 75th Pearl Harbor Wall of Honor
Located at the harbor in downtown San Diego, California at Navy Pier. The USS Midway is a living, floating museum, housing an extensive collection of aircraft, many of which were built in Southern California. USS Midway saw active duty from 1945 to 1992. Approximately 200,000 sailors proudly served onboard. In 2016 the USS Midway hosted one of the premier events honoring the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Among the featured memorials was a Wall of Honor with over 1000 images of the fallen. Researched by the Honor States Group.
★ Featured National Supporter
Our Supporters are Essential Team Members! - learn more
Taylor - It is unbelievable what these young Americans sacrifice to preserve our freedom. I'm inspired and humbled by them all.
Emanual - I find myself coming back to your site often. It's important. Never forget the sacrifices made to preserve our freedom.
Laura - I'm proud of their military service and the ultimate contribution for my freedom. It does help me get through tough times.
Ronnie - It's so easy to take our freedoms for granted. I'm guilty of that. Thanks to Honor States and these daily reminders.
Copyright 2024, Created in the USA
General Disclaimer - This is a private sector project developed by Hello Pineapple LLC. Although we enter into collaborative associations with many supporting organizations, this site is not owned or operated by any Government body. All information found on this site has been obtained through fair use public contributions. We've done our best to craft a valuable and comprehensive product for the benefit of our world's collective history, however we make no claims of 100% accuracy. :)
Furthermore, the information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal or contractural advice. Parts of this website may include sections that may be considered advertising in a broad sense. All information is current at the time of publication, however it is subject to change by it's very nature.