Shane N. Soldato

Service & Sacrifice

Shane Nunzio Soldato was born on August 30, 1934, in Plattsburgh, New York, and made Fayetteville, North Carolina, his home. He built a distinguished career in the Army, earning his Special Forces qualification, Pathfinder badge, and Airborne wings along with a Combat Infantryman's Badge. He was married and deeply devoted to his family and his soldiers.

MAJ Soldato assumed command of Detachment B-52, Project Delta, on January 9, 1970. He was its final wartime commander. Those who met him were immediately struck by his bearing and professionalism. One soldier recalled that from the Ranger tab on his shoulder to the Pathfinder patch on his pocket, he had about every qualifying badge and patch the Army awarded, all on freshly starched fatigues that stuck to his 150-pound Italian frame like he was poured into them.

On May 23, 1970, MAJ Soldato was aboard a UH-1H Iroquois from B Company, 158th Assault Helicopter Battalion, conducting a visual reconnaissance in support of Operation Barber Glade south of Khe Sanh in Quang Tri Province. The helicopter was flying at approximately 40 feet altitude when an enemy rocket-propelled grenade struck the tail boom, severing the driveshaft. The aircraft crashed and burned.

Six Americans and two ARVN personnel were killed in the incident. MAJ Soldato was 35 years old. His body was recovered and he was laid to rest at Lafayette Memorial Park in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The flag that covered his casket was given by his sister, Marie, to the boys of Camp Virginia in Goshen, Virginia. At the end of each day during the summer months, the entire camp stands in formation and salutes as his flag is lowered.

MAJ Soldato was Project Delta's last commanding officer to be killed in action. The unit was deactivated just two months later on July 31, 1970, after six years of continuous combat operations.