Willie E. Stark

Service & Sacrifice

Sergeant First Class Willie E. Stark served with Detachment B-52, Project Delta, 5th Special Forces Group. He was paired with MSG Russell P. Bott on a long-range reconnaissance patrol near the Laotian border.

On December 2, 1966, SFC Stark and MSG Bott were inserted with Vietnamese Special Forces approximately one and a half miles inside Laos, west of the Demilitarized Zone. The patrol was discovered by elements of the 325B NVA Division, and a two-day running battle ensued against a vastly superior enemy force.

During the engagement, SFC Stark was wounded in the chest and leg. In his final radio transmissions, MSG Bott reported that Stark had been hit but was still alive. The situation was critical, as the team was nearly out of ammunition and several Vietnamese team members were dead or wounded.

The extraction helicopter, carrying SGT Irby Dyer as a medic, was shot down during the rescue attempt, killing all five aboard. Bott reported he was going to destroy his radio and believed capture was imminent. Vietnamese team members who evaded capture reported hearing NVA soldiers say they had found someone and were tying his hands to take him away.

SFC Stark's fate remains unknown. He may have died from his wounds or survived to be captured. He is among nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos during the Vietnam War. He remains unaccounted for.