William T. Lueders

William “Bill” Theodore Lueders, a man of unwavering dedication to his country, his profession and his family, passed away peacefully on February 16, 2024. Born February 20, 1928 in Hudson County, New Jersey, he was the only child of German immigrants. Bill’s life was a testament to the values of love, service and commitment. After being a bachelor for 31 years, Bill finally found the love of his life when he met Eleanor. They married in St. Thomas, USVI and spent the next 20 years making each other happy, dancing at every opportunity and traveling the world via 82 cruises. Unfortunately, Eleanor began suffering from dementia and was placed in memory care. Bill visited her faithfully each day to show his love, share music and the latest news. His beloved wife, Eleanor, passed away on January 28th, 2024, with Bill following a mere twenty days later from a broken heart. Bill is survived by his stepdaughter, Patricia McArtor (Tim), grandchildren Kimberly Treakle (Byron), Carrie White (Michael) and great grandchildren, Emily, Gavin, Ashlyn, Lauryn and Tanner. Bill will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, alongside Eleanor with military honors at a future date.

Bill began his military service in the New Jersey State Guard in 1945, and then enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 14, 1946. Bill’s Army career started in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; first at Frankfurt, Germany and then at Fort Bragg, NC. Bill returned to Frankfurt, Germany from January 1947 to December 1948 serving as a rifleman and squad leader in G Company, 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. From March 1949 to April 1951, he was posted to CONUS as various clerk duties supporting the New York Military District in New York City rising to Sergeant in August 1950. Attending OCS at the Army General School, Fort Riley, KS, he graduated and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry on 12 November 1951.

After OCS, Bill was initially posted to Fort Dix, NJ as a Platoon Leader, B Battery, 84th Field Artillery Battalion (Bn) before being sent, via the US Army Intelligence School at Fort Holabird, MD to US Army Caribbean Command in Panama from September 1952 with the 33rd Infantry (IN) Regiment. While in Panama, Bill attended the arduous Jungle Warfare School and was awarded the Jungle Expert designation. “In 1954, the U.S. Army’s 33rd Infantry Regiment retraced the journey of Spanish conquistador Vasco Balboa through the Panamanian jungle. To prepare for the mission, the men begin an intensive training program involving the Pioneer and Ammunition (P & A) Platoon from the regiment’s 1st Battalion, led by 1st Lieutenant William Lueders. 1st LT Lueders was part of the patrol that traveled 83 miles in ten days, ending at Hill 2200. The expedition found a stone mound on the hilltop, pointing toward the Pacific Ocean at an azimuth of 190 degrees. Balboa was reputed to have left a similar marker on the hill in 1513.

In August 1955, Bill was posted to Fort Devens, MA as the Bn S-2 (Intelligence Officer), 99th Inf Bn, 74th Infantry Regimental Combat Team, serving in turn as Reconnaissance Officer and P&A Platoon Leader of the 99th Inf Bn, 74th Infantry RCT and then, when the 74th RCT was reflagged to the 3rd Inf Bn, 4th Regimental Combat Team in December 1956 as the Bn S-1 (Personnel Officer) followed by the, Assistant REGT S-3 (Operation Officer), HHC, 4th Regimental Combat Team. From November 28, 1958 to February 14, 1961, Bill was Commander, B Company, 1st Battle Group, 17th Inf Regt, US Army Pacific, (Korea). His career expanded from there.

Bill spent almost 11 months assigned to Special Forces units, receiving his "S" suffix at Fort Bragg, NC in 1962. His assignments include 7TH Special Forces Group (Airborne) 1960-1963, which included a TDY to Laos as part of Operation White Star, serving as the Det Commander, Team FA-75A at Phou Tinpet Mountain, in 1961. Operation White Star was the code name for a U.S. military advisory mission in Laos involving mostly U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers training the Royal Laotian Army and indigenous tribesmen (Hmong and Yao) to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Pathet Lao communist insurgency and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) activities in Laos. In 1964, he served at Detachment(A) (or DET(A)), a clandestine unit behind the Iron Curtain in Berlin, Germany actively conducting unconventional warfare against the Soviet threat during the Cold War.

Bill retired from the US Army May 31, 1966, from the Basic Combat Training Command Group, Fort Leonard Wood, MO as a Major. His service was recognized with numerous commendations including: Army Commendation Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster, Good Conduct Medal w/2 Bronze Loops, Army of Occupation Medal w/“GERMANY” Clasp, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, and German Parachutist (Fallschirmjaeger) Badge.

After his retirement in 1966, he joined the Combat Developments Command (USACDC) Institute of Strategic Studies Stability Operations, Fort Bragg. The CDC, in addition to writing doctrine for Special Forces, psychological operations and military advisory activities, developed basic counterinsurgency doctrine and reviewed manuals developed by other Army agencies for counter-insurgency content.

Memorials in Bill’s name may be made to Special Operations Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Shriners Hospital for Children or a charity close to your heart.