After four more hours of fighting, and greatly weakened, Shields volunteered to help Special Forces Second Lieutenant Charles Q. Williams who now was the acting commander since the Special Forces commander was one of the first badly wounded in the battle, destroy a Vietcong machine gun outside the perimeter which was threatening to kill everyone now in the adjacent district headquarters building which was now under the lieutenant's command and its occupants holding off the Vietcong attackers from all sides. The lieutenant armed with a 3.5 rocket launcher which was loaded by Shields, destroyed the machine gun, and on the way back to the building Williams was wounded for the 4th time and Shields for the third time, shot in both legs. Shields was air-evacuated afterwards from Dong Xoai with five other Seabees by the direction of the lieutenant to Saigon on June 10 and died during the evacuation.
After a prolonged battle, severely injured, Shields offered assistance to Second Lieutenant Charles Q. Williams, who had taken command after the Special Forces leader was among the first wounded in combat, in destroying a Vietcong machine gun outside the perimeter that posed a threat to everyone inside the adjacent district headquarters building under his command and its occupants defending against Vietcong attackers from all sides. With Shields providing ammunition for Williams' 3.5 rocket launcher, they neutralized the threat. On their way back, both were wounded four times: Lieutenant Williams twice and Shields three times, once in each leg. Shields was air-evacuated to Saigon on June 10 with five other Seabees under the lieutenant's direction and died during the evacuation.