Tim Maude

by: Harry Thie

He sat in the front row listening studiously. We were in the midst of the MORS Recruiting and Retention Symposium in September 1999, and Tim Maude had come to listen and learn. He was offered the opportunity to speak but instead chose to be part of the audience. His attendance made Tim a member of MORS.

Tim Maude learned to be a consumer of analysis through experience. He rose through the Army personnel community by dint of leadership, good decisions and knowledge. He knew how the Army and its systems worked. He knew how to decide among alternatives based on objective criteria. He also knew soldiers.

Tim entered the United States Army as an enlisted soldier in March of 1966 during the Vietnam era. He became an Army officer through Officer Candidate School in February of 1967. A soldier of that time remembers: “When I was injured in December 1967 with A 4/12 Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade, I was removed from my infantry platoon and sent to the Brigade Main Base just north of Long Binh. One of those who looked after me was 2LT Tim Maude. He was there to "proof" the things I wrote and help me get them through the bureaucracy. He also assisted me in other frustrating administrative procedures. He was a friend when I needed one. I have learned since that it was Tim who ensured my awards and those of my very brave soldiers were processed through to approval. He demonstrated his professionalism.”

After Vietnam, Tim had the first of what would be several assignments at Fort Benjamin Harrison. He thus returned frequently to the city where he had been born in 1947. A now retired officer remembers one of those early assignments: “Tim was a Soldier's Soldier! He loved troops and always put their welfare first!” He earned his undergraduate degree five years after Vietnam, and later would earn a masters degree.

When not at Fort Ben, he served in Asia, Europe and the Washington area. An officer remembers what was common among all those assignments: “Along the way he mentored young officers with whom he personally dealt...now whom are all field grade and senior officers. One of that group who soldiered with LTG Maude in two different assignments was also killed in the Pentagon attack.”

Tim attended the Army War College and moved through a variety of administrative, personnel, staff, joint and command positions to become the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with 3 oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and others. The Chief of Staff of the Army: “Lieutenant General Maude understood the human spirit. He understood that the well-being of the Army — soldiers, civilians, retirees, veterans and their families — is inextricably linked to our readiness as a force. He understood that young men and women today…are able to accept the notion of duty to country as the noblest of endeavors.”

Lieutenant General Tim Maude was killed in the line of duty on September 11, 2001.