Her son, Ronald Walsh McLean (B. June 19, 1944), was a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He had only been in Vietnam for a couple of weeks and while serving with Company A, Third Reconnaissance Battalion, Third Marine Division when he was killed on June 8, 1969 during a recon mission nicknamed "American Beauty". Trapped on a hill, he and five others were ambushed in the DMZ. After 24 hours of fighting, the other five men were rescued. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Ronald McLean was 24 years old.
Her other son, Michael (Mike) McLean also attended Mercersburg Academy, where his step-father James Stewart had his preparatory school education.
