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U.S. Army SP5 James McCloughan. (Photo courtesy of James McCloughan)
Episode 2794 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about U.S. Army SP5 James McCloughan and his Congressional Medal of Honor award honors. The featured story comes from the We are the Mighty website and was titled: John C. McCloughan’s MOH was unique. Here’s why. It was submitted by Logan Nye.
Logan was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd. Now, he’s a freelance writer covering military history, culture, and technology. He has two upcoming podcasts and a Twitch channel focused on basic military literacy.
Nye reported that Specialist 5 John C. McCloughan, a veteran of the Vietnam War and a retired teacher and sports coach, received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his actions during 48 hours of combat in Vietnam from May 13-15, 1969. He was the first to receive the Medal during the Trump administration, and the first to receive the award after an movement by former President Obama enabled waivers of the five-year time limit on Medal of Honor awards.
McCloughan was part of Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, in Vietnam in 1969 when Charlie Company was ordered to conduct a combat assault near Tam Ky and Nui Yon Hill.
It was one of those missions that seemingly everything went wrong from the start, as two American helicopters were shot down and there was too much incoming fire for another helicopter to rescue the downed air crews. A squad was sent to conduct the rescue and recovery instead.
The squad reached the perimeter of the crash site and McCloughan ran 100 meters across open ground raked by fire to recover a wounded soldier, moving forward even as a platoon of enemy soldiers charged in his direction. McCloughan threw the wounded man onto his shoulder and rushed back to friendly lines as rounds raced both directions past him.
Listen to episode 2794 and discover more about U.S. Army SP5 James McCloughan and his Congressional Medal of Honor award honors.
