President Trump To Give His 1st Medal Of Honor To Vietnam Medic From Michigan

WASHINGTON, DC — Despite suffering his own wounds while under enemy fire near Don Que, Vietnam, in 1969, U.S. Army combat medic James C. McCloughan refused treatment and risked his life nine times to rescue wounded and disoriented comrades. Now, 48 years later, President Trump will present the 71-year-old retired high school teacher and coach with the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest and most prestigious personal military decoration.

Trump will present the Medal of Honor, the first of his presidency, to McCloughan during a ceremony at the White House on July 31.

McCloughan was 23 at the time and was serving with Company C, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division. He was wounded by shrapnel and small arms fire three times in the May 13-15 firefight, but he selflessly persevered, saving 10 soldiers’ lives, the White House said. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Grand Rapids Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

McCloughan didn’t sleep, eat or drink from the time the campaign started on the morning of May 13 until after the last medevac chopper was loaded, and then he collapsed, his platoon leader, Lt. Randall J. Clark, wrote in a letter nominating him for the high honor, The Detroit News reported. Clark had tried to put McCloughan in for a Distinguished Service Cross but was told that honor wasn’t available to a private first class. Instead, he received Bronze Stars with a “V” device for valor.

In an interview Tuesday, McCloughan said he is “very humbled, very humbled,” The Detroit News reported.

“And, of course — as many individuals who are blessed to receive something like this — I’m receiving it for all of my men,” McCloughan said.

The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry above and beyond the call of duty while:

• Engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
• Engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
• Serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life. There must be incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct, and each recommendation for the award must be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit.

McCloughan was drafted into the Army after graduating from Olivet College with a bachelor of arts in sociology and a teaching certificate. After Vietnam, McCloughan was discharged as a specialist five and returned home and spent nearly 40 years teaching and coaching sports at South Haven High School in Michigan.

He also earned a master of arts in counseling and psychology in 1972 from Western Michigan University.

McCloughan is a member of the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Michigan High School Football Association Coaches Hall of Fame, the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Olivet College Athletic Hall of Fame.

He is married to Chérie McCloughan and has two sons, Jamie and Matt, one daughter, Kami, and one stepdaughter, Kara.

In a photo from Friday, June 9, 2017, former Army medic James McCloughan is interviewed in South Haven, Mich. An Army spokeswoman said Tuesday, June 13 that McCloughan, who saved the lives of 10 soldiers during the Battle of Nui Yon Hill in May 1969 in Vietnam, will become the first person to be awarded the nation's highest military honor by President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)